Data Centers Fueling Increasing Share of U.S. Industrial Demand

Growth in data center development is fueling an increasing share of U.S. industrial demand, according to a new report from CoStar, a leading global provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.

Nationally, data center inventory has reached roughly 69 gigawatts of existing capacity, while another 43 gigawatts are currently under construction.

The increase in development activity has impacted industrial demand, with data center-adjacent occupiers accounting for more than 6% of leasing activity across logistics properties within five miles of data center facilities in 2026, up from less than 3% in 2020. Growth has been broad-based across several categories, including construction firms, power and cooling equipment suppliers, operators and IT infrastructure providers.

“The data center industry remains one of the fastest-growing segments of commercial real estate,” said Juan Arias, national director of industrial analytics at CoStar Group. “Vacancy remains near historic lows as demand from hyperscale cloud providers and AI-related users continues to outpace new supply. Hyperscale facilities now account for 64% of existing capacity, underscoring the scale at which major technology companies are expanding their infrastructure footprints.”

Among major markets, Dallas-Fort Worth leads the nation with approximately 10 million square feet of occupied logistics space leased by data center-adjacent industries since 2025. Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix rank behind Dallas, respectively.

“Many of these markets coincide with established or emerging data center hubs where abundant land, infrastructure investments, and relatively favorable power economics have attracted large-scale development,” said Arias. “Operators are increasingly prioritizing locations with access to new electrical generation, substations, and transmission infrastructure as they seek to bring capacity online. As a result, demand is extending beyond data center buildings themselves and into the broader supply chain required to construct and operate them.”

The full analysis can be found here.

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