Despite a slow September, year-to-date data center spending has soared to $32.9 billion, a 92.8% increase over the same period in 2024, showing remarkable market growth.
Southern states dominate data center construction, with Louisiana, Virginia, and Texas collectively accounting for over two-thirds of all U.S. starts spending through September 2025.
A robust near-term pipeline includes 39 late-stage projects worth a combined $25.5 billion, with the potential to more than double 2024’s record-high spending levels.
ConstructConnect reported that Data Center starts spending of $202 million in September 2025, a modest total compared to the record $14 billion in July and $5.5 billion in August.
September represents the weakest month for data center starts in well over a year and the first month since May to record less than $1 billion in total starts.
Including September’s modest reading, year-to-date (YTD) construction starts spending now totals $32.9 billion, a remarkable 92.8% increase over the same period in 2024.
Average monthly starts spending remained steady at over $3.5 billion for the third month in a row, further illustrating the rapid growth of the data center construction market. This month’s YTD figures include a down-revised August reading of $5.5 billion from a previously stated $13 billion.
Chart of monthly average data center construction starts spending through September 2025. The line represents a 12-month moving average, in $ billion. Image and Data: ConstructConnect
Louisiana remains the leading recipient of data center starts spending at just over $10 billion for the first nine months of 2025 through September, followed by Virginia at nearly $7 billion, and Texas at $4.8 billion.
These three Southern states have collectively captured over $22 billion in such starts, representing two-thirds of all US data centers starts spending.
Despite the Southern US dominance in data center construction, some Western states have also recorded strong starts. Arizona leads the region at $2.4 billion in starts, followed by Utah at $2 billion, and Oregon at $1.5 billion.
This map shows US Data Center construction starts spending in $ billion for the trailing 12-month period through September 2025. Image and Data powered by ConstructConnect Project Intelligence
ConstructConnect Project Intelligence (CCPI) is tracking 39 data center projects in late-stage preconstruction with planned start dates before the end of 2025. Combined, these projects are worth a total of $25.5 billion.
However, even late in the preconstruction process, there is no guarantee that any of these projects will come to fruition.
Should all these projects break ground as expected, it would lift total data center starts for the year to over $58 billion, a figure that is more than double the 2024 record high. Furthermore, it would also bring the 3-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of data center starts spending to 98.7%.
ConstructConnect Project Intelligence (CCPI) is tracking 52 data center projects worth over $40 billion in their final phase of preconstruction, with start dates in the next six months.
The five largest of these anticipated projects, collectively valued at $35 billion, are scheduled to occur in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. These three states account for over 90% of the total planned starts.
Only two additional states are expected to receive more than $500 million in new data center spending in the near term: Texas, at $2.8 billion, and Arizona, at $692 million.
This map displays the regional distribution of total potential data center construction start values across the four US census regions over the next 6 months. Image and Data powered by ConstructConnect Project Intelligence
The near-term spending pipeline for data centers largely reflects the same geographic spending pattern as that of the year-to-date data.
The top five states by planned starts value represent nearly all the market over the next six months, with Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia ranking near the top of YTD and forward-looking totals.
While the average data center currently costs $193 million, billion-dollar projects are becoming increasingly common, with multiple such facilities breaking ground each month.
Should this trend towards very large data centers continue, it would geographically concentrate spending patterns. As a result, the distributed spending on data centers in recent years could quickly transform, leading to a much smaller number of states receiving tens of billions of dollars in construction activity.
The future geographic dispersion of data centers will also be influenced by the availability and cost of water and electricity, as well as considerations related to regulatory oversight.
As these critical factors change and evolve, we may see substantial changes in the location of future data centers.
ConstructConnect expects full-year 2025 Power Infrastructure starts spending to cool in light of last year’s record high. Annual power infrastructure spending increased fivefold in the four years from 2021 to 2024.
A few large projects have anchored energy spending this year. Most notably, a $14 billion Liquefied Natural Gas project in Texas.
In the coming years, strong energy demand is expected to result in a near-term surge in new power spending. Further out, we anticipate annual spending exceeding $30 billion.
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