Data center construction spending hits record $85 billion annual pace

What happened

The report, released last week, operates with Census definitions that exclude any value of “racks or servers in data centers (a building full of computers that runs online services)” from its construction spending numbers. data center construction spending hit a record $85 billion annual rate in August, up 73% in a year.

Private data center construction spending is up over 73%, from $49.05 billion to $84.95 billion, year over year (YoY), according to the Census Bureau’s detailed construction spending tables for August. Spending is at a record annual pace, and growth is the fastest since April 2025’s +88.2%.

Data center buildouts are now about 63% of all private office construction. It also does not speculate on any cause of the spending increase.

Key facts

• The report, — released: last week, — uses: Census definitions that exclude any value of “racks or servers in data centers” from its construction spending numbers