Economic Overview
Greater Columbus’s unemployment rate fell significantly year-over-year (YOY) to 3.1% in Q3 2026, well below the national rate of 4.2%. According to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Ohio’s population has grown by 0.9% since 2020. Among its 88 counties, the five fastest-growing counties in the state were located in Central Ohio. Union County was the fastest growing in the state at 16.5%, followed by Delaware (12.5%), Pickaway (7.4%), Madison (7.1%) and Fairfield (6.5%) Counties. Nearby Licking County was ranked 8th on the list at 3.8%.
Supply And Demand
Overall vacancy in Greater Columbus has declined for the eighth consecutive quarter. As of Q3 2026, the vacancy rate was 3.4%, down 390 basis points (bps) YOY. The vacancy decline was even more pronounced in the modern bulk distribution category, where YOY vacancy dropped more than 600 bps to 4.1% in Q3 2026. As vacancy tightened, the development pipeline expanded to 17.2 million square feet (msf) in Q3 2026, roughly triple its size a year earlier. Outside of projects currently under construction, 4.0 msf was delivered through the first three quarters of 2026.
Quarterly net absorption has been extremely consistent in 2026, at or above 3.7 msf. Year-to-date (YTD) 2026 net absorption of 11.2 msf was nearly identical to the full-year 2025 total of 11.4 msf. Net absorption for 2026 was already higher than the full-year totals of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The largest drivers of positive Q3 2026 absorption involved logistics firms. Crane Worldwide Logistics moved into the entire 833,000-sf facility at 1020 Enterprise Parkway in Madison County. Near Rickenbacker Airport, Ryder Logistics leased 482,000 sf at 9224 Intermodal Court and Redhawk Logistics took 434,000 sf at 6360 Port Road.
New leasing activity totaled 5.7 msf in Q3 2026, the highest single quarter of activity since mid-2021. YTD 2026 leasing totaled 13.9 msf, which already exceeded full-year totals for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Leasing activity is an indicator of future quarterly net absorption.
Pricing
Across all categories, the overall average net asking rate was $6.98 per square foot (psf) in Q3 2026, up 7.7% YOY. Asking rates have been above the $6.25 psf threshold for 13 of the past 14 quarters.
