Data Center Construction Starts Continue to Blow Past Expectations

KEY POINTS

• Total data center construction starts in 2025 reached $77.7 billion, an increase of nearly 190% from the previous year.

• Construction starts accelerated dramatically in the second half of 2025, with Q4 data center starts alone accounting for $44.4 billion.

• The average cost per square foot for data centers surpassed the $1,000 mark for the first time, reaching $1,033 by the end of 2025.

An Unprecedented Year for Growth

If one were to sum up the most significant trend in 2025 construction, it was the endlessly accelerating pace of data center starts. For reference, in 2024, data center construction totaled $26.9 billion, up 81% from 2023’s figure of $14.9 billion.

As our team tracked first-half 2025 data center starts, it became clear that the industry was on track to potentially register another year of nearly 80% growth, sending 2025 starts to an astonishing $48 billion.

While another year of 80% growth may have initially seemed audacious, by July, year-to-date (YTD) data center starts had already reached $27.5 billion, exceeding the prior year’s total. At a YTD pace of over $3.9 billion in monthly data center starts, this did, in fact, put full-year growth on a trajectory to exceed $48 billion.

Total 2025 US data center construction starts were $77.7 billion, up almost 190% from the year prior. Image and Data: ConstructConnect

Acceleration Shifts into Overdrive

Yet this already rapid acceleration in data center starts would shift into overdrive during the second half of 2025 and especially during Q4, when starts over the final three months of the year alone totaled $44.4 billion.

The uptick in 2H performance elevated the monthly average starts rate for the year from the previously mentioned $3.9 billion to almost $6.5 billion. By year’s end, total data center starts were $77.7 billion, up almost 190% from the year prior!

Analyzing the Costs and Scale

Based on all 2025 data centers over 2,000 square feet in size, the average center’s square footage totaled 613,000 square feet at an average price tag of $633 million. These averages hide a long tail, as some hyperscale projects tipped the scales at or over $10 billion.

About ConstructConnect

At ConstructConnect, our software solutions provide the information that construction professionals need to start every project on a solid foundation. For more than 100 years, our keen insights and market intelligence have empowered commercial firms, building product manufacturers, trade contractors, and architects to make data-driven decisions, streamline preconstruction workflows, and maximize their productivity. Our newest offerings—including our comprehensive, AI-assisted software—help our clients find, bid on, and win more projects.

ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.  

For more information, visit constructconnect.com