NRS Blog
How Much Office Space Does Your Business Need?
August 28, 2026 · 3 min read
The first question every landlord asks is how much space you need, and most small businesses answer with a guess. A better answer takes about twenty minutes with a spreadsheet. Here is a method that works.
Start With People, Not Square Feet
Count the people who will be in the office on a typical busy day, not the headcount on your org chart. If half your team is remote three days a week, you do not need a desk for each of them. Then sort those people into three groups:
- Private offices. Partners, anyone who takes confidential calls all day, anyone whose work requires a closed door.
- Workstations. Everyone else who needs a desk.
- Visitors. Clients, patients, candidates, and anyone who will wait in a reception area.
Apply the Ranges
These are the planning figures most architects and brokers use. They cover each person's own footprint. Shared rooms are added separately below, and the building's common-area load factor is added at the end.
| Space type | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Private office | 120 to 200 sq ft each |
| Open workstation | 60 to 100 sq ft each |
| Conference room | 25 to 30 sq ft per seat |
| Reception and waiting | 100 to 300 sq ft |
| Kitchen or break room | 100 to 200 sq ft |
| Storage, copy, IT closet | 100 to 250 sq ft total |
A dense, modern layout lands around 125 to 150 square feet per person all-in. A traditional layout with more private offices lands around 200 to 250. Law firms, medical practices, and financial advisors tend toward the high end. Software and marketing teams tend toward the low end.
A Worked Example
A twelve-person accounting firm with three partners, seven staff, and two front-desk employees, plus a steady flow of clients during tax season:
- 3 private offices at 150 sq ft = 450
- 9 workstations at 80 sq ft = 720
- One 10-seat conference room = 300
- Reception and waiting = 250
- Kitchen = 150
- Storage and IT = 200
That totals about 2,070 square feet of usable space. Add roughly 15 percent for the building's common-area load factor, and the firm should be looking for suites in the 2,300 to 2,500 rentable square-foot range.
Leave Room to Grow, but Not Too Much
Leasing space you will not use for three years is expensive. A reasonable rule is to size for the headcount you expect at the midpoint of the lease term. If you plan to hire four people over a five-year lease, plan for two of them now and ask the landlord about expansion rights or a right of first refusal on the adjacent suite.
Confirm the Numbers on a Tour
Ranges get you to a short list. The floor plan gets you to a decision. Two suites with the same rentable square footage can feel completely different depending on window placement, column spacing, and how much of the footprint is hallway. Bring your headcount and your layout sketch to the tour and walk it through.
Our suites at Millennium Plaza on West Dodge Road are sized for mid-sized teams, roughly twenty to fifty people under the figures above. If your math lands in that range, check current availability and come see one. If you are deciding between a traditional suite and something else, our guide to flex space versus office space may help.
NRS Properties
NRS Properties manages single-family homes and commercial space in the Omaha metro area. Whether you’re looking for a well-maintained rental home or commercial space on West Dodge Road, we’re here to help. Contact us to learn about available properties.