Q1 2025 Office Market Ranking Report: Coworking Space Continues Momentum, Office Vacancy & Asking Rates Still Adjusting

Caution and financially strategic investment still prevail across the U.S. office sector: While some recovery has occurred in the national market, it has not been equally distributed. Specifically, top-tier properties in key locations still significantly outperform other tiers in terms of leasing and occupancy.

And, while the effect of recent economic policies has not yet had a noticeable effect on office demand, leasing still tends to show a preference for a reduced tenant footprint and increased flexibility. Furthermore, the importance of flexibility is also notable in the continued expansion of the coworking segment, where data showed increased momentum across a greater number of markets during the first three months of the year.

Below, we ranked the 100 largest office markets in the country by comparing their performances in terms of fundamentals — including asking rent, vacancy, market expansion and loan maturities — and scoring how each of them kicked off the year.

“As the sector continues to undergo significant cultural and technological shifts, flexibility still seems to be doing a great job at filling a much-needed gap for working professionals. Corporations are also making coworking space a growing portion of their overall footprint as flexibility in size, terms, and pricing remain essential benefits.”

Peter Kolaczynski, Director, CommercialEdge

Key Takeaways

Top 10 Office Markets in Q1

• Boston, Baltimore and Orange County, Calif., topped the ranking of largest office markets in Q1 2025.
• Eight of the 10 best-performing mid-sized markets in Q1 were concentrated east of the Mississippi, including four hailing from Florida alone.

Top Scores for Each Ranking Metric Category (jump to section)

• Vacancy: Though rates continued to inch up during Q1, more markets saw larger quarter-over-quarter slips in office vacancy compared to Q4.
• Asking rent: Rents continue to adjust across the sector with roughly half of the markets we compared seeing values trending upward in Q1.
• Office construction: More than 9 million square feet of office space was added in Q1 across 37 of the markets analyzed.
• Coworking space: Data showed quarter-over-quarter growth of the coworking segment in nearly 30% of the office markets we compared.
• Loan maturities: In 41 of the markets we compared, less than 10% (each) of future loans are due to mature in 2025.
• Search trends: Online search trends for office, as well as for coworking space, showed notable increases in interest compared to Q1 2024.

Boston remained the best-performing large office market for the third quarter in a row, scoring nearly 67 points out of a potential 100 across the indicators we analyzed in Q1 2025. Boston’s best performances this past quarter stemmed from the expansion of its local coworking scene, future expansion of its office market and its office vacancy rate.

Specifically, Boston scored second-highest for amount of coworking space added during Q1, as well as what that space meant in terms of increase of the share of coworking out of total office in the market. Additionally, Boston earned the third-highest score for the percentage of office stock under construction at the start of the year. It also had the fourth-lowest office vacancy rate among the larger markets analyzed for this ranking report.

With a total of a little more than 66 points out of 100, Baltimore scored very closely behind Boston to rank as the second-best office market in Q1 2025. Office vacancy here was the sixth-lowest of the large markets we ranked. Notably, this marked the largest percentage-point drop from Q4 2024, an indicator for which Baltimore earned the top score on the Q1 scale for this indicator. And, while office space completed here during Q1 was the second-most square footage delivered, it nevertheless represented the largest market expansion as a percentage of stock.

Orange County, Calif., scored third-best in Q1 2025 (63 points) among office markets larger than 100 million square feet. Within this group, the Orange County office market earned the top score for year-over-year increase in average asking rate, as well as for its comparatively good outlook in terms of loan maturities due in 2025. Additionally, office space here had the fifth-lowest vacancy rate during the first quarter of the year, right behind Boston and slightly ahead of Baltimore.

Next, Los Angeles earned the fourth-best score in Q1 2025. The California market sported the second-lowest vacancy rate, and office space here saw one of the 10 largest increases in average asking rent during the previous 12 months. In this case, the local coworking scene also earned Los Angeles some noteworthy scores: Coworking space added here during the first quarter of the year received the third-highest score and represented the sixth-largest increase in the share of coworking space out of the total office space in the market.

Then, Minneapolis-St. Paul rounded out the top five for office markets larger than 100 million square feet. It’s worth noting here that the Twin Cities office market kicked off the year with the lowest vacancy rate of the quarter within this ranking group. The growth of the local coworking scene also equated to top-10 scores both in terms of coworking square footage added during Q1 (ninth-most) and for the share of coworking out of the total office space (seventh-largest).

Placing sixth-best among large markets in Q1 2025, Phoenix earned top-10 scores for most of the indicators we compared for the purposes of this ranking. More precisely, the Arizona office market saw the fourth-highest percentage-point dip in vacancy rate compared to the previous quarter, and office space here had the seventh-lowest vacancy at the close of Q1 among markets larger than 100 million square feet. Phoenix also added the sixth-most office space during the first three months of the year, which represented the fourth-largest market expansion as a percentage of stock. Its fourth-best finish for loans that are expected to mature in the market by the close of the year was another strong performance.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex landed seventh in the Q1 2025 office markets ranking. Its best-performing indicators were its year-over-year increase in average asking rent (second-highest score, behind Orange County); new office space delivered during Q1 (third-highest score); and loan maturities due in 2025 (seventh-best score among markets larger than 100 million square feet).

New Jersey placed eighth-best in Q1 2025 among office markets larger than 100 million square feet. Here, office space delivered during the first three months of the year made for the seventh-largest market expansion in terms of square footage added, as well as eighth-largest when looking at it as a percentage of stock. Moreover, the market placed third-best for office property loans maturing this year. New Jersey also had the eighth-lowest vacancy rate in Q1, following what was the fifth-largest percentage-point dip compared to the previous quarter.

Washington, D.C. earned the ninth-best score of the large markets compared in our ranking. The capital’s strongest suits in Q1 2025 included loans maturing this year (fifth-best score), as well as the office market expansion in terms of square footage added since the start of the year (eighth-best) and as a percentage of stock (ninth-best).

Not to be outdone, Manhattan, N.Y., wrapped up the top 10 office markets larger than 100 million square feet in Q1 2025. The East Coast powerhouse claimed the third-lowest office vacancy rate at the close of Q1, following a very modest dip from Q4. Recent reports show that not only did leasing activity in the country’s premier office market remain strong in recent months, but sublease inventory also shrank and premium office spaces are quickly claimed.

With a total score of nearly 72 points out of 100, Florida’s Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ranked first among office markets with less than 100 million square feet in Q1 2025. The market earned the top score for having added the most office square footage during the first three months of the year — an expansion that ranked third when considering it as a percentage of stock. The local pipeline-related strengths were also apparent in upcoming projects as its percentage of stock under construction in Q1 was the second-highest among markets this size in the ranking.

On the opposite coast, Inland Empire, Calif., earned the second-best score in this ranking group. Among office markets with less than 100 million square feet, the Inland Empire held its position for the lowest vacancy rate, despite a roughly one-percentage-point increase compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, office deliveries here during the first three months of this year represented the fourth-largest market expansion, both in terms of square footage and as a percentage of stock.

Back east, Miami earned the third-best score among the mid-sized entries in our ranking. The development pipeline here continued to be the Florida market’s strongest suit with office space under construction in Q1 making for the third-largest market expansion as a percentage of stock among ranking entries smaller than 100 million square feet.

The third Florida market to rank among this top-10 echelon, West Palm Beach scored fourth-best. Here, the under-construction pipeline in Q1 2025 earned the highest score for percentage of office stock in development. What’s more, the office vacancy rate in West Palm Beach was the third-lowest in the group.

Next, Omaha, Neb., placed fifth in the ranking among office markets with less than 100 million square feet. Its best-performing local indicators in Q1 pertained to the expansion of the coworking scene (scoring second-best for growth in terms of square footage and as share of coworking out of total office); office space in development (fourth-most office space under construction as a percentage of stock); and the office vacancy rate in the market (fourth-lowest among the smaller markets in our ranking).

Further east, Lexington, Ky., ranked sixth-best with a total score of nearly 60 points out of 100. Of the office markets with less than 100 million square feet compared in this ranking, Lexington had the lowest share of loans maturing this year, which earned it a top score for this indicator. And, while office square footage delivered during the first three months of this year scored 12^th, it nevertheless represented the second-largest quarterly market expansion as a percentage of stock.

Nearby, Columbus, Ohio — which landed seventh in this ranking group — performed its best for office market expansion and asking rent trends. Specifically, the office space delivered during Q1 2025 represented the seventh-most square footage among markets in this ranking group and was 11^th-highest when considering it as a percentage of stock. At the same time, the average asking rent for office space in Columbus saw the eighth-largest increase from Q1 2024, scoring closely behind Charlotte, N.C., for this performance indicator.

Speaking of Charlotte, the North Carolina entry was the eighth-best scoring market in Q1 among entries with less than 100 million square feet of office space: Average asking rents for office space saw the seventh-largest increase year-over-year. In fact, Charlotte was one of only nine markets in this ranking where rents went up more than 10% since Q1 2024.

Not to be outdone, White Plains, N.Y., earned the ninth-best score in Q1 2025 by sporting a comparatively low share of office property loans maturing this year (sixth-lowest), the seventh-largest under-construction pipeline as a percentage of stock, and the fifth-largest dip in vacancy rate from the previous quarter.

Finally, Orlando, Fla., wrapped up the top 10 and was the fourth Florida market to rank among the 10 best in Q1. Here, the average asking rent for office space showed the fourth-largest increase in 12 months, while the vacancy rate dipped a modest half-percentage point from the previous quarter — all with less than 1% of stock under construction in Q1 2025. Expansion of the coworking scene was Orlando’s best-performing indicator since the start of the year after it added the sixth-most coworking square footage during the first three months of 2025.

Methodology

For this ranking, we compared the 100 largest office markets in the U.S. (by total office space square footage) across several indicators — office space lease rate, vacancy, the local coworking segment, pipeline activity, loan maturities, and online search interest for each location on the list. All individual ranking metrics are explained further below.

We based our analysis on commercial real estate data and research from CommercialEdge, CoworkingCafe, and Yardi Matrix, as well as analysis of Google search trends. For a fairer comparison, we divided the dataset into two groups and chose the cutoff threshold to be 100 million square feet. Each group was then comparatively ranked separately. Furthermore, to account for the occasional percentage-value volatility in markets with low leasing activity, the final rankings include only those markets where the average asking lease rate was calculated based on at least 100 listings.

A certain number of maximum points was attributed to each metric. This total was evenly distributed between the lowest and highest metric values in each of the two groups. On this scale, a score was calculated for each location based on its metric values. The factors (metrics or indicators) on which we based the composite scores are explained below.

For average vacancy rate and loan maturity rate, the number of points awarded was inversely proportional to the metric values. For all other indicators, the number of points awarded was directly proportional to the metric values.