Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2026 U.S. Edition

Since 2008, NAIOP has conducted this study to estimate the annual economic contribution of commercial real estate development to the U.S. economy. The study uses key data sets from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Dodge Construction Network, and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF). It applies several estimating and impact-assessment methodologies to take snapshots of the commercial real estate development industry from various perspectives. The study includes an analysis of the economic contributions of new commercial real estate development and existing commercial building operations and compares these contributions to the broader economic contributions of all building and nonbuilding construction, which includes infrastructure, residential and government building construction.

The combined economic contributions of new commercial building development and the operations of existing commercial buildings in 2025 resulted in direct expenditures of $1.4 trillion and the following impacts on the U.S. economy:

• Contributed $3.5 trillion to U.S. GDP
• Generated $1.3 trillion in personal earnings
• Supported a total of 20.4 million jobs