The 20 states with the most mall space, in descending order.
Forget the Prozac nation, we’re a nation of shoppers. When it comes to therapy, many people believe that spending money takes the edge off things. The majority of mall space in the U.S., is concentrated along the Eastern seaboard and in the mid-Atlantic states, loosely following the population density of the country. That’s where many of the most vigorous battles over land use are taking place — in prized metropolitan areas with attractive demographics and virtually no land left to develop.
1
CALIFORNIA
116 million square feet of gross leasable space
2
TEXAS
80 million square feet
3
FLORIDA
64.6 million square feet
4
NEW YORK
56.4 million square feet
5
OHIO
52.4 million square feet
6
PENNSYLVANIA
50.8 million square feet
7
ILLINOIS
44.9 million square feet
8
MICHIGAN
36.4 million square feet
9
VIRGINIA
31.6 million square feet
10
NEW JERSEY
30.6 million square feet
11
GEORGIA
28.3 million square feet
12
NORTH CAROLINA
27.4 million square feet
13
MARYLAND
27.2 million square feet
14
MASSACHUSETTS
23.6 million square feet
15
INDIANA
22.6 million square feet
16
WASHINGTON
22.5 million square feet
17
MISSOURI
21.9 million square feet
18
TENNESSEE
20.9 million square feet
19
COLORADO
19 million square feet
20
ARIZONA
17.3 million square feet
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS; RESEARCH QUARTERLY; VOL. 8, “IT’S A (S)MALL WORLD AFTER ALL”