Data center construction spending hits record $85 billion annual pace
Census Bureau data shows U.S. data center construction spending hit a record $85 billion annual rate in August, up 73% in a year.
Private data center construction spending has surged over 73% in the past year, reaching $84.95 billion, a record annual pace according to Census Bureau data released last week. The increase is the fastest since April 2025's +88.2%. Data center buildouts now account for about 63% of all private office construction, up from 47% a year earlier.
The $39.1 billion gap between general office and data center construction spending is the widest since Census data began in January 2014, with general office spending at $45.8 billion, down 9.7% year over year and 34.8% since January 2023. Data centers have outpaced general office construction every month since September 2025. Data center construction has become the majority of private office construction, up from 9.26 billion in January 2021.
Private nonresidential construction is at $773.0 billion, down 1.0% year over year, with $5.9 billion of the $8.0 billion monthly rise coming from data centers. Manufacturing, down 19.8% year over year, follows a similar trend, with data center construction now about half its size. Power construction is the other significant gain, up 9.7% year over year.
This surge indicates that the construction industry's growth is heavily dependent on data center projects, with forecasting showing even greater growth for data center power use.
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