U.S. Data Center Vacancy Hits Record Lows Amid AI Boom

Data center inventory in top United States markets grew by 33 percent over the last year, yet vacancy rates have plummeted to all-time lows. According to a report from CBRE, global supply reached 16 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2026, while global vacancy dropped from 8.3 percent to 6.7 percent.

Pat Lynch, Executive Managing Director for CBRE’s Data Center Solutions, indicates that a supply-demand imbalance will persist for at least three more years. Northern Virginia leads the global market with a vacancy rate of only 0.3 percent, followed by other major hubs including Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Chicago. Current data center construction levels are 12 times higher than those recorded in 2020.

Hyperscalers such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are projected to invest 3.7 trillion dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next five years. Despite the record inventory production, growth is currently constrained by limited power availability and community resistance. The Pew Research Center reports that the United States currently has 3,000 operational data centers and 1,500 more under development.