Keeping Washington’s Commercial Buildings Running Supports 71,800 Jobs

Key Points

• BOMA International’s 2026 Market Study says commercial building operations in Washington support 71,800 jobs, contribute $7.6 billion to state GDP and generate $4.9 billion in personal earnings.
• The Washington analysis covers almost 676 million square feet of commercial property.
• Nationally, operating and maintaining office, retail and industrial buildings across 79 BOMA markets generates $609.9 billion in annual economic output and supports 3.9 million jobs.
• BOMA says $274.9 billion in annual building operating expenditure contributes $344.4 billion to US GDP and generates $219.4 billion in personal earnings.
• For every $1 spent on building operations, the study estimates $2.22 in total economic output through direct, indirect and induced activity.
• In Seattle and King County, about 602 million square feet of commercial real estate generates more than $10.3 billion in total economic output, supports about 58,000 jobs, contributes approximately $6.4 billion to GDP and produces around $4.2 billion in earnings.
• Seattle’s office inventory has grown substantially over the past decade, while commercial property sectors including industrial, medical, research, biotech and retail have also expanded.
• High office vacancy does not eliminate the need for building operations, including heating and ventilation, lifts, security, maintenance, inspections and compliance testing.
• The Greater Seattle life sciences property sector generates approximately $159.5 million in economic output and supports more than 900 jobs, according to the study.
• Nationally, data centres represented almost 46% of private office construction in 2025, compared with less than 5% a decade earlier.
• Industrial construction reached about $274.2 billion in 2025, while retail construction totalled approximately $47.1 billion.
• The study was conducted by the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder for BOMA International, using data from CoStar and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries.

Evening Washington News (EW) October 1, 2026 – The day-to-day operation and maintenance of commercial buildings has become a significant source of employment and economic activity in Washington state, with a new Building Owners and Managers Association International study estimating that the sector supports 71,800 jobs, contributes $7.6 billion to state GDP and generates $4.9 billion in personal earnings. The analysis covers nearly 676 million square feet of commercial property across Washington. The findings form part of BOMA International’s 2026 Market Study: The Economic Impact of U.S. Commercial Real Estate, which examines the wider economic contribution of commercial property operations across 79 US markets.

What does the new BOMA study say about Washington’s commercial buildings?

The study places the routine operation of commercial property within a much broader economic framework than the physical buildings themselves.

As reported by Lisa Lannigan of Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) on October 1, 2026, the BOMA study found that commercial building operations in Washington support 71,800 jobs and contribute $7.6 billion to the state’s GDP. Lannigan’s report also highlighted the economic contribution of the businesses and workers involved in keeping buildings functioning.

The Washington findings cover nearly 676 million square feet of commercial property. That includes the network of office, retail and industrial facilities whose continued operation requires property managers, building engineers, contractors, maintenance companies, utilities, security providers, suppliers and other service businesses.

The figures therefore extend beyond the employees who work directly for property owners or management companies. The study attempts to capture direct, indirect and induced economic activity generated by spending associated with commercial building operations.

BOMA International released the national study in September. According to BOMA’s announcement, the research covers 35.4 billion square feet of commercial real estate across 79 US markets in 38 states.

How large is the economic impact of commercial building operations across the US?

At national level, BOMA’s research estimates that operating and maintaining office, retail and industrial properties generates $609.9 billion in annual economic output and supports 3.9 million jobs.

The study estimates $274.9 billion in annual building operating expenditure. That expenditure contributes $344.4 billion to US GDP and generates $219.4 billion in personal earnings.

BOMA also calculated that every dollar spent on building operations produces $2.22 in total economic output when direct, indirect and induced effects are included.

The finding is significant because the economic activity associated with commercial real estate does not end when a building has been constructed or leased. Buildings continue to require services and expenditure throughout their operating lives.

BOMA International chair and chief elected officer Kjersten Jaeb said commercial buildings depend on an extensive network of professionals and businesses, including managers, contractors, suppliers, maintenance and repair companies, utilities, insurers and security providers.

BOMA president and chief operating officer Mary Lue Peck separately said the economic impact of commercial real estate was not limited to a one-off event, arguing that ongoing spending on operation, maintenance and improvements continues to support jobs, businesses and wages. Those statements were included in BOMA’s announcement of the study.

What does the study show about Seattle and King County?

The Seattle region represents a substantial share of the commercial real estate activity examined in the Washington findings.

According to Lisa Lannigan’s report for the Seattle DJC, Seattle and King County contain approximately 602 million square feet of commercial real estate. The properties generate more than $10.3 billion in total economic output, including approximately $6.4 billion in GDP, $4.2 billion in earnings and support for about 58,000 jobs.

Rod Kauffman, president and CEO of BOMA Greater Seattle, told the DJC that the economic impact should not be considered solely a downtown Seattle office-building story.

The activity encompasses a broader network of commercial properties and service providers. Property managers, building engineers, contractors, maintenance and repair firms, utility providers, security companies and suppliers all form part of the operational system required to keep commercial buildings functioning.

Kauffman said money spent on operating properties continues to circulate through the regional economy.

The Seattle commercial property footprint has also changed considerably over the past decade. The material supplied for the report states that office inventory in the Seattle market increased from approximately 47 million square feet in 2016 to more than 86 million square feet today, while industrial, medical, research, biotech and retail property sectors have also expanded.

Why do commercial buildings still require operations when offices are partly empty?

One of the central issues highlighted by the Seattle findings is the continuing cost of operating buildings during periods of reduced office occupancy.

The shift towards working from home and hybrid working arrangements has changed traditional office-use patterns. The supplied report places downtown Seattle’s office vacancy rate at approximately 35.8% to 37%, based on industry reports.

However, lower occupancy does not mean that the physical building can simply operate at a similar percentage of its normal capacity.

Kauffman explained that a building operating at 50% occupancy may still need to be run as though it were fully occupied in many respects.

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems still need to be operated. Lifts must remain available. Security systems must function, repairs must be carried out and preventive maintenance must continue. Inspections and compliance testing also remain necessary.

Hybrid working creates another operational challenge because occupancy can vary considerably from one day to another.

An office designed for 30 employees might have only seven or eight people present on a particular day. Nevertheless, the building’s fundamental systems still need to function.

How are building managers responding to higher vacancies?

The study does not suggest that reduced occupancy has removed operating pressures from property managers.

Instead, Kauffman told the DJC that managers can sometimes seek savings by re-bidding service contracts or reducing janitorial services when vacancies are sufficiently high.

However, he said cuts are limited because buildings still require a certain level of staffing and services regardless of whether every available office is occupied.

This distinction is important in understanding the employment figures in the BOMA study.

The number of people physically working inside a commercial building is not the same as the number of people whose employment depends on that building’s operation.

A building may have fewer tenants but still require engineers, cleaners, security personnel, contractors, maintenance workers, utility services and property management.

Kauffman said the BOMA findings show that commercial properties continue to employ people, buy services and support businesses even when vacancy levels are higher.

What role does the life sciences property sector play in Seattle?

The BOMA study separately examines life sciences real estate because these properties have operational requirements that differ from conventional office buildings.

Life sciences properties can combine characteristics of office and industrial buildings. They may require specialised heating, ventilation and laboratory systems, alongside substantial mechanical and utility infrastructure.

Across the life sciences markets examined in 2025, building operations supported 22,357 jobs, generated $1.4 billion in labour income and contributed $2.2 billion to GDP, producing approximately $3.7 billion in total economic output.

In the Greater Seattle market, life sciences building operations generated approximately $159.5 million in economic output and supported more than 900 jobs, according to the supplied study findings.

The sector has also been adjusting following several years of rapid expansion.

The report says new development is increasingly moving towards projects with committed tenants and pre-leasing agreements rather than speculative construction. This indicates a shift in development patterns as the life sciences property market adjusts to changing demand.

How are data centres changing the US commercial construction market?

The BOMA study also provides a broader picture of changes taking place within commercial real estate construction.

One of the most notable developments is the rapid growth of data centre construction.

BOMA notes that federal statistics classify data centres as private office construction. As a result, data centre development can have a substantial effect on headline office construction figures even though these facilities serve very different operational purposes from conventional offices.

According to the study, data centres accounted for approximately $41.2 billion, or nearly 46%, of more than $90 billion in private office construction in 2025.

A decade earlier, data centres represented less than 5% of the category, according to BOMA’s analysis.

The distinction is relevant when interpreting office construction statistics because the headline category now includes a much larger proportion of data centre investment than it did in the past.

What happened to industrial and retail construction in 2025?

Industrial construction remained at historically high levels in 2025.

Warehouse and manufacturing construction totalled approximately $274.2 billion, according to BOMA’s study. That represented a 7.9% decline from 2024, but investment remained more than twice the 2020 level and represented the third-highest annual total on record.

Retail construction totalled approximately $47.1 billion in 2025, while activity increased during the first three months of 2026.

These figures form part of the study’s wider examination of the commercial property market rather than being direct measures of Washington’s building operations.

The construction data nevertheless provide context for the scale and changing composition of the US commercial real estate sector.

How was the BOMA economic impact study conducted?

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 commercial real estate data from CoStar and operating expense information from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF).

BOMA said researchers used the 528-sector IMPLAN input-output model and its Multi-Regional Input-Output framework to calculate direct, indirect and induced economic impacts associated with building operations.

The main analysis covers office, retail and industrial properties across 79 BOMA markets.

A separate life sciences analysis covers 17 markets where sufficient data were available.

The methodology means the reported economic contribution is broader than payroll directly paid by property owners and managers. It also incorporates activity generated through suppliers, contractors, services and wider spending.

What is the background to BOMA’s 2026 commercial real estate study?

BOMA International’s 2026 Market Study is designed to quantify the economic contribution of commercial real estate operations across the association’s US markets.

BOMA describes the study as an examination of how office, retail and industrial properties contribute to jobs, economic output and local economies. Its analysis also considers activity beyond the businesses occupying the properties, including day-to-day operations and investment.

The study arrives at a time when the commercial real estate market is being reshaped by changes in workplace patterns, industrial demand, e-commerce and the expansion of data centres.

For Washington, the headline figures show the scale of the operational economy surrounding commercial property: 71,800 supported jobs, $7.6 billion in state GDP contribution and $4.9 billion in personal earnings across nearly 676 million square feet of commercial property.

At the Seattle and King County level, the study identifies an even larger concentration of commercial property and associated economic activity, with about 602 million square feet generating more than $10.3 billion in total economic output.

How could the findings affect Washington’s commercial property sector?

The available evidence indicates that the findings provide a measure of the continuing economic activity associated with operating commercial buildings, including during a period of changing office occupancy.

For Washington’s commercial property owners, managers, contractors, suppliers and building-service companies, the figures illustrate the scale of the economic network connected to property operations. The Seattle findings also indicate that reduced office occupancy does not remove the underlying requirement for building systems, maintenance, security, utilities and compliance functions.

For businesses and workers linked to commercial property operations, the study provides an estimate of the employment and income associated with that activity. For policymakers and regional economic researchers, it offers a framework for assessing commercial real estate not only through construction or property values but also through the continuing expenditure required to operate existing buildings.

The report does not, however, establish that these levels of economic activity will necessarily increase or decrease in the future. Its figures describe the economic impacts calculated from the data and methodology used by the researchers. BOMA’s national study and the Seattle DJC report provide the available evidence for understanding the present scale of the sector.