Commercial buildings form a large, diverse U.S. property stock measured through both building-level surveys and construction-spending reports. The figures below describe the 2018 commercial building stock and energy profile, alongside 2024–2025 construction values; the two source systems measure different things and should not be treated as one time series.
Key Commercial Building Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2018, 5.9 million commercial buildings were estimated in the United States.
- In 2018, 96 billion square feet of commercial floorspace were estimated in the United States.
- In 2018, U.S. commercial buildings used 6,787 trillion Btu of energy.
- In 2018, U.S. commercial building energy expenditures were estimated at $141 billion.
- In 2018, warehouse/storage, office and service buildings represented 48% of U.S. commercial buildings.
- In 2018, warehouse/storage, office and education buildings represented 50% of U.S. commercial floorspace.
- In 2018, office, mercantile and education buildings represented 43% of U.S. commercial building energy use.
- In 2018, the average U.S. commercial building measured 16,300 square feet.
- In 2018, the average U.S. hospital measured 264,800 square feet.
- In 2018, the average U.S. lodging building measured 33,700 square feet.
- In 2018, the average U.S. education building measured 31,100 square feet.
- In 2018, the average U.S. food-service building measured 4,800 square feet.
- In 2018, office buildings used 775 trillion Btu of electricity in the United States.
- In 2018, inpatient heating intensity was 62.6 thousand Btu per square foot in the United States.
- In 2018, food-service cooling intensity was 19.1 thousand Btu per square foot in the United States.
- In 2025, private nonresidential construction reached $742.4 billion in the United States.
- In 2025, public construction reached $516.8 billion in the United States.
- In March 2025, private commercial construction was reported at a $117.470 billion seasonally adjusted annual rate.
- In March 2025, public commercial construction reached $6.619 billion.
Contents
- U.S. commercial building stock and floorspace
- Commercial building activity and size
- Commercial building energy consumption and expenditures
- Commercial building energy intensity and end uses
- Commercial construction spending trends
- Public and private nonresidential construction
U.S. Commercial Building Stock and Floorspace Statistics
The Energy Information Administration’s 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) estimated 5.9 million commercial buildings and 96 billion square feet of commercial floorspace in the United States. CBECS covers commercial buildings over 1,000 square feet, and its totals are weighted estimates rather than a simple count of every property.
Source: 2018 CBECS: Principal Building Activities.
The same 2018 CBECS estimates put total commercial-building energy use at 6,787 trillion Btu and energy expenditures at $141 billion. These figures describe the survey’s 2018 measurement period; they are not 2025 updates.
| 2018 U.S. commercial-building measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Buildings | 5.9 million |
| Floorspace | 96 billion square feet |
| Energy use | 6,787 trillion Btu |
| Energy expenditures | $141 billion |
CBECS also groups the stock in different ways depending on the denominator. Warehouse/storage, office and service buildings accounted for 48% of buildings, while warehouse/storage, office and education accounted for 50% of floorspace; office, mercantile and education accounted for 43% of energy use.
Commercial Building Activity and Size Data
Commercial building size varies substantially by principal activity. In the 2018 CBECS estimates, the average building measured 16,300 square feet, but hospitals and lodging properties were much larger than food-service buildings.
| Principal activity | Average building size, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Hospital | 264,800 square feet |
| Lodging | 33,700 square feet |
| Education | 31,100 square feet |
| Health care | 29,300 square feet |
| Outpatient | 13,700 square feet |
| Food service | 4,800 square feet |
The averages are activity-specific estimates, so they should not be read as a typical size for every property in a category. The health-care and outpatient measures also represent separate CBECS activity groupings.
The 2018 CBECS principal-activity report is the source for these size estimates: 2018 CBECS: Principal Building Activities.
Commercial Building Energy Consumption and Expenditures Statistics
CBECS models commercial-building energy use across 10 end-use categories. The modeled end-use values are estimates, and the source’s building, floorspace and energy groupings use different categories and denominators.
Office buildings accounted for 775 trillion Btu of electricity in 2018, while office natural-gas use was 250 trillion Btu. Education buildings used 328 trillion Btu of natural gas in the same U.S. measurement period.
| Activity and energy measure | 2018 estimate |
|---|---|
| Office electricity | 775 trillion Btu |
| Office natural gas | 250 trillion Btu |
| Education natural gas | 328 trillion Btu |
The broader activity grouping is also important for interpreting totals: warehouse/storage, office and service comprise the 48% building grouping, while office, mercantile and education comprise the 43% energy grouping. The latter grouping is reported in the EIA’s commercial-building materials as a share of energy use, not as a share of the building count.
Source: 2018 CBECS: Principal Building Activities.
Commercial Building Energy Intensity and End-Use Data
Energy intensity differs by both activity and end use. In 2018, inpatient heating intensity was 62.6 thousand Btu per square foot, while inpatient ventilation intensity was 28.6 thousand Btu per square foot.
Food-service cooling intensity was 19.1 thousand Btu per square foot in 2018. These values are modeled estimates, and the source’s end-use measures should not be interpreted as direct utility-bill observations for every individual building.
| End use and activity | 2018 intensity |
|---|---|
| Inpatient heating | 62.6 thousand Btu/square foot |
| Inpatient ventilation | 28.6 thousand Btu/square foot |
| Food-service cooling | 19.1 thousand Btu/square foot |
The CBECS overview identifies the survey as a source for commercial-building energy consumption and expenditures: Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey. The principal-activity tables provide the activity-level measures: 2018 CBECS: Principal Building Activities.
Commercial Construction Spending Statistics and Trends
Census construction reports measure the value of construction put in place, not the existing commercial-building stock. The December 2025 report lists $1,647.5 billion in private construction in 2025, compared with $1,696.0 billion in 2024, and reports private construction down 2.9% in 2025.
Within that report, private residential construction was $905.2 billion in 2025 versus $929.5 billion in 2024, a 2.6% decline. Private nonresidential construction was $742.4 billion in 2025 versus $766.5 billion in 2024, a 3.1% decline.
| Construction category | 2024 | 2025 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private construction | $1,696.0 billion | $1,647.5 billion | Down 2.9% |
| Private residential | $929.5 billion | $905.2 billion | Down 2.6% |
| Private nonresidential | $766.5 billion | $742.4 billion | Down 3.1% |
These are national construction-spending figures for the stated years, and Census figures are subject to revision. Source: Value of Construction Put in Place, December 2025.
Public and Private Nonresidential Construction Statistics
Public construction moved differently from private construction in the 2025 Census report. Public construction was $516.8 billion in 2025, compared with $498.7 billion in 2024, an increase of 3.6%.
Public educational construction reached $113.0 billion in 2025 from $112.4 billion in 2024, up 0.5%. Public highway construction was $141.9 billion in 2025 versus $143.2 billion in 2024, down 0.9%.
| Public construction category | 2024 | 2025 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total public construction | $498.7 billion | $516.8 billion | Up 3.6% |
| Educational construction | $112.4 billion | $113.0 billion | Up 0.5% |
| Highway construction | $143.2 billion | $141.9 billion | Down 0.9% |
Monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates provide a shorter-period view. In March 2025, private commercial construction was $117.470 billion SAAR, compared with $124.683 billion in March 2024, and was reported down 5.8% year over year.
Public commercial construction was $6.619 billion in March 2025 versus $4.718 billion in March 2024, up 40.3% year over year. The monthly figures are revisable and should not be treated as completed annual spending.
For March 2025, public office construction was $16.530 billion SAAR, public health-care construction was $15.551 billion SAAR, and public educational construction was $109.956 billion SAAR.
Source: Value of Construction Put in Place, December 2025. Census construction spending measures value put in place, and monthly figures are revisable.