Data center construction: what’s being built, and how

Which data centers are under construction right now?

Newest update first. Planned capacity is each project’s first published figure; projects with no figure add nothing to the total.

Texas (8) has the most, followed by Pennsylvania (5) and Ohio (4).

See every tracked project, at every stage, on All data center projects.

How is a data center built?

Most campuses follow seven steps, though a project can overlap or repeat them.

1. Land. A developer secures a large, flat site near transmission lines and fiber, often through a newly formed company. Early filings often use a code name. The Census matches 52 projects filed under a code name to the companies behind them on its code-name list.
2. Zoning and approvals. Most campuses need a rezoning, a special use permit or a site plan approval[1][2], each with a public hearing. This is the stage where residents can speak, and where local moratoriums apply. Upcoming votes are on the hearings calendar.
3. Power. A campus needs a utility agreement and often a new substation[3] or transmission line[4], each with its own filings with the utility or state regulators. Some add generation on site instead; see behind-the-meter power.
4. Site work and shell. Crews grade the site, pour foundations and raise the buildings, typically large concrete or steel structures with few windows.
5. Electrical and mechanical fit-out. Inside go the systems that make it a data center: switchgear, transformers, uninterruptible power supplies and backup generators[5] on the electrical side; chillers, cooling towers[6] or liquid-cooling loops on the mechanical side. See how data centers are cooled.
6. Commissioning. Each system is tested under load before servers arrive, usually one building at a time.
7. Phased opening. Large campuses open in phases. At Stargate Abilene, Oracle’s CEO said on Sep 10, 2026 that 6 of its 8 buildings, 618 MW, had been delivered to the customer[7].

Who builds data centers?

Several companies share the work, and the same company can play more than one role.

• The developer finds the site, wins approvals and builds or finances the campus. Some are hyperscalers building for themselves; others, such as QTS, Vantage and Aligned, build campuses and lease them.
• The end user, or tenant, is the company whose computers run there. It is often a large cloud or AI company, and sometimes it is named only after approval.
• The general contractor manages construction on the developer’s behalf.
• Trade contractors, above all electrical and mechanical firms, install the power and cooling systems.

The company rankings list the developers and end users the Census has matched to its tracked projects.

How long does it take to build a data center?

It varies widely, because the clock can start at an announcement, an approval or a groundbreaking. See how long it takes to build a data center for the project-by-project timelines. Virginia’s legislative auditors report that building one data center building usually takes 12 to 18 months[8].

How much does it cost to build a data center?

Across 41 tracked projects that announced both an investment and a capacity, the median is $10 million per megawatt of planned capacity. Announced investment is not audited construction cost: announced figures mix phases, land, power plants and sometimes regional totals, and capacity may be utility load rather than IT load.

Estimate a project of any size with the data center cost calculator.

How many jobs does data center construction create?

Construction workforces are large but temporary. Data center representatives told Virginia’s legislative auditors that about 1,500 workers are on site at the height of building a data center[8]. Projects state their construction jobs on different bases, such as peak headcount or totals over a multi-year build, so the Census shows each figure with its basis and does not add them up. Data center jobs lists every announced figure, with pay and permanent jobs by state.

Common questions

Is a data center being built near me?

Search by ZIP code on Data centers near me (/near-me), which lists tracked projects nearby with their status and latest update.

What is the difference between a data center developer and an operator?

The developer gets the site approved and built; the operator runs it day to day. They can be the same company, and the operator is often the end user.

Why are so many data centers being built?

Companies building them cite demand for cloud computing and AI. The guide “Why are so many data centers being built?” covers what the companies and their filings say.

Does every approved data center get built?

No. The Census tracks 13 cancelled projects, and others are paused.

Sources

1. Rezoning Process
   Fairfax County (Va.) Department of Planning and Development · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “A zoning map amendment (also known as a rezoning) is one of the instruments by which a change in land use occurs. ... The rezoning of land can only be approved by the Board of Supervisors.”

2. Special Use
   Wake County (N.C.) Government · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “A land use designated as a 'special use' in a zoning district is one that might be appropriate if special standards are in place to ensure it is located, designed and operated in a manner that is in harmony with neighboring development.”

3. Glossary
   U.S. Energy Information Administration · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “Substation: Facility equipment that switches, changes, or regulates electric voltage.”

4. Glossary
   U.S. Energy Information Administration · 2026
   Source excerpt

   “A set of conductors, insulators, supporting structures, and associated equipment used to move large quantities of power at high voltage, usually over long distances between a generating or receiving point and major substations or delivery points.”

5. Data Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked Questions (R49326)
   Congressional Research Service (via EveryCRSReport.com) · 2026-09-01
   Source excerpt

   “Data centers also typically have backup generators on-site designed to operate in case of a grid outage.”

6. 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report
   Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · 2024-12-20
   Source excerpt

   “Water-cooled chillers are widely used in data centers, owing to their high efficiency and capacity to manage substantial cooling requirements. These systems use water-cooled condensers to extract heat from the system, subsequently releasing it into the environment via cooling towers.”

7. Oracle (ORCL) Q1 2027 earnings call transcript
   The Motley Fool (transcript of Oracle's Sep 10, 2026 call) · 2026-09-11
   Source excerpt

   “6 of the 8 campus buildings, representing 618 megawatts and 75% of total capacity”

8. Data Centers in Virginia (Report Summary)
   Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia General Assembly · 2024-12-09
   Source excerpt

   “Construction of an individual data center building usually takes about 12 to 18 months, and data center representatives indicated that, at the height of construction, approximately 1,500 workers are on site from various construction-related industries.”

Each source was opened and checked against the excerpt shown. Company statements are identified as such. Figures are as published; where sources differ, each is shown.