Why Companies Are Racing to Secure Big-Box Warehouses Across Four Key U.S. Cities

Which U.S. Cities Lead the Big-Box Warehouse Market?

Recent leasing data shows four standout markets for large warehouses: Oklahoma City, Nashville, Richmond and Columbus.

Oklahoma City Warehouses

A market dominated by owner-users, so leasable space is naturally tight.

Hobby Lobby alone controls 11M+ sq ft and added another 1.9M sq ft facility last year.

Spec buildings lease quickly to major users like Amazon and Walmart.

Big-box leasing is up 56% vs. pre-pandemic.

Nashville Warehouses

One of the fastest-growing warehouse markets since 2010, adding 35M+ sq ft.

Despite heavy construction, demand stays strong:

Leasing above 100k sq ft is 56% higher than the 2015–2019 average, and vacancy only rose about 3% since 2020.

Richmond Warehouses

Strong in both big-box and small-bay segments.

Big-box vacancy is only 7.2%, just 2% above the 2021 low.

New builds lease fast — only 15% of post-2021 inventory remains vacant.

Lower costs and I-95 access draw major tenants such as Amazon, Lowe’s and Trader Joe’s.

Columbus Warehouses

A Midwest logistics hub with direct access to I-70, I-71 and I-270.Stable population and job growth support consistent industrial demand.

Ranks top-10 nationwide for leases above 50k sq ft.

These four cities win because demand is real, new buildings get leased quickly, and their logistics networks support large-scale distribution. If you’re choosing a U.S. warehouse location, they’re the markets worth benchmarking.