It’s one of the most consequential decisions to find the ideal office space for a growing company. When the office space is insufficient, the professional team might feel restricted. The team suffers, and productivity takes a back step. When the office space exceeds the need, as a company owner, you are just paying for the extra space that serves no purpose. A company with 50 employees is considered mid-range. For such a company, office space is an important concern, as it influences team structure, performance, and location. Whether you are looking for office space in Los Angeles or a stand-out office space in Chicago, it’s crucial to understand and calculate your business needs to save time and cost.
How Many Square Feet Does a 50-Person Team Need?
The most common parameter for office space planning is 150-175 square feet per employee. This figure is for self-workstations, collaboration zones, and corridors. For a 50-person team, the company needs 7,500 to 8,750 square feet for core workstations alone.
Anyway, the numbers do not tell the full story. Common areas, such as reception, conference rooms, pantry, and storage, require an additional 30-40% of the total space. Given this, a well-planned 50-person office requires between 10,500 and 12,250 square feet. If a company predicts growth over the next two to three years, industry guidance advises adding a 10 to 20% buffer, making the total space 12,500 to 15,000 square feet.
An office with 50 employees could require up to five conference rooms. A more traditional private work space can have fewer, ranging between two or three, given that the employees already have more enclosed space to execute their regular job and calls.
Open-Plan vs Traditional vs Hybrid Layouts
The layout model your company uses is based on total square footage. For example, open-plan offices have shared seating and collaborative areas. It means you can operate with as little as 100 square feet per employee. The layout design fits creative agencies, tech firms, and sales teams. On the contrary, traditional offices with private cabins for managers and senior members require a total space per employee upto 200-250 square feet, as these employees require some level of enclosed/dedicated space.
The hybrid office model is widely used in today’s organisations. With a percentage of employees working from home, many businesses have adopted a seating arrangement in which employees work at a different desk each day. This is also known as hot desking. This alternation has reduced the amount of space needed per employee in these offices between 100 and 130 square feet. These offices still have in-office areas for team collaborations and client meetings. A 50-person hybrid office realistically requires 6,000 to 8,000 square feet of space to manage desk utilisation effectively.
Layout decisions influence both employee retention and the office environment. Offices with design flaws, regardless of size, create noise, are uncomfortable, and reduce productivity. Office owners understand the value of wisely designing the office layout, including choosing the appropriate space.
What Office Space Costs in Los Angeles and Chicago in 2026
The amount of space you will need depends on how many offices or workstations you want in your organisation. What you will pay for office space depends on its location; in 2026, the average annual rent for office space in Los Angeles is approximately $43.00 per square foot, with Century City being the highest-priced sub-market. If you require 10,000 square feet of office space in Los Angeles, you can expect to pay $430,000.00 per year ($35,833.33 per month), plus utilities and maintenance costs, to occupy that space.
The average rent for office space in Chicago offers a different perspective. The cost is approximately $28.00 per square foot in the central business district, making it one of the most cost-competitive major markets in the USA. Therefore, if you require 10,000 square feet of office space in Chicago’s central business district, you will pay $280,000.00 per year to occupy that space. Office space rent is comparatively low-priced, enabling growing companies to find quality office space without paying an additional premium.
Planning for Growth and Getting the Right Guidance
A company with 50 employees initially could have 60 employees in a year. Lease terms for offices usually last between three and five years. It can be costly to break a commercial lease midway. Before one purchases or rents office space, it’s important to develop a solid plan. You can either expand your lease structure through negotiations or use a flexible lease structure. Neelam Global offers you the best operational security.
In addition to the property’s size, you also want to analyse the property’s quality and compliance on your short list. Each shortlisted property has its own set of benefits that will affect your business operation daily, including fire safety clearance, ADA compliance, HVAC capacity, and fibre internet capability. Since California has strengthened its energy standards for office space in Los Angeles as of 2026, the much stricter standards affect both the fit-out costs to bring the building up to code and how to manage utility efficiency going forward.
When looking for commercial real estate in major cities worldwide, verifying properties, having the expertise to move through the market, or getting professional guidance are all essential services. Neelam Global offers a curated portfolio of properties to help businesses find the right office space worldwide.
Bottomline
If you are a company with 50 employees, finding the right office space is not just a matter of counting desks; it requires understanding how your employees will work together as a team and how you expect your business to grow. With all the information available through a reliable data source and an advisory partner like Neelam Global, your decision will be both wise and insightful.
Join The Discussion