For the second year in a row, Texas was behind only New York in total commercial real estate spending in 2016.
Commercial property construction expenditures topped $18.5 billion in the Lone Star State last year. And development supported 310,994 Texas jobs, according to the new report by the NAIOP Research Foundation, a commercial real estate study organization.
"The importance of commercial development to the U.S. economy is well established, and the industry's growth is critical to creating new jobs, improving infrastructure and creating places to work, shop and play," Thomas Bisacquino, NAIOP president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. "Commercial real estate is a robust contributor to national and state economies."
Nationwide, the commercial development and construction industry contributed $861 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product last year. And the industry supported 6.25 million jobs, the new report said.
Construction spending across the country has gone up almost 50 percent since 2011. And Texas has been one of the biggest contributors.
New York State, with $24.8 billion in direct commercial real estate spending, topped Texas in 2016, according to the NAIOP estimates.
California was third with $14.3 billion in spending in the commercial development and construction sector.
The annual study adds up hard and soft costs for a variety of real estate projects, including office buildings, warehouses, industrial plants and retail and entertainment building.
Texas was first in the country in retail and entertainment spending, with $4.1 billion in construction last year. It ranked second for office development ($8.4 billion) and warehouse construction ($3 billion).
Nationwide, 410 million square feet of office, retail, warehouse and industrial space was built in 2016, with capacity to house more than 1 million new workers, according to the NAIOP study.
