Data Center Coverage Hits a Crescendo According to News Coverage
- In May 2026, there were 51,210 news stories that mentioned data centers compared to 25,196 that were related to the housing market.
- There have been more data center stories than housing market stories for each month since September 2025, and this peak in data center stories was higher than any month’s coverage of the housing market from June 2016 to May 2026.
Consumers Aim to Learn About Data Centers
- Interest for the phrase “what are data centers” on Google has risen precipitously in April and May 2026.
- On a weekly basis since 11/27/2022, which was the week in which ChatGPT was released to the public, interest peaked at the index maximum of 100 on the week started 5/10/2026.
Construction on Data Centers Surpasses Public Transportation
- The value of construction data center projects (SAAR) was $50.71 billion in April 2026, which was its highest level. April 2026 was the first month in which data center construction outpaced spending on public transportation.
- For reference, when the AI boom kicked off in November 2022, there was approximately $30 billion more spent on public transportion compared to data centers.
- This category of public transportation, as defined by the Census Bureau, does not include spending on public highways, bridges, or streets. Rather, it includes spending on publicly-owned projects related to airports, railways, and sea ports.
Where Data Center Construction Stands in Relation to the Private Sector
- The value of data center construction (SAAR) in April 2026 was 6.95% of all private nonresidential projects, which was its highest share since the Census Bureau began tracking these buildings.
- In November 2022, data centers comprised 2.12% of all private nonresidential construction.
The Mother of Presidents is Now the Mother of Data Centers
- The state of Virginia has 609 data centers planned, under construction, or operating as of 6/5/2026. This was the most of any state by approximately 150.
- Texas, at 465, and California, at 287, rounded out the top three.
- Vermont was the only state with less than five data centers.
