Data Center Development Cost Guide 2026 (U.S.)

Overview

This document is Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 guide to all-in data center development costs in the United States, written by John McWilliams and Adrian Conforti. The summary page is public, but the full guide requires registration. This page rests only on the publicly available key takeaways and is for citation purposes only. This framework gives a reference point specific to the US market.

According to the key takeaways, the average greenfield cost for the most modern facilities is about $17.6 million per MW, varying by market and workload. Development costs are up 21% per MW since the previous report. The US pipeline is about $2.3 trillion: $492 billion under construction and $1.8 trillion planned or precommitted, and investment is shifting to secondary and frontier markets.

The guide also stresses two pressures on cost and schedule: shortages of skilled mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) labour raise both cost and schedule, and powered land commands significantly higher prices than non-powered land. The figures are specific to the US market; they do not apply directly to Turkey or other markets and should be adapted with a market multiplier. These figures show that market choice, not only cost per MW, is decisive in investment decisions.

Key points

1. Average greenfield cost about $17.6M per MW for the most modern facilities, varying by market and workload.
2. Development costs up 21% per MW since the previous report.
3. US pipeline about $2.3 trillion: $492B under construction, $1.8T planned/precommitted.
4. Investment is shifting to secondary and frontier markets.
5. MEP skilled-labour shortages raise cost and schedule.
6. Powered land commands significantly higher prices than non-powered land.

Using it in design

• In the cost module, offer an all-in $/MW benchmark band with source and year and allow a market multiplier.
• Note that all-in (land + shell + MEP) differs from shell-and-core benchmarks (e.g., JLL).
• Show the powered-land premium as a separate line in site selection and feasibility scenarios.
• Add MEP labour scarcity to the schedule and cost risk items.

Who should read it

Developers, investors and teams doing feasibility and budget work, and those building a cost module.

Publication details

Authors

John McWilliams; Adrian Conforti

Publisher

Cushman & Wakefield

Year

2026

Document language

English

Source type

Expert / community

Access

Citation only

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation