U.S. data center construction spending jumps 73% to $85B

U.S. private data center construction spending reached a record annual pace of $84.95 billion in August, up over 73% from $49.05 billion a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. The surge comes as spending on general offices declines, with data centers now accounting for about 63% of all private office construction.

The figures cover construction - not the computing equipment inside the buildings. Census definitions exclude the value of "racks or servers in data centers", meaning the reported spending captures only part of the broader buildout.

Data centers pull ahead of general offices

Data center construction spending exceeded general office spending by $39.1 billion, the widest gap in the Census series, which begins in January 2014. General office construction stood at $45.8 billion, down 9.7% year over year and 34.8% since Jan. 2023.

Data centers have outpaced general offices every month since Sept. 2025. Their share of private office construction rose to about 63% from 47% a year earlier, while spending climbed to more than nine times its Jan. 2021 level of $9.26 billion.

The contrast extends beyond offices. Total private nonresidential construction spending was $773.0 billion, down 1.0% year over year. Excluding data centers, spending was $688.1 billion, down 5.9%.

Data centers accounted for $5.9 billion, or 74%, of the $8.0 billion monthly increase in private nonresidential spending. Manufacturing construction, meanwhile, fell 19.8% year over year; data center construction is now about half its size.

What the spending figures measure

The Census Bureau’s Value of Construction Put in Place measures spending monthly and expresses it at an annual pace - what a full year would total if spending continued at that month’s rate.

Within the private office category, Census defines data center construction as "[including] buildings that contain the hardware needed for storing, processing, and transmitting digital information", while excluding servers and racks. Power plants and transmission lines built to serve data center electricity demand fall into a separate power category.

Power construction spending rose 9.7% year over year. In a Sept. 1 release, Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu said July’s nonresidential gain was "entirely due to data centers", and that their electricity needs boosted growth in power construction.

The Census report itself does not identify a cause for the increase in data center spending.

Growth accelerates for four months

August’s year-over-year increase was the fastest since April 2025’s +88.2%. Growth accelerated across four months: May recorded +36.3%, June +55.2%, and July +65.3%, according to calculations in the source report, followed by August’s gain of over 73%.

The construction figures do not include server spending, which is also rising as AI demand drives up hardware costs. September’s construction spending results are expected on Nov. 2.

Read the source