Business Wire·May 20, 2026, 9:00 AM ET

Dallas, Texas Ranked No. 1 Primary Data Market in the World as AI Demand, Power Constraints and Regulation Reshape CRE Strategy

Dallas ranked as the No. 1 primary global data center market in 2026, followed by Atlanta, Virginia, Columbus, & Johor.
Austin-San Antonio & West Texas led secondary & tertiary rankings, highlighting Texas as a major AI infrastructure hub.
Global data center capacity under construction reached 31.7 gigawatts (GW) in 2025, more than doubling from 12.5GW in the prior period.
The Americas accounted for approximately 80% of all global data center development activity.
Virginia maintained its position as the largest market with 11.3GW of operational capacity.
West Texas is a rapidly growing AI hub with 2.9GW under construction, exceeding total capacity underway across the EMEA region.
Preleasing activity remained exceptionally strong, with approximately 89% of capacity under construction already pre-committed.
Planned capacity in the Americas increased more than fourfold year-over-year, rising from 46.1GW in 2024 to 191.3GW by end of 2025.
Average global power delivery timelines for new large-load requests now stand at 4.4 years, extending to roughly five years in the Americas & EMEA.
Developers are increasingly prioritizing secured power & secondary markets due to constraints on land, permitting, & regulation.
The 2026 report analyzed 107 global markets across 24 variables to evaluate commercial real estate fundamentals, power infrastructure, & operational risk.