Worldwide revenue in the data center market is on pace to reach $538.91 billion in 2026, an increase of 11.6 percent over the prior year, according to Statista Market Insights. The forecast covers the servers, storage, and network infrastructure that make up the physical backbone of the data center industry, spanning traditional in-house facilities as well as the shared colocation space offered by providers such as Equinix and Digital Realty.

Within the United States, Northern Virginia remains the largest data center market by total inventory, a position built on its proximity to major East Coast population centers and its status as a long-established hyperscale hub. Statista's data shows the region's capacity grew 12 percent year over year through the second half of 2024. The Atlanta metro area ranked as the second-largest U.S. market by capacity, followed by Chicago, underscoring the Southeast's growing share of the country's data center footprint.

Rental rates for data center capacity in primary U.S. markets also climbed in 2024, a trend Statista links to rising demand from cloud computing and AI adoption combined with construction headwinds, including higher utility costs and ongoing supply chain pressure. Analysts covering the market note that Northern Virginia's continued expansion may face new limits, as local officials in the region reassess planning rules in response to the scale of recent development.

Source: Statista - https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/data-center/worldwide/