Tampa landed at No. 2 on CoStar’s list of the top 10 U.S. retail markets for 2025, a Sun Belt-heavy ranking built around tight space, steady rent gains and durable investor returns, not one-time leasing spikes.
CoStar’s 2025 “retail league table” evaluated 43 U.S. markets with at least 100 million sq ft of retail inventory.
The company said it weighted five metrics equally: percent of inventory leased, availability rate, market rent growth, year-over-year change in sales volume and total return for retail properties measured by its market price index.
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Across the full 43 market set, CoStar reported averages of 4.6% availability, 1.8% asking rent growth and 6.6% total return.
Tampa did not lead any single category, but it scored well across all five measures.
CoStar reported Tampa at 2% of inventory leased, a 3.8% availability rate, 4.5% asking rent growth and a 7.8% total return.
CoStar attributed Tampa’s performance to continued population inflows and limited retail availability, conditions that support demand even when capital markets stay selective.
Why the ranking matters for Tampa Bay
Retail is a real time read on a region’s growth.
When availability stays tight and rents still move up, it usually signals sustained household formation, job growth and daily spending power across a metro, not just a single headline lease.
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For business owners, the data points to two realities at once
- Landlords still have leverage in many submarkets when space is limited and demand is steady.
- Tenants have to be sharper on site selection, timing and buildout decisions as costs rise and options narrow.
The top 10 markets, and what drove them
Charlotte topped CoStar’s list, jumping from sixth in 2024. CoStar reported Charlotte at 7.4% asking rent growth and an 11.6% total return, with a 3.4% availability rate and 1.4% of inventory leased.
Brandon Svec, CoStar’s national director of retail analytics, said Sun Belt cities continue to dominate due to demographic growth and business-friendly conditions, and he pointed to Charlotte’s disciplined supply pipeline.
Orlando ranked third, with CoStar reporting 2.3% of inventory leased, 4.8% rent growth, a 4.4% availability rate and a 10.2% total return despite a modest dip in sales volume.
Dallas placed fourth, boosted by a 113.6% jump in sales volume alongside 2.1% of inventory leased, 5.1% availability and 3.4% rent growth, producing a 7.5% total return.
Norfolk rounded out the top five. CoStar reported it had the highest leased share among the top 10 at 2.4% of inventory leased, with 5.2% availability, 4.5% rent growth and a 10.4% total return.
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Kansas City ranked sixth, offsetting a 5% availability rate with 3.8% rent growth, nearly 60% sales volume growth and a 9.6% total return.
Nashville came in seventh, with 5.2% rent growth, an 11.1% total return and a 3.7% availability rate.
Miami ranked eighth, driven by scarcity. CoStar reported 2.8% availability, 7.6% total return and a 75.7% increase in sales volume, even as rent growth was modest at 1.2%.
Phoenix placed ninth, with 4.9% rent growth, 4.9% availability and a 9% total return.
Columbus rounded out the list at No. 10. CoStar reported a 3.6% availability rate, 2.9% rent growth and a 10.2% total return, even with a 14.7% decline in sales volume.
What to watch next
If Tampa is going to keep showing up near the top of lists like this, the swing factors will be simple: how much new retail product gets delivered, where it lands and whether household growth continues to outpace supply.
If availability remains tight, rent pressure and tenant competition usually follow.