Global Data Center Supply Can’t Keep Up with Demand, Resulting in Extreme Scarcity of Available Space

The global data center market is expanding as demand from artificial intelligence (AI) uses outpaces available space capacity, pushing vacancy rates toward historic lows despite a wave of new supply, according to CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends report.

Atlanta’s 1% vacancy rate positions the market as the second-tightest data center market globally among the 16 largest markets tracked by CBRE, trailing only Northern Virginia. The result places Atlanta at or near capacity for available space, with new supply being absorbed as quickly as it is delivered.

“Atlanta’s data center market continues to see strong demand growth, driven not only by AI workloads but also by expansion from traditional cloud providers,” said Mike Lash an Executive Vice President with CBRE Data Center Solutions. “At the same time, we’re seeing significant momentum beyond the core metro, with users increasingly targeting emerging and more rural locations across Georgia to meet scale and power requirements.”

As of Q4 2025, 80% of space under construction across the top four U.S. markets, including Atlanta, was already preleased, meaning companies that have not secured capacity may face limited options through 2030.

Global supply reached 16 gigawatts (GW) in Q1 2026 across the 16 largest data center markets, up 25% over the past year. Even with supply growth in all major regions, average vacancy fell to 6.7% from 8.3% a year earlier, indicating tightening market conditions worldwide.

Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago anchor U.S. growth, collectively adding 1,950.8 megawatts (MW) of new space since Q1 2025 – a 33% gain that marks the fourth consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth. This new supply has been quickly absorbed, pushing vacancy to extremely low levels, including 0.3% in Northern Virginia and 1.8% in Dallas-Fort Worth. Strong leasing activity from large AI rollouts drove record absorption (2,236.2 MW), up 34% year over year.

AI demand is prompting occupiers to seek out larger facilities to support high-performance computing. However, the construction pipeline does not provide substantial supply relief. As of Q4 2025, 80% of the space under construction in the top four U.S. markets was already preleased, further limiting near-term availability.

At the same time, power availability and grid-infrastructure constraints are shaping where and how quickly new facilities can be built, particularly in major hubs such as Northern Virginia, Chicago, London and Frankfurt. In the U.S., longer construction timelines will limit data center supply through 2030.

These dynamics are pushing prices higher. Chicago has the highest rental rates among major U.S. markets as of Q1 2026, ranging from $200 to $230 per kW per month for a 250-to-500-kW requirement, with rents increasing 14.7% from the previous year.