A market in motion: Northern Virginia tenant industry mix remains concentrated despite volatility

Year over year, there is fluctuation in Northern Virginia’s leasing activity by tenant industry, but the overall composition remains concentrated within the top seven industries. Since 2020, the top three industries by total lease volume have accounted for nearly half of all leases signed: Tech (21.3%), Defense (16.4%), and Consulting/Accounting firms (11.7%).

Historically, federal agencies have been key contributors to Northern Virginia’s leasing activity. So far in 2025, agencies have accounted for just 0.3% of total leasing activity, driven by DOGE’s efforts to reduce spending and rightsize existing leases to align with updated agency space requirements. 

Engineering/Architecture firms have experienced the largest growth in annual leasing relative to other industries, increasing from 2.3% in 2020 to 15.8% so far this year. This is followed by Finance/Insurance firms that have increased from 5.8% to 14.0% during the same period. 

Simultaneously, Tech tenants’ share of leasing has declined from 31.2% in 2020 to 14.6% this year. Despite news around notable tenants like Scale AI signing large leases in 2025, the tech industry’s overall share of leasing has declined over the past 6 years.