NEW YORK, February 26, 2026 – Data center markets in the Americas are entering a new phase defined by more structured, policy-driven site selection and development, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s H2 2025 Data Center Update. While demand for capacity remains intense, growth is increasingly shaped by regulatory frameworks, resource availability and infrastructure readiness.
“The next chapter of the Americas data center market will be defined less by the scale of demand and more by how effectively markets can streamline the development of new infrastructure to support it,” said John McWilliams, Head of Data Center Insights, Cushman & Wakefield. “Governments and utilities are playing a growing role in guiding development through power planning, zoning and resource management. Even with these guardrails, demand remains exceptionally strong, reinforcing the long-term expansion outlook for both established hubs and emerging markets.”
Across several jurisdictions, local and regional governments are increasing scrutiny around large-scale data center development. New and evolving policies focused on grid strain, natural resource use and broader infrastructure impacts are affecting approval timelines. In some cases, this has led to project delays, cancelled developments, or the removal of by-right zoning. As a result, market expansion is increasingly shaped by policy frameworks and infrastructure capacity rather than demand alone.
Despite these headwinds, the development pipeline continues to expand. By the end of H2 2025, the Americas reached 25.3 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity under construction, with the majority located in the United States.
At the same time, availability remains extremely tight. Regional vacancy held steady at 4.2%, even after approximately 3.9 GW of new colocation capacity was delivered in the second half of the year. In the U.S., vacancy remained unchanged at 3.5%. Industry expectations suggest that meaningful easing in availability is unlikely before 2030.
Preleasing activity remains strong, underscoring continued competition for capacity. Colocation preleasing across the Americas increased to 78.8%, with U.S. colocation prelease rates even higher at 81.5%, reflecting sustained demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers and enterprise users seeking to secure capacity well ahead of delivery.
The report also points to a geographic shift in development. In primary markets, where approval requirements are more stringent and power delivery timelines more complex, early-stage preleasing for projects still in planning phases remains limited. By contrast, tertiary markets are capturing a growing share of development interest, supported by more predictable approval pathways and greater availability of developable land. These markets are increasingly attracting hyperscale and single-tenant colocation projects.
Established primary hubs are expected to remain essential for latency-sensitive workloads such as AI inferencing, streaming, trading, gaming, and other real-time applications. Projects already underway in these markets are likely to proceed as planned, though future approvals may advance at a more incremental pace.
Key findings from the H2 2025 report include:
- Vacancy across the Americas remains at 4.2% despite approximately 3.9 GW of new supply delivered in H2 2025.
- A total of 25.3 GW of data center capacity is currently under construction across the region.
- Colocation preleasing stands at 78.8%, with U.S. preleasing at 81.5%.
- Virginia accounts for 6.3 GW of capacity under construction, about 25% of the Americas pipeline, followed by West Texas at 2.9 GW. Six markets now exceed 1 GW under construction.