Demand for data centers has never been higher, as evidenced by a record-breaking first half of 2024. According to JLL’s new U.S. Data Center Report — Midyear 2024, the colocation data center market doubled in size in the past four years amid growing concerns that this rapid growth is straining an already taxed U.S. power grid and an impending talent cliff.

This booming demand shows no sign of slowing at mid-year. Vacancy set a record low of 3 percent, and occupancy has increased at a 30 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2020. Asking rents increased between 13 percent and 37 percent year-over-year, depending on the lease size.

“There appears to be no ceiling for how high this data center demand is going to reach,” says Andy Cvengros, managing director, co-lead of U.S. data center markets, JLL. “Nearly all existing data center capacity is leased up, and pre-leasing currently stands at 84 percent. We anticipate vacancy will continue to trend to 0