Analysis of the data center construction boom in the United States

Even as data centers entered the crosshairs of state moratoriums and public crackdown in 2026, the number of planned and operational projects nearly tripled between March and August.according to an analysis of Construction Dive data from market intelligence firm Cleanview.

The sector has been driving non-residential construction activity for most of the year, according to Anirban Basu, chief economist at ABC. Behind the surge are billions of dollars in commitments from some of the world’s biggest tech companies. For example, JP Morgan estimates that large hyperscalers will invest a total of $697 billion in data center capital expenditures by 2026.

Hyperscalers Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft initially jumped in with billions of dollars in investments to spur the artificial intelligence boom. But it wasn’t long before other data center colocation developers jumped on board as well.

Here, Construction Dive’s analysis Cleanview data to explore the main players in the construction boom and hotspots. Tech giants Microsoft and Amazon are leading the pack, with other big companies like Google and Stack Infrastructure planning their own projects.

Microsoft leads data center developers in projects planned for March 16, 2026

Contractors identify power, state restrictions as key headwinds

But as the scale of construction grows, turning proposed data centers into finished projects has become more difficult.

Power is one of the biggest obstacles. Just a couple of years ago, a 100-megawatt data center would have ranked among the largest projects on the market. The projects were finished today 1,000 megawatts are setting the benchmarkDavid Guarino, head of global tower and data center research at Green Street, a Newport, Calif.-based commercial real estate data provider, told Construction Dive in April.

Below, the map details the states with the most data center construction projects. Virginia ranks as the data center development capital, followed by strong activity in the South, namely Texas and Georgia, and Midwestern states, such as Ohio and Indiana.

State restrictions rank as another headwind for the project, Trent Cotney, a partner at the law firm Adams & Reese, previously told Construction Dive after recently implemented regulations. For contractors, this has made site selection a priority when awarding these awards.

For example, builders now want to see reliable power and clear permitting requirements before taking on these projects, Michael Beadle, senior vice president of operations at Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., told Construction Dive.

“The success of a project is tied to securing a site with access to a significant amount of reliable power, which requires strategic and long-term relationships with utility partners,” Beadle said. “An ideal site should also have a large amount of land in case of future expansion, a viable cooling strategy and a favorable regulatory environment.”

The supply chain has also struggled to keep pace.

Switchgear, transformers and generators — all major components of a data center build — have long lead times, said Brennan Church, director of engineering, procurement and construction at Hut 8, a Miami-based data center developer. That, along with an already stretched labor market, often slows the pace of data center construction, he previously told Construction Dive.

“The biggest bottleneck we’re seeing is in long-lead electrical equipment … often another 40 to 60 weeks,” Church said. “A shell can be mechanically completed and roughened, but if the gear is not in place, you’re not energizing.”

Here’s how that affects the boost, which ranks the top 25 states by projected work.

However, contractors continue to indicate that data center work has a strong track record. In fact, data center activity has only strengthened through 2026, as shown below: