Austin Leads U.S. Office-Using Job Growth at 34% as Vacancy Holds at 22.4%
Updated
Updated · Bisnow · Jun 15
Austin Leads U.S. Office-Using Job Growth at 34% as Vacancy Holds at 22.4%
1 articles · Updated · Bisnow · Jun 15
Summary
Austin posted roughly 34% office-using employment growth from 2019 to 2025, the fastest among U.S. cities, with Raleigh next at about 23% in Avison Young’s ranking.
That hiring strength has not yet erased oversupply: Austin’s office vacancy rate was 22.4% in Q1, essentially flat from 22.5% a year earlier and still above the 18.6% national average.
Nearly 14 million square feet of office space has been delivered since 2020, but new construction is now slowing sharply, with only 756,000 square feet expected to be completed by the end of Q3.
Demand is improving as Austin logged positive net absorption in Q1 and 110 tenants sought 4.4 million square feet, echoing CBRE’s report of an eighth straight quarter of positive U.S. office demand.
Avison Young expects vacancy has likely peaked and should decline gradually over the next year, though gains are expected to show up first in trophy and Class-A buildings while older stock lags.