diff --git a/ultraplot/axes/base.py b/ultraplot/axes/base.py
index c4603c506..f9624d64a 100644
--- a/ultraplot/axes/base.py
+++ b/ultraplot/axes/base.py
@@ -2889,10 +2889,10 @@ def _update_outer_abc_loc(self, loc):
             # Get the size of tick labels if they exist
             has_labels = True if axis.get_ticklabels() else False
             # Estimate label size; note it uses the raw text representation which can be misleading due to the latex processing
-            if has_labels:
+            if has_labels and axis.get_ticklabels():
                 _offset = max(
                     [
-                        len(l.get_text()) + l.get_fontsize()
+                        len(l.get_text()) * l.get_fontsize() * 0.6
                         for l in axis.get_ticklabels()
                     ]
                 )