US data center construction spending surged 73% YoY to $85B annualized in August, driven by AI infrastructure buildout.
AI & Agents ·
US data center construction spending reached an annualized rate of $85 billion in August, representing a 73 percent year-over-year increase and the largest such gain since April 2025. General office construction meanwhile contracted 10 percent year-over-year to $46 billion, marking the fifth-lowest level since December 2015. The divergence between the two sectors has widened to a record $39 billion gap, with data center spending up $76 billion or 823 percent since the start of 2021, while office construction spending fell $25 billion or 35 percent since early 2023.