Demand for data center capacity across North America continues to surge as artificial intelligence and cloud computing accelerate digital infrastructure expansion, according to a new report from JLL. Vacancy rates remain near historic lows—about 1%—while more than 35 gigawatts of new capacity is under construction across the continent.
Much of that space is already committed. Roughly 92% of the development pipeline has been pre-leased, largely by hyperscale technology companies racing to support AI-driven workloads and cloud services.
The rapid expansion is also reshaping where facilities are built. About two-thirds of new construction is occurring in emerging markets such as Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio, where developers can secure land, power and permitting more easily than in traditional hubs. Texas alone is projected to rival Northern Virginia as one of the world’s largest data center markets.
Despite strong demand, developers face growing constraints, particularly around power availability, grid capacity and long equipment lead times—factors increasingly shaping where and how quickly new data centers can be built.
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