- When looking at office-using employment across the information, financial activities, and professional & business services sectors from 2019 to 2025, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the South and West stand out as the country’s clear growth leaders.
- Southern MSAs, in particular, have become primary drivers of U.S. office-using employment growth, fueled by strong population inflows, lower operating costs, and a wave of corporate relocations to Sun Belt markets like Austin, Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Charlotte. These markets continue to attract employers with expanding talent pools, business-friendly tax structures, more attainable housing, and modern office space that supports evolving workplace and return-to-office strategies.
- Western MSAs also recorded meaningful growth in office-using employment between 2019 and 2025, driven by many of the same factors that supported expansion in Sun Belt markets, including population growth, business formation, and access to highly skilled labor. While some of these markets like San Diego and San Jose generally lacked the tax advantages seen in many southern states, they benefited from strong innovation-driven economies and industry specialization in the tech, defense, and life science sectors.
- As a result, many high-growth Sun Belt markets have posted some of the strongest office fundamentals nationwide, benefitting from healthier demand, stronger occupancy trends, and elevated leasing activity. Meanwhile, several higher-cost gateway markets have experienced a more gradual recovery, with Manhattan remaining a notable outlier.
U.S. office-using employment growth finds a new home in southern and western metros
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Tucker White
U.S. Office and Life Sciences Lead, Market Intelligence
Boston, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York
Research, Market Intelligence
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