Apartment Occupancy Rate Calculator

This calculator works out the occupancy rate of an apartment building or portfolio: the percentage of rentable units that are currently occupied. You enter the total number of units and the number of occupied units, and you get the occupancy rate as a percentage, plus the vacancy rate and the number of vacant units.

Formula

The occupancy rate is the number of occupied units divided by the total number of units, multiplied by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Occupancy Rate (%) = (Occupied Units ÷ Total Units) × 100

Where:

• Occupied Units = units with a current lease or resident in place
• Total Units = all rentable units in the building or portfolio

The vacancy rate is simply 100% minus the occupancy rate, or equivalently (Vacant Units ÷ Total Units) × 100.

Worked Example

Using the default values from the calculator above: a building with 100 total units and 92 occupied units.

1. Occupancy Rate = (92 ÷ 100) × 100 = 92.0%
2. Vacant Units = 100 − 92 = 8
3. Vacancy Rate = (8 ÷ 100) × 100 = 8.0%

The calculator shows 92.0% occupancy, 8 vacant units, and an 8.0% vacancy rate. These match the manual calculation.

What Is a Good Occupancy Rate?

In most markets, a healthy occupancy rate for an established apartment building is between 92% and 97%. A rate above 95% is generally considered strong, but it can also mean rents are set below market. A rate below 90% often signals pricing issues, marketing problems, or a poor location. However, the “right” number depends on the building type, age, and local market conditions. Luxury buildings in competitive cities may run at 88–92%, while subsidized or well-located workforce housing often stays above 97%.

Occupancy rate is a snapshot at a point in time. It does not tell you how fast units turn over, how long vacancies last, or whether the occupied units are paying market rent. Two buildings can both have 93% occupancy, but one might have 10 units turning over every month while the other has 2. That is why property managers also track turnover rate and average vacancy duration.

How to Use the Result

Once you have your occupancy rate, compare it to the market average for your area and building class. If your rate is below 92%, look at the vacant units: are they concentrated in certain floor plans, floors, or rent ranges? Are they newly renovated (still being prepped) or long-term vacancies? A single month’s rate can be misleading—seasonal moves (summer) and lease expirations can swing it by 3–5 points. Track the rate monthly and look at the trend over 6–12 months rather than a single number.

For investors, occupancy rate feeds directly into effective gross income. If a building has 100 units at $1,000 average rent and 92% occupancy, the effective gross income is 100 × $1,000 × 0.92 = $92,000 per month, not $100,000. That $8,000 gap is the vacancy loss. Lenders and appraisers typically use a stabilized vacancy rate (often 5–10%) when underwriting, so your actual rate may be better or worse than what they assume.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

• Counting units under renovation as occupied: A unit is occupied only if a resident has signed a lease and taken possession. A unit being painted or repaired is vacant for occupancy purposes.
• Including model units or staff units: If a model apartment is not leased to a paying resident, it is vacant. Some owners count it as occupied for marketing, but that inflates the true rate.
• Using occupied square footage instead of units: Occupancy rate is a unit count, not a square footage measure. A building with 90% of units occupied but 95% of square footage occupied (because larger units rented faster) still has a 90% occupancy rate.
• Mixing up occupancy rate and rent collection rate: A unit can be occupied but the tenant may not pay rent. Occupancy rate measures physical occupancy, not financial performance.
• Rounding too early: If you round the occupancy rate to a whole number before using it in financial calculations, you can introduce errors. Keep at least one decimal place.

Occupancy Rate vs. Vacancy Rate vs. Turnover

These three metrics are often confused:

• Occupancy rate = occupied units ÷ total units. It is the inverse of vacancy rate.
• Vacancy rate = vacant units ÷ total units. It is 100% − occupancy rate.
• Turnover rate = number of move-outs (or move-ins) during a period ÷ total units. A building can have 95% occupancy but a 50% annual turnover, meaning half the residents leave each year.

For example, a 100-unit building with 5 move-outs in a month has a 5% monthly turnover rate. If those units are re-rented quickly, occupancy stays high. If they sit empty for 30 days each, the building loses 5 unit-months of rent. Turnover costs (cleaning, painting, marketing, lost rent) are often the biggest controllable expense for apartment owners.

How to Improve Occupancy Rate

If your occupancy rate is below target, consider these levers, in order of typical cost:

1. Adjust rent prices for vacant units—small reductions often fill units faster than waiting for a higher offer.
2. Improve marketing—better photos, virtual tours, and accurate listing descriptions reduce the time a unit sits empty.
3. Speed up turnover—have a reliable cleaning and maintenance crew so a unit is ready to show within 2–3 days of move-out.
4. Offer move-in incentives—one month free or waived fees can be cheaper than a month of vacancy.
5. Renew leases early—contact residents 60–90 days before lease end to reduce move-outs.

Remember that occupancy rate is a lagging indicator. Actions you take today will show up in next month’s rate, not this week’s.

Limits of the Simple Formula

The basic occupancy rate formula treats all units equally. It does not account for:

• Unit mix: A building with 10 one-bedrooms and 90 three-bedrooms may have different occupancy patterns by unit type.
• Rent levels: A unit rented at $500 and one at $2,000 both count as one occupied unit, but the financial impact of a vacancy is very different.
• Seasonality: College towns see spikes in August and January; resort markets peak in winter. A single month’s rate can be misleading.
• Lease terms: Month-to-month tenants count as occupied, but they are more likely to leave quickly than those on 12-month leases.

For a more accurate picture, calculate occupancy rate separately for each floor plan or unit type, and track it monthly over a year. Also compute the economic vacancy rate—the dollar value of vacant units divided by the total potential rent—because that directly affects your income statement.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is occupancy rate different from vacancy rate?

They are exact opposites. Occupancy rate = occupied units ÷ total units. Vacancy rate = vacant units ÷ total units. The two always add up to 100%. If occupancy is 92%, vacancy is 8%.

What is a healthy apartment occupancy rate?

Most property managers aim for 92–97%. Above 95% is excellent but may mean rents are too low. Below 90% usually requires action on pricing or marketing. However, the ideal rate varies by market and building class—luxury buildings in competitive cities often run lower, while affordable housing can stay above 97%.

Does occupancy rate include units that are leased but not yet moved in?

Yes, if a lease is signed and the unit is reserved for that tenant, it counts as occupied even if the tenant has not physically moved in. The key is whether a lease exists. A unit that is rented but being held for a future move-in date is occupied for occupancy-rate purposes.

How often should I calculate occupancy rate?

Monthly is standard for property management. Calculate it on the same day each month (e.g., the 1st) so comparisons are consistent. Annual occupancy rate is the average of the 12 monthly rates, not the rate on December 31.

Can I use occupancy rate to set rent prices?

Occupancy rate is one input, but not the only one. If occupancy is high, you may have room to raise rents. If it is low, you may need to lower rents or add incentives. Also compare your rate to local market data and your own vacancy duration. A high occupancy rate with long vacancy duration (units sitting empty for 60 days) is different from one with quick turnover.

Related

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in total | Total units | - | 100 | 1 | 100000
in occ | Occupied units | - | 92 | 0 | 100000
out rate | Occupancy rate | % | occ / total * 100 | 1
out vacant | Vacant units | - | total - occ | 0
out vrate | Vacancy rate | % | (total - occ) / total * 100 | 1