Actual construction spending
$96.5 billion
a year being spent building private data centers, September 2026, annual rate (preliminary)1
Verified U.S. Census Bureau construction spending. September 2025: $50.7 billion.
Announced future investment
$422 billion
announced by companies at 107 tracked sites, not yet spent
Reported Planned investment, not spending completed. Each figure links to its source on the site's page. See the sites
Broader IT investment contributed 1.09 points of 3.4% annualized GDP growth in Q3 2026
- Broader IT investment: computers, other information equipment and software
- Everything else in the economy, net
BEA advance estimate for Q3 2026.2 The 1.09 includes data center equipment, but BEA does not isolate data centers or AI, so this is not an AI-only estimate. Read the BEA release
The trades behind the buildout
National employment and pay across all employers, not a nationwide data center jobs count.
7.2 million workers in 13 trades
National occupational employment across all industries, not a count of data-center jobs.
7,206,100 people worked in these 13 trades in 2025, across all employers, not only data centers.3 Bar length shows how many people work in each trade.
- Median pay above the U.S. median for all jobs ($50,980)
- Median pay below the U.S. median
- Maintenance and repair workers1,621,800 employed$49,590 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (below the U.S. median)
- Construction laborers1,489,300 employed$47,120 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (below the U.S. median)
- Carpenters889,700 employed$60,580 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Electricians821,000 employed$63,190 median pay · 91% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters510,600 employed$63,800 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Operating engineers and equipment operators489,500 employed$59,850 median pay · 96% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- HVAC mechanics and installers440,900 employed$61,010 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers437,700 employed$53,750 median pay · 96% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- Telecom equipment installers143,100 employed$63,890 median pay · 82% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- Power line installers (linemen)131,900 employed$95,320 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Sheet metal workers131,100 employed$61,800 median pay · 94% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Ironworkers (structural iron and steel)68,300 employed$62,780 median pay · 95% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Stationary engineers (facility plant operators)31,200 employed$78,620 median pay · 80% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)