KEY POINTS
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Data centers dominate — but distort — the Nonresidential Building picture, where starts grew 22.8% in 2025. But strip out Offices, nearly 90% of which is data center spending, and that rate drops to 11.5%. Offices jumped from just 6% of NRB starts in 2022 to 25% in 2025, skewing the overall growth narrative.
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Several subcategories are surging under the radar, using a 12/12 rate of change through February 2026. Manufacturing (104%), All Other Civil Construction (110%), Dams, Canals & Marine (36%), and Power Infrastructure (30%) all show strong momentum.
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These four fast-growing subcategories totaled $192.9 billion in 2025 starts — more than double total data center starts. Leaders who rely on headlines risk missing sizable, data-backed growth opportunities across the broader construction landscape.
In 2025, Nonresidential Building (NRB) starts rose by 22.8%; however, removing the Offices subcategory spending from this calculation cut that growth rate in half to just 11.5%.
Data Centers Are Masking the NRB Growth Story
This underscores the significant impact of data center spending, which accounted for nearly 90% of total Offices category spending in 2025. Also worth noting is that Offices accounted for 25% of total NRB spending last year, thanks to exploding data center activity.
As recently as 2022, the Offices segment accounted for just 6% of total NRB starts spending. In light of these statistics, the question naturally arises: what opportunities have been overshadowed by the extreme interest in data centers?
Using the 12/12 Rate of Change to See the Full Picture
To answer this question, one can use a 12-month rolling average growth rate, also known as a “12/12” rate of change. This is calculated as the change in cumulative spending over the latest 12-month period compared to the immediately prior 12-month period.
Nonresidential Building (NRB) and NRB less Office & Data Center starts, 12/12 rate of change (%). Data center-driven Office spending accounted for roughly half of total NRB growth in 2025, masking more modest expansion across the remaining nonresidential building categories. Image and Data: ConstructConnect
This metric, when calculated and tracked monthly, can provide powerful spending trend insights. Using this metric, including the latest results through February 2026, it is clear that several subcategories have been performing exceptionally well.
The Five Fastest-Growing Subcategories Beyond Data Centers
Looking beyond Offices, which grew 124% using the “12/12” metric, the second-fastest-growing subcategory was Manufacturing at 104%. Manufacturing has experienced rapid growth in the last six months. As recently as August 2025, the 12/12 growth rate was just 16%.
Similarly, all other civil construction, which last registered 110% growth, has also seen recent, rapid growth. The latest figure for Dams, Canals, and Marine at 36% has also experienced rising growth since November of 2025.
Unlike the previously mentioned subcategories, Dams, Canals, and Marine have generally been a source of consistent growth for the industry in recent years.
Closing out the top five is Power Infrastructure with February growth of 30%. Like Dams, Canals, and Marine, this subcategory has grown steadily in recent years and will continue to benefit as energy demand from data centers continues to rise.
Shown in an image of the best-performing and underperforming large-dollar categories from the Total U.S. Nonresidential Construction Starts, year-to-date through February 2026. Image: ConstructConnect Construction Economy Snapshot
$192.9 Billion in Opportunities Beyond the Headlines
The collective value of the above categories, less Offices, in 2025 totaled $192.9 billion, more than double the total start value of all data center starts last year. This simple analysis underscores the importance of making data-driven decisions when looking for growth opportunities.
It is important that leaders look beyond the news headlines for the many sizable opportunities that exist outside of data centers.
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