Occupancy Load Calculator
Persons per space for egress planning
Occupancy factor reference
| Use | m² / person |
|---|---|
| Assembly — standing | 0.5 |
| Assembly — seated | 1.0 |
| Restaurant / dining | 1.5 |
| Classroom | 2.0 |
| Retail | 3.0 |
| Office | 10.0 |
| Residential | 20.0 |
| Storage / warehouse | 30.0 |
About Occupancy Load Calculator
The occupancy load calculator estimates how many people a space is designed to hold, which is the starting point for egress design — exit counts, door widths, and stair capacity all flow from this number. Choose a use type, enter the floor area, and the tool divides by the occupant load factor for that use.
It works in both directions. Forward mode answers “how many occupants for this area”: a 200 m² office at 10 m² per person yields 20 occupants. Reverse mode answers “how much area do I need for this many people” — useful when you are planning a restaurant, classroom, or event space around a target headcount.
Eight use types are built in, from standing assembly (the densest) through restaurants, classrooms, retail, and offices to storage (the sparsest), and the factors table is shown for reference. The factors are typical international rule-of-thumb values, computed free in your browser — occupancy factors vary by jurisdiction, and the local building code always governs.
How to use Occupancy Load Calculator
- Pick the calculation mode: area to occupants, or occupants to required area.
- Select the use type — assembly, restaurant, classroom, retail, office, residential, or storage.
- Enter the floor area in m² (or the target number of occupants in reverse mode).
- Read the occupant load or required area, along with the m²-per-person factor applied.