U.S. Data Center Construction Market Outlook 2026-2031: AI,

Dublin, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "U.S. Data Center Construction Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2026-2031" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The U.S. data center construction market was valued at USD 83.97 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 154.49 billion by 2031, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10.70%. Growth is being driven by artificial intelligence, hyperscale cloud expansion, high-performance computing, advanced cooling requirements, and sustained investment from technology companies, colocation providers, and infrastructure developers.

Artificial Intelligence Reshapes Data Center Development

Artificial intelligence is transforming the design, capacity, and construction of data centers across the United States. As AI adoption expands across industries, developers are prioritizing facilities capable of supporting high-density computing environments and accelerated workloads. The capacity of hyperscale data centers supporting AI applications is expected to nearly triple over the next five to six years.

Graphics processing unit deployment is also increasing rapidly as operators build infrastructure for AI model training, real-time inference, and other compute-intensive applications. This shift is creating demand for higher rack densities, expanded power capacity, resilient electrical systems, and scalable data center campuses.

In October 2025, Lambda announced the development of a next-generation AI Factory in Kansas City, Missouri. The project involves converting a facility originally built in 2009 into an advanced AI data center powered by more than 10,000 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs. Additional capacity is planned in subsequent development phases.

Advanced Cooling Supports AI and Machine Learning Workloads

Rising computing densities are accelerating investment in liquid cooling, hybrid thermal systems, energy-efficient chillers, and other advanced cooling technologies. These systems are becoming essential to maintaining performance and reliability while reducing energy and water consumption.

Partnerships among data center operators, cooling technology vendors, semiconductor manufacturers, and energy providers are supporting the development of more sustainable AI infrastructure. In November 2025, Switch and Schneider Electric expanded their relationship through a USD 1.9 billion agreement described as the largest data center cooling contract in North America. Schneider Electric will supply prefabricated power modules and Uniflair chiller systems for Switch facilities, including the first U.S. deployment of these chillers.

Infrastructure and Construction Trends

Electrical infrastructure investment is advancing across uninterruptible power supply systems, generators, transfer switches, switchgear, and power distribution equipment.

Hydrotreated vegetable oil is gaining attention as a lower-emission fuel option for backup generator systems.

Nickel-zinc and sodium-ion batteries are attracting interest because of their power density, safety, and sustainability characteristics.

Liquid cooling is becoming a competitive differentiator for colocation providers serving AI and high-performance computing customers.

Equinix, Digital Realty, Aligned Data Centers, Microsoft, Meta, and CyrusOne are among the companies implementing scalable cooling and high-density infrastructure solutions.

Regional U.S. Data Center Construction Outlook

The Southeastern U.S. is forecast to become the country's largest data center construction market by power capacity in 2031, accounting for approximately 32% of total capacity. Virginia remains a major development center, with filings submitted for 54 new data centers during the first nine months of 2025.

Texas and Arizona account for more than 90% of data center investment in the Southwestern U.S., supported by hyperscale campuses and colocation projects. In the Northeast, continued demand in the New York-New Jersey market has reduced vacancy rates to below 6%, reinforcing the region's position as a major financial and connectivity hub.

Development is also accelerating in the Western U.S. Meta is constructing an USD 800 million data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Located on approximately 960 acres within the High Plains Business Park, the planned 715,000-square-foot facility is optimized for AI workloads, with Fortis Construction serving as the lead builder.

Competitive Landscape and Major Investments

The U.S. data center construction market includes leading investors such as Apple, Applied Digital, AWS, CyrusOne, DataBank, Digital Realty, Equinix, Google, Meta, Microsoft, NTT DATA, QTS, STACK Infrastructure, and Vantage Data Centers. AWS plans to develop two data centers in Madison County, Mississippi, through a combined USD 10 billion investment. The project is expected to create approximately 1,000 construction jobs and is scheduled for completion by 2027.

New market entrants include Ada Infrastructure, Ardent Data Centers, Big Sky Digital Infrastructure, CleanArc Data Centers, CloudBurst Data Centers, Crane Data Centers, Edged Energy, Fleet Data Centers, Lambda, Prometheus Hyperscale, Quantum Loophole, RadiusDC, Rowan Digital Infrastructure, and Tract.

Key infrastructure providers include ABB, Caterpillar, Cummins, Delta Electronics, Eaton, Legrand, Rolls-Royce, Schneider Electric, STULZ, and Vertiv. Prominent construction and engineering companies include AECOM, Arup, Burns & McDonnell, Corgan, DPR Construction, Fortis Construction, Holder Construction, Jacobs, Kiewit, Rosendin Electric, Syska Hennessy Group, and Turner Construction.

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