Data shows average campus utilization dropped to 45%, signaling a critical need for real estate optimization.
Occuspace, the leading occupancy intelligence platform for the built environment, today released its 2026 Space Utilization Index for Higher Education. The report reveals a significant shift in campus dynamics: average utilization of campus building space fell to 45% in Fall 2025, a sharp decline from 53% just one year prior.
With most institutions targeting utilization rates of at least 70%, Occuspace’s findings highlight a widening gap between physical infrastructure and actual student and faculty needs. As universities collectively face a massive backlog in deferred maintenance, optimizing existing footprints has become a mission-critical strategy for institutional survival.
“We estimate that $79 billion is being spent annually on unused space across higher ed. Our latest data shows a massive opportunity for realigning valuable building spaces with actual needs,” said Nic Halverson, CEO of Occuspace. “Higher ed leaders across the country are facing new challenges of budget uncertainty and differing enrollment trends. With accurate and actionable space utilization data, campuses can transform their underutilized spaces into assets instead of liabilities.”
The Index released by Occuspace analyzed more than 40 million square feet across 10,000 unique spaces on 100+ U.S. campuses.
Key Findings from Occuspace Include:
- The Classroom Capacity Gap: Even during peak instruction hours, campus classrooms reach only 40% utilization on average. This inefficiency is magnified at the end of the week; classroom usage on Fridays is 28% lower than the Monday–Thursday average.
- The “Hybrid Work” Effect: Average weekly peak utilization for office space fell to 52%, a 19-percentage-point drop from Fall 2024. This is particularly impactful as office space often accounts for up to 30% of total campus real estate.
- Conference Room Inefficiency: Conference rooms are occupied less than 50% of the workday. 69% of the time small and medium rooms are used, they only support one person, suggesting a mismatch between room size and actual need.
- Evolving Amenity Use: High-density social spaces like dining halls continue to see heavy traffic (85% peak utilization), yet recreation spaces experienced a notable 17 percentage point drop, suggesting a shift in how students are spending their non-academic time on campus.
A Convergence of Challenges The report arrives as higher education leaders face significant challenges:
- The Enrollment Cliff: As recently reported by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), the shrinking pool of college-aged students is reducing the baseline demand for physical space.
- Capital Needs: According to Moody’s Investors Service, colleges and universities collectively require between $750 billion and $950 billion to address a backlog of deferred maintenance and mission-critical projects.
- Digital Shift: While campus life remains a draw, a 2025 study by Rize Education found that 66% of students desire more online course options than currently offered, further impacting physical room demand.
