Space utilization: Workplace Utilisation Benchmark
The median published figure in the Workplace Utilisation Benchmark is 37 percent across 4 figures from 2 sources' own pages (range 25 to 49 percent), read 12 October 2026.
Cafmlane sells its own paid plan in this category (our pricing). It is not counted here: every figure in this index is another provider's own published price, read from its own page.
2 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 7 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 37 percent across 4).
By measure
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| measureheadquarters capacity used, 17 of 24 agencies | 25% | 25 to 25% | 2 |
| measureheadquarters capacity used, upper range | 49% | 49 to 49% | 2 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAO-23-107060 federal buildings underutilised | 49% | headquarters capacity used, upper range | 2026-10-12 |
| GAO-24-107006 agencies need new benchmarks | 49% | headquarters capacity used, upper range | 2026-10-12 |
| GAO-23-107060 federal buildings underutilised | 25% | headquarters capacity used, 17 of 24 agencies | 2026-10-12 |
| GAO-24-107006 agencies need new benchmarks | 25% | headquarters capacity used, 17 of 24 agencies | 2026-10-12 |
The sentence each figure was read from (4)
- GAO-23-107060 federal buildings underutilised, read 2026-10-12:
On the higher range, agencies used an estimated 40 to 49 percent of the capacity of their headquarters on average.
- GAO-24-107006 agencies need new benchmarks, read 2026-10-12:
Agencies at the higher end of the range, used an estimated 40 to 49 percent of the capacity of their headquarters on average during these weeks.
- GAO-23-107060 federal buildings underutilised, read 2026-10-12:
Seventeen of the 24 federal agencies in GAO's review used an estimated average 25 percent or less of their headquarters buildings' capacity in a three-week sample period across January, February, and March of 2023.
- GAO-24-107006 agencies need new benchmarks, read 2026-10-12:
Seventeen of the 24 federal agencies in the Federal Real Property Council used an estimated average 25 percent or less of their headquarters building's capacity for 1 week in each of January, February, and March of 2023.
Read in full, publishes no figure
7 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- GSA Federal Real Property Public Data Set, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- FY2024 Federal Real Property Profile public dataset (data.gov), read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK higher education provider estates management data, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Government Property Agency workplace design guide, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Government Property Agency workplace design, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GSA our approach to occupancy, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- OMB M-25-25 implementation of the USE IT Act, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
2 of the 9 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 7 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 3 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 4 figures, never sentences; 0 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per published benchmark and per reporting body: usable square feet per person (the federal 150 USF design requirement), the occupancy target (60% average over a year for offices over 50,000 USF), the measured utilisation of agency headquarters, the GB public-sector space target per FTE, and the higher-education net-internal-area used for timetabled teaching; the derivation is the COMPARISON nobody publishes - the spread between the benchmark and the measured rate, per estate type and per year, and the changed-since on each release
Sources (12)
- GAO-23-107060 federal buildings underutilised(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GAO-24-107006 agencies need new benchmarks(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GSA Federal Real Property Public Data Set(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- FY2024 Federal Real Property Profile public dataset (data.gov)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK higher education provider estates management data(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Government Property Agency workplace design guide(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Government Property Agency workplace design(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GSA occupancy and utilization reporting guidelines(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GSA our approach to occupancy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- OMB M-25-25 implementation of the USE IT Act(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HESA estates management data(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CRS R48718 on the USE IT Act(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The median published figure in the Workplace Utilisation Benchmark is 37 percent across 4 figures from 2 sources' own pages (range 25 to 49 percent), read 12 October 2026.
2 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 7 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
Workplace Utilisation Benchmark, measure headquarters capacity used, 17 of 24 agencies: median 25 percent across 2 sources, read 12 October 2026.
Workplace Utilisation Benchmark, measure headquarters capacity used, upper range: median 49 percent across 2 sources, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 37 percent across 4).
Cite as: "Cafmlane Workplace Utilisation Benchmark", updated 2026-10-18, https://cafmlane.com/datasets/workplace-utilisation-benchmark/.
Download the CSV (4 rows, computed 2026-10-18)