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Federal agencies are using only a fraction of their office footprints, according to a new Congressionally mandated study released by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The review found that, on average, federal government agencies occupy about 30% of the office space they control.
The study evaluated 24 agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act and concluded that none meet the minimum acceptable occupancy threshold of 60%. That benchmark serves as a baseline for how efficiently agencies are using their assigned office portfolios, and the results indicate a broad gap between current utilization and targeted levels.
Among the agencies reviewed, the State Department posted the highest office occupancy at 40%, still well below the 60% standard. At the other end of the spectrum, the National Science Foundation recorded the lowest utilization at 12%. The report underscored that underuse is not confined to a handful of departments but is widespread across the federal government’s office holdings.
Bloomberg News reported that the findings could provide the foundation for follow-on actions by the Trump administration, including potential sales of federally owned office buildings and cancellations of existing office leases. While specific properties or markets were not identified, the study’s conclusions point to a significant amount of space that may be deemed surplus to current federal needs.
GSA Administrator Edward Forst said in a statement that the study gives the agency “a clear path to smarter space allocation” by defining the extent of the underutilization problem. He indicated that GSA intends to use the data to increase transparency around space use, reduce waste, and focus resources on a more efficient federal real estate footprint.
GSA outlined a strategy that includes continuing to identify inefficiencies, cutting excess office space, and disposing of empty buildings where appropriate. The agency also plans to prioritize co-locating agencies with similar missions into shared facilities. That approach is intended to reduce duplication, encourage collaboration among related departments, and, in the agency’s words, “maximize the value of every square foot” of federal office space.
The study highlighted varying utilization levels across federal headquarters assets as well. The Treasury Department’s headquarters, for example, currently operates at 35% occupancy for its office space, illustrating how even core federal facilities are operating well below the government’s own utilization threshold.
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