North Carolina is the sixth highest-ranking state in the U.S. for overall contributions of commercial real estate to state GDP with $44.1 billion, $19.1 billion in direct spending, $16.7 billion in personal spending, and 312.1 million jobs supported in 2023 (the most recent data available).
- Industrial (includes manufacturing): North Carolina ranks #4
- Warehouse: North Carolina ranks #7
- Retail: North Carolina ranks #7
The data is from “Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2024 U.S. Edition” published annually by the NAIOP Research Foundation.
Nationally, the impact of new commercial real estate development in the U.S. continues to grow.
The combined economic contributions of new commercial building development and the operations of existing commercial buildings in 2023 resulted in direct expenditures of $913.1 billion and the following impacts on the U.S. economy:
- Contributed $2.5 trillion to U.S. GDP
- Generated $881.4 billion in personal earnings
- Supported a total of 15 million jobs
“Overall, commercial real estate continues to be a vibrant and important contributor to the nation’s economy,” said Marc Selvitelli, CAE, president and CEO, of NAIOP. “We are seeing some adjustment in construction activity, notably in the industrial sector, whose growth had been on a record-setting trend following changes to the retailing paradigm driven by the pandemic and other economic forces. We are bullish that as those forces settle out, commercial real estate will expand in 2024.”