Short answer: small warehouse and flex space in North Texas generally runs $15–20 per square foot per year all-in once taxes, insurance, and maintenance are included. For a 1,950–2,000 SF unit with a finished office, that works out to roughly $2,400–$3,300 per month.
The number you see advertised is usually the base rate, which is not what you pay. The rest of this guide shows you how to find the real number and compare quotes fairly.
How commercial rent is quoted
Residential rent is quoted monthly. Commercial rent is quoted per square foot per year, which trips up almost everyone leasing their first space. The conversion is simple:
- Annual rent = square footage × rate per SF
- Monthly rent = annual rent ÷ 12
So a 2,000 SF space quoted at $15/SF/yr is $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month. A space quoted at $18/SF/yr is $3,000 per month. Small differences in the rate move the monthly number more than people expect. A $3/SF difference on 2,000 SF is $500 a month, or $30,000 across a five-year term.
Why the quoted rate is not what you pay
Most industrial and flex space is quoted triple net (written NNN). That means the advertised rate covers the building only, and three categories of cost get billed to you on top:
- Property taxes. your proportional share of the building's tax bill. In Texas, with no state income tax, property taxes carry more of the load and this line is meaningful.
- Insurance. The landlord's property insurance, passed through.
- Common-area maintenance (CAM). parking lot, landscaping, exterior lighting, shared plumbing, management fees.
Those three commonly add $3–5 per square foot per year, though it varies by building and year. A space advertised at $13/SF/yr can realistically cost $16–18/SF/yr by the time you are actually paying it. That is not a scam, it is standard practice, but it means a listing price is not comparable to another listing price unless you know what each one includes.
The one question that cuts through it: "What is my total monthly payment, including every pass-through, and which utilities am I separately responsible for?" If a landlord or broker cannot answer that in a single number, you do not have a quote yet. You have a starting point.
What the North Texas market is charging
Market reference points as of late 2025 / early 2026, for the DFW and North Texas industrial and flex market:
| Reference point | Figure | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| DFW flex average | ~$13.79/SF/yr triple net | Base rate only, add ~$3–5/SF for taxes, insurance, and CAM to get the real cost, landing near $17–19/SF effective. |
| McKinney industrial | ~$11.45/SF/yr | One of the most competitive, highest-rent submarkets in the metro. Demand there pushes tenants outward along US-75. |
| DFW flex vacancy | 6.3–6.6% (Q4 2025) | A tight market overall. Landlords are not discounting heavily. |
| Sub-100k SF warehouse vacancy | ~3.9% nationally | Versus ~10.9% for big-box. Small space is dramatically scarcer than the headline number implies. |
Treat these as directional market context, not live quotes. Industrial rates move with construction pipelines, interest rates, and submarket demand, and averages hide a lot of variation between a 1,200 SF finished unit and a 40,000 SF shell. Always price against actual current availability.
Why small space costs more per square foot
Tenants are often surprised that a 2,000 SF unit costs more per square foot than a 20,000 SF one. Three reasons:
- Fixed costs spread over less area. A small unit still needs its own door, HVAC, bathroom, electrical panel, and office finish. Those costs are divided across 2,000 SF instead of 20,000.
- Scarcity. Very little small-bay industrial gets built, because the returns favor large distribution boxes. Limited supply plus steady small-business demand supports higher per-foot pricing.
- More finish per foot. Small flex units usually include a built-out office and a full bathroom. A big-box shell does not, and if you built one out you would pay for it separately.
The upside: you pay for square footage you actually use. A 2,000 SF unit at $17/SF costs $2,833 a month, a 6,000 SF unit at $12/SF costs $6,000 a month for space that may sit two-thirds empty. Per-foot efficiency is not the same as spending less money.
What actually drives the price
| Factor | Effect on rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Climate control in the warehouse | Raises it | Conditioned warehouse space costs more to build and run. It is essential for finish work, adhesives, film, coatings, and temperature-sensitive inventory. And worthless if you only store steel. |
| Finished office + bathroom | Raises it | Turnkey office space is expensive to build. Getting it included beats paying for a buildout on a shell. |
| Bay door height | Raises it | A 14′ door fits trailers, lifts, and towable equipment that a 10′ door does not. It changes what businesses can use the space at all. |
| Highway access &, visibility | Raises it | Frontage on a corridor like US-75 saves drive time daily and provides customer-facing visibility. |
| Distance from the metro core | Lowers it | The main lever. Moving up the corridor from McKinney toward Van Alstyne and Sherman buys meaningfully more space per dollar. |
| Lease term length | Lowers it | Longer commitments typically earn better rates. Weigh that against flexibility if you are growing fast. |
| Building age &, condition | Both | Newer construction commands more but usually costs less to operate, better insulation, newer HVAC, fewer surprise repairs. |
Comparing two quotes properly
Here is the comparison that actually matters. Two roughly 2,000 SF spaces:
| Space A, triple net | Space B, all-in | |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised rate | $13.79/SF/yr | Quoted as a monthly number |
| Base monthly (2,000 SF) | $2,298 | — |
| + Taxes, insurance, CAM (~$4/SF) | +$667 | Included |
| + Water / lot maintenance | Often billed back | Included |
| Electricity + internet | Tenant pays | Tenant pays |
| Real monthly cost | ~$2,965 + utilities | $2,850 + utilities |
Space A looks cheaper on the listing and is not. It is also harder to budget: CAM and tax reconciliations arrive annually and can be true-up bills you did not plan for. Space B, the model Triple C uses, is one number that does not move.
Worth being straight about this: all-in is not automatically cheaper. A well-run triple-net building with low pass-throughs can beat an all-in quote. What all-in reliably gives you is predictability and a number you can actually compare. Run the math on both.
What counts as a fair deal right now
For small-bay flex in the North Texas / US-75 corridor, a reasonable expectation:
- $15–20/SF/yr fully loaded for a finished unit with an office, bathroom, and climate control.
- Below $15/SF loaded. likely a shell without climate control or office finish, further out, or older. Can be a genuinely good deal if you do not need those things.
- Above $20/SF loaded. You are paying for premium location, newer construction, or specialized improvements. Make sure you are actually using what you are paying for.
Also price the things that never appear on a rate sheet: the drive time your crew spends every morning, whether a trailer fits through the door, whether you can meet a customer without apologizing for the space, and whether you will outgrow it in eighteen months.
Common questions
Short answers to what comes up most. The structured version of these appears in this page's FAQ markup.
How much for a 2,000 SF warehouse?
Roughly $2,400–3,300 per month fully loaded in this market, depending on climate control, office finish, door height, and distance from the metro core.
Do I need to sign a five-year lease?
Not necessarily. Small-bay flex often allows shorter initial terms than big-box industrial. Ask directly. And weigh a rate discount for a longer term against the cost of being locked into space you have outgrown.
What deposits and upfront costs should I expect?
Typically a security deposit plus first month's rent, and sometimes proof of liability insurance. Ask what is due at signing before you get to the lease document.