How much is your home office really costing you in rent?

Mihaela Buzec-October 23, 2026

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Key takeaways:

A 75-square-foot home office takes up 7.6% to 11% of the average apartment in the 20 largest U.S. cities.
In pricier markets like New York or San Francisco, that space can average more than $540 per month in rent.
Downsizing to a smaller apartment and using coworking and self storage can save hundreds of dollars a month in many cities.

Based on research by Hubble, using Yardi Matrix and CommercialCafe data. Read the original study on Hubble.
A desk by the window beats working from the couch, but home offices rarely stay that small. Monitors, printers, and all the auxiliary equipment tend to spread, and every square foot they take up is a square foot you’re paying rent on. Hubble’s new analysis on how much a home office really adds up to in rent put numbers on that cost across the 20 largest U.S. cities.

Where home offices eat the most space

Coastal cities with smaller apartments take the biggest hit. A 75-square-foot workspace takes up 11% of the average apartment in Seattle, where the typical apartment is just 683 square feet, the smallest of the 20 cities studied. New York and San Francisco follow at 10.3% each, with Chicago close behind at 10.1%. Many of these are also expensive markets, so the space costs more per square foot there too.

At the other end, Jacksonville has the roomiest apartments in the study, and the same 75-square-foot office takes up only 7.6% of the average apartment. Larger apartments in Charlotte (7.9%), Fort Worth (8.4%) and Houston (8.5%) also make a home office easier to fit.

Stepping up to a 100-square-foot room raises the share to between 10% and 15% of the average apartment in every city studied. Studios are the toughest case. Columbus has the smallest studios among the 20 cities, averaging 400 square feet, just under Seattle’s 412, so even a modest desk takes up a lot of the floor plan.

What the space costs in rent

Rent per square foot makes the difference more concrete. At an average of $7.30 per square foot, New York renters pay the equivalent of more than $540 a month for a 75-square-foot office. The same space comes to about $410 in San Francisco, $280 in San Jose and $260 in Los Angeles, and the figures go up for a full 100-square-foot room.

When skipping the home office pays off

Some workers are leaving home offices behind because of isolation or a desire to separate work from home life. The numbers suggest it can save money too, by moving to a smaller place and covering the gap with a coworking membership and a small storage unit.

Los Angeles is a good example. Dropping from a three-bedroom to a two-bedroom lowers rent by an average of $1,210 a month, while coworking plus a 5'x5' storage unit costs about $350. That leaves sizable monthly savings even after commuting costs.

The biggest net savings generally come from going from a three-bedroom to a two-bedroom. For instance, the top five savings are found in:

New York: about $1,344 per month
Seattle: about $1,023
San Francisco: about $900
Philadelphia: about $881
Los Angeles: about $859

The math is less friendly for smaller moves. Going from a one-bedroom to a studio can cost more overall once coworking and storage are included in several Texas cities (Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin), as well as Charlotte, Indianapolis and Oklahoma City.

visual depicting the layout of an NYC apartment with different spaces designated to work offices

About the data

Hubble’s analysis uses Yardi Matrix rent data for studio through three-bedroom apartments in the 20 largest U.S. cities, extracted and validated as of July 2026. It models four workspace sizes: a small desk (25 square feet), a large desk (50), a dedicated area with equipment (75), and a dedicated room (100). Storage costs are for a 5'x5' unit and coworking prices come from CommercialCafe listings at the metro level.

Source: Hubble, “How Much Is Your Home Office Really Costing You in Rent?” (October 2026), using Yardi Matrix and CommercialCafe data.

FAQ

Q: How much of my apartment does a home office take up?

A: A 75-square-foot home office area takes up between 7.6% and 11% of the average apartment in the 20 largest U.S. cities. A 100-square-foot dedicated room takes up between 10% and 15%, depending on the city.

Q: Which cities lose the most space to a home office?

A: Seattle has the highest share, at 11% for a 75-square-foot workspace, followed by New York and San Francisco at 10.3% each. Seattle also has the smallest average apartment among the cities studied, at 683 square feet.

Q: Which cities are the best for fitting a home office into a rental apartment?

A: Jacksonville has the largest apartments in the study, so a 75-square-foot workspace takes up just 7.6% of the average apartment. Larger apartments in Charlotte, Fort Worth, and Houston also make a home office more manageable.

Q: How much rent am I paying for my home office space?

A: It depends on local rents. A 75-square-foot office area works out to more than $540 a month in New York, about $410 in San Francisco, $280 in San Jose, and $260 in Los Angeles. The cost is higher for a 100-square-foot room.

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Mihaela Buzec

Mihaela Buzec is a senior writer, researcher, and online content developer for RentCafe, where she has over 7 years of experience writing about the real estate industry. She authors important resources such as the statistics pages describing generational patterns and renter's guides that help renters in their journey. Her work has appeared in publications such as Apartment Therapy, Indy Star, and Investopedia.
Mihaela is a published researcher who is active in academia as well. She holds a BA in English, an MA in linguistics, and a PhD in neurolinguistics.