The Short Answer, and Why It Is Usually Wrong
Ask what office space costs in Houston and you will get a number per square foot per year. As of the second quarter of 2026, the overall average gross asking rent across the Houston market was $31.99 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Houston Office MarketBeat. Class A space averaged $39.91, Class B averaged $25.73, and Inner Loop Class A space commanded the market’s highest rates at $54.63.
Those numbers are accurate and nearly useless for a three-person law firm trying to budget. Here is why, and here is how to turn a per-square-foot quote into a real monthly number you can compare against anything else on your shortlist.
Step One: Convert the Quote Into a Monthly Payment
Commercial rent in Houston is quoted annually, per square foot of rentable area. To get your monthly base rent:
(Rentable square feet × annual rate) ÷ 12 = monthly base rent
A 1,200-square-foot suite at $28 per square foot works out to $33,600 a year, or $2,800 a month in base rent. Same suite at the Class A average of $39.91 is $3,991 a month. Same suite at Inner Loop Class A pricing of $54.63 is $5,463 a month.
Note the word rentable. It is not the same as the space you can actually use, and the difference is a real cost. We cover the load factor in detail in our plain-English glossary of commercial lease terms.
Step Two: Find Out What the Quote Does Not Include
This is where budgets break. A quoted rate can be structured several different ways, and the structure determines how much lands on top of the base rent.
Triple net (NNN)
You pay base rent plus your proportional share of property taxes, building insurance, and common area maintenance. In Houston these add-ons commonly run several dollars per square foot per year on top of base rent. A $22 NNN quote can settle out near $30 all in — and it moves every year, because you are paying a share of real costs, not a fixed number.
Modified gross
Some expenses are in the rate, some are not. The lease defines which. Read it carefully: “modified” covers a very wide range of arrangements.
Full service gross
Operating expenses are folded into the quoted rate, usually with an expense stop — a baseline year, after which increases get passed through to you anyway.
All-inclusive flat rate
One monthly number covering rent, utilities, internet, and building services, with no separate operating-expense reconciliation. This is the model used by executive suites and private office buildings, and it is the only one of the four where the number you are quoted is the number you pay. We wrote about the structure at length in All-Inclusive Office Leases: What They Are and Why Houston Professionals Prefer Them.
Step Three: Add the Costs That Sit Outside the Lease Entirely
Even a clean gross lease leaves several line items for you to carry. Budget for them before you sign, not after you move.
- Electricity and HVAC. Often separately metered, and in Houston the summer number is not the number you saw in March.
- Internet and phone. A business-grade circuit for a small office typically runs a few hundred dollars a month once you include the install, the router, and any static IP you need.
- Parking. In a downtown tower, parking is a separate monthly charge per space. Monthly garage parking downtown commonly runs $175 to $275 per space, and can reach $500 in prime locations. For a four-person office that is $700 to $1,100 a month that never appears in the rent quote. We did the full math in What Downtown Houston Parking Really Costs.
- Janitorial. Included in some leases, billed separately in others, and entirely yours in many small-suite arrangements.
- Buildout. Walls, doors, paint, flooring, and data cabling. A tenant improvement allowance may cover part of it; anything above the allowance is your check to write, up front.
- Furniture. Desks, chairs, conference table, reception seating. Furnishing a small office from scratch is commonly a five-figure outlay before anyone sits down.
- Security deposit and personal guaranty. Expect to fund a deposit, and expect a landlord to ask a small or newly formed business for a personal guaranty.
A Worked Comparison
Take a four-person professional services firm looking at roughly 1,200 rentable square feet. Two plausible offers:
Offer A — Class B tower, $26 per square foot NNN. Base rent is $2,600 a month. Add operating expenses at, say, $9 per square foot, and you are at $3,500. Add four parking spaces at $200 each and you are at $4,300. Add internet, janitorial, and after-hours HVAC charges and you are meaningfully above that. Then add the one-time buildout and furniture.
Offer B — all-inclusive private office suite at a flat $3,200 a month. That number includes utilities, internet, parking, and building services. There is no reconciliation letter in January. Furnished options remove the furniture line item entirely.
The headline rate on Offer A looks cheaper. The cost of occupancy is not. This is the single most common budgeting mistake we see, and it is the reason we always encourage people to compare total monthly cost of occupancy, never asking rate.
What Moves the Number in Houston Right Now
The Houston office market has been a tenant’s market for some time. Overall vacancy sat at 24.7% in the second quarter of 2026, with Class B at 28.7% and Class A at 23.9%, per Cushman & Wakefield’s Houston Office MarketBeat. High vacancy means landlords negotiate: on free rent, on improvement allowances, on term length.
It also means the flight to quality is real. Class A buildings captured the largest share of leasing activity even at premium rents, because tenants who are paying for space at all want space that works. For a small firm, the practical version of that trend is not a glass tower — it is a well-run building with parking, working climate control, and a lobby you are comfortable walking a client through.
How to Budget Honestly
- Start from total monthly cost, not rate. Build a single number for each option that includes everything you will actually pay each month.
- Get the operating-expense history. On any NNN or modified gross deal, ask for the last three years of actual expenses per square foot. Refusal to provide it tells you something.
- Price the first-year one-timers separately. Deposit, buildout over allowance, furniture, moving, signage, and cabling are not monthly costs, but they are real and they land in the first ninety days.
- Size the space before you shop. Paying for square footage you do not use is the most expensive mistake available. Our guide to how much office space you actually need walks through the math.
- Decide how much term you want. Longer terms buy concessions; shorter terms buy flexibility. If you are not sure which you need, read Month-to-Month Office Space in Houston.
Where 2019 Washington Fits
We lease private offices on an all-inclusive flat monthly rate — utilities, high-speed internet, climate control, complimentary surface parking with surveillance, 24-hour building access, kitchen and coffee bar, and use of larger meeting areas. Furnished or unfurnished, at your preference. Rates depend on suite size and layout, and we quote them directly rather than publishing a range that will not match what you need.
The reason we structure it that way is the same reason this article exists: a professional who is trying to run a practice should not have to become a commercial real estate analyst to find out what an office costs.
See the Space for Yourself
2019 Washington Avenue offers move-in-ready private offices about a mile northwest of downtown Houston, with parking at the front door, high-speed internet, utilities, and building access included in a flat monthly rate. Furnished or unfurnished, individual suites or larger multi-room configurations.
Call (713) 224-5529 or send us an inquiry to check current availability and schedule a tour. Questions first? The frequently asked questions page covers lease terms, parking, security, and what is included.