Vacancy Rate Calculator
Calculate rental property vacancy rate from days occupied versus vacant.
Returns vacancy percentage and annual income loss for single and multi-unit landlords.
Rental property vacancy rate measures the percentage of time (or units) that a property sits unoccupied and generating no income. It is a critical metric for real estate investors calculating actual cash flow versus theoretical maximum income.
Vacancy rate formula: Vacancy Rate (%) = (Vacant Days ÷ Total Available Days) × 100
For multi-unit properties: Vacancy Rate (%) = (Vacant Units ÷ Total Units) × 100
Effective Gross Income (EGI): EGI = Gross Potential Rent × (1 − Vacancy Rate)
Where:
- Gross Potential Rent (GPR): maximum possible rent if all units are 100% occupied 365 days/year
- Vacancy Rate: expressed as a decimal for the EGI formula (5% = 0.05)
- Vacant Days: days a unit is available but unoccupied; distinguish from “make-ready” time (renovation/cleaning between tenants) which should be counted as vacancy
Annual income with vacancy: Annual Rental Income = Monthly Rent × 12 × (1 − Vacancy Rate)
What each variable means:
- Physical vacancy: units that are literally empty; zero rent collected
- Economic vacancy: includes concessions, free months, and rent-reduced units; physical vacancies aren’t the only income loss
- Stabilized vacancy: the long-term expected average; used in investment underwriting; typically 5–10% in most US markets
- Break-even occupancy: the minimum occupancy needed to cover all expenses; properties with high debt service need 85–95% occupancy just to break even
Reference: vacancy rate benchmarks by market type:
- Very tight market (NYC, SF, Boston): 2–4% vacancy
- Healthy balanced market: 5–8% vacancy
- Soft market: 8–12% vacancy
- Distressed market: 12%+ vacancy
- National average apartment vacancy (US 2023): ~6.4%
Worked example: Single-family rental, $2,200/month. Last year: 22 days vacant between tenants (make-ready + finding new tenant).
- Vacancy rate = (22 ÷ 365) × 100 = 6.03%
- Annual gross potential = $2,200 × 12 = $26,400
- Effective annual income = $26,400 × (1 − 0.0603) = $26,400 × 0.9397 = $24,808
- Lost income = $26,400 − $24,808 = $1,592/year
Reducing vacancy by 10 days (to 12 days) saves $726/year — an incentive to have the unit move-in-ready before the old tenant leaves.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
SuperGlobalCalculator is independently built and maintained. See how we build and verify our calculators.