Data center demand has exceeded expectations in the first half of 2026 in North America, with hyperscaler-driven growth pushing absorption to a record 25GW, according to JLL.

In its midyear 2026 North America Data Center Report, the commercial real estate services firm said that data center demand in North America doubled year-over-year in H1 2026, as companies compete for “scarce” capacity.

According to the report, data center demand is now five times what it was two years ago, with vacancy rates in the region sustained at 1 percent for the third consecutive year, despite “unprecedented” construction activity.

Meanwhile, rental rates have increased by nearly 70 percent since 2020. Rent growth is averaging 9 percent annually. JLL expects this trend to hold through to 2030.

JLL said North America has 66GW of data center capacity under construction, of which 95 percent is pre-committed.

“We’re witnessing demand levels that continue to exceed even industry insiders’ expectations,” said Andy Cvengros, executive managing director, co-lead of US data center markets, JLL. “The market absorbed 25GW in just six months, driven by hyperscalers, neoclouds and pure-play AI companies competing aggressively for scarce capacity. But the real story is how community acceptance, or lack thereof, has emerged as the defining challenge for this next phase of growth. The industry and communities need to come together to find a path forward that benefits everyone.”

According to JLL, hyperscalers are driving demand across the industry, currently accounting for 59 percent of 2026 data center tenant demand.

Companies across the spectrum are also forming partnerships and cliques to secure any infrastructure that becomes available. For example, JLL said that AI companies are leasing capacity from hyperscalers, while neoclouds are supplying capacity to hyperscalers.

The vastness of hyperscaler demand is also impacting enterprise users, who are struggling to secure capacity to support business growth. Enterprise users typically have requirements ranging from 500kW to 3MW, much less than the gigawatt demand of hyperscalers, but are still struggling to compete.

JLL’s report also looked at how trust, transparency, and community engagement has evolved in recent years, highlighting that, according to its research, 79 percent of Americans support US leadership in AI, but only 14 percent support data center development in their community.

The real estate services firm said this gap “threatens to constrain the infrastructure buildout required to maintain AI competitiveness.”

Some 77 percent of the data center construction pipeline in the region is now in areas classed as “frontier markets,” areas which haven’t seen historical data center development.

Sean Farney, vice president, data center strategy at JLL, explained: “The geographic transformation of this industry continues its rapid evolution. Energy-rich, build-friendly markets like West Texas, Ohio, Louisiana and the Carolinas have seen massive investment in recent years.”

“As development accelerates to meet growing demand for advanced technologies, developers are also taking a more transparent approach — working with communities to address local impacts while delivering jobs, tax revenue, infrastructure investment and long-term economic growth.”

Alongside these findings, JLL also reported clear investor confidence in the industry, with permanent financing expected through 2028 and AI-related bond issuance hitting $250 billion alone in H1 2026.

The real estate services firm said that financing liquidity remained “robust” across all credit tiers, and that construction activity would drive more than $700 billion in permanent debt originations over the next two and a half years.