Unprecedented data center growth extends beyond traditional markets

With vacancy locked at a record-low 1% for the second consecutive year, the U.S. data center market continues to gain momentum, according to JLL’s new North America Data Center Report – Year-End 2025.

The growth in development of new data centers is extending beyond traditional markets with 64% of the 35 GW planned projects occurring outside of mature areas. 

At the current pace, Texas is poised to overtake Virginia as the world’s largest data center market by 2030.

“Record-low vacancy sustained over two consecutive years provides compelling evidence against bubble concerns, especially when nearly all of our massive construction pipeline is already pre-committed by investment-grade tenants,” said Andy Cvengros, executive managing director, co-lead of U.S. Data Center Markets, JLL. “This structural change is driven by hyperscale and AI demand and development headwinds that will likely keep vacancy near zero for the next several years.”

Available capacity remains limited to small, fragmented blocks, offering little flexibility for large-scale deployments. Most tenants securing space today are contracting for deliveries in 2027 or 2028.