Commercial real estate remains a major growth engine for the U.S. economy, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity and supporting millions of jobs across the country, according to the latest research from the Building Owners and Managers Association International.
How big of a growth engine? Boma’s 2026 Market Study: The Economic Impact of U.S. Commercial Real Estate found that the operation and maintenance of office, retail and industrial properties across 79 U.S. markets generates $609.9 billion in annual economic output and supports 3.9 million jobs.
The study, which BOMA conducts every three to four years, highlights the economic contribution of commercial building operations. The latest analysis covers 35.4 billion square feet of commercial real estate across 79 markets in 38 states.
And the numbers show that the economic impact of commercial buildings extends well beyond the owners and tenants occupying them.
Building operations generate $274.9 billion in annual operating expenditures, according to BOMA. Those expenditures contribute $344.4 billion to U.S. gross domestic product and generate $219.4 billion in personal earnings.
For every $1 spent on building operations, the study found, $2.22 in total economic output is generated through direct, indirect and induced economic activity.
That activity flows through a broad network of businesses and workers. Building managers, contractors, maintenance and repair companies, suppliers, utilities, insurers and security providers all play roles in keeping commercial properties operating.
“Commercial buildings are economic engines, supporting businesses, jobs and communities across the country,” said Kjersten Jaeb, BOMA Fellow, chair and chief elected officer of BOMA International, in a statement. “Every building relies on an extensive network of professionals, service providers and businesses to keep it running safely and efficiently.”
Technology is adding another layer to that ecosystem, Jaeb said, as building owners and managers increasingly use technology to manage energy, water, security, access and overall building performance.
A changing construction landscape
BOMA’s study also looks beyond building operations to examine construction activity in the office, retail and industrial sectors.
One of the more notable findings involves the increasingly important role of data centers in office construction statistics.
Federal construction statistics classify data centers as private office construction. As a result, the rapid expansion of data center development is having a significant effect on the nation’s overall office-construction figures.
In 2025, data centers accounted for approximately $41.2 billion, or nearly 46%, of more than $90 billion in private office construction nationwide. A decade earlier, data centers represented less than 5% of private office construction.
Traditional office construction, excluding data centers, totaled about $48.4 billion in 2025.
Industrial construction, meanwhile, remains at historically high levels, BOMA’s research found. Warehouse and manufacturing construction totaled approximately $274.2 billion in 2025. That represented a 7.9% decline from the previous year, but the figure was still more than twice the 2020 level and ranked as the third-highest annual total on record.
Retail construction totaled approximately $47.1 billion in 2025, with activity increasing during the first three months of 2026.
The life sciences real estate sector also is showing signs of settling into a more normalized environment following several years of rapid expansion.
Impact reaches beyond major markets
The economic contribution of commercial real estate isn’t confined to the nation’s largest cities, either.
BOMA’s study looks at commercial real estate activity in 79 markets of varying sizes, spread across 38 states. The organization says building operations in those markets support local jobs, businesses and wages, creating economic activity that continues year after year.
“The economic impact of commercial real estate is not a one-time event,” said Mary Lue Peck, president and COO of BOMA International, in a statement. “Ongoing investments in the operation, maintenance and improvement of our buildings generate economic activity that supports businesses, jobs and wages across the country creating an impact that lasts well into the future.”
The study was conducted by the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder on behalf of BOMA International.
Researchers used 2025 square-footage estimates from CoStar and operating-expense data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. They then used the 528-sector IMPLAN input-output model and its Multi-Regional Input-Output framework to calculate the direct, indirect and induced economic impacts associated with commercial building operations.
The analysis covers office, retail and industrial properties across BOMA’s 79 markets. It also includes a separate analysis of life sciences properties in 17 markets where sufficient data was available.
For commercial real estate owners and operators, the findings put a dollar figure on something that can be easy to overlook: The economic contribution of a building doesn’t stop when construction is complete or when a tenant signs a lease.
