Cushman & Wakefield said data-center construction costs have risen an average of 21% per megawatt since the fourth quarter of 2024.

The commercial real-estate services firm on Thursday attributed the increase to worsening supply chain constraints, rising skilled labor wages, evolving land fundamentals and escalating costs for critical components.

"The data-center industry is entering a new phase where access to power, land and skilled labor are increasingly determining where growth can occur," said John McWilliams, who leads the firm's data-center insights team.

The global data-center development pipeline now represents approximately $2.3 trillion in investment capital, according to Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Data Center Development Cost Guide. Of that figure, $492 billion is currently under construction, and the remaining $1.8 trillion is tied to planned and precommitted projects.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the total $2.3 trillion figure exceeds the estimated total market value of all New York City real estate by roughly $640 billion.

All-in greenfield development costs in the U.S. and Canada average $17.6 million per megawatt for the most modern facilities, excluding chips and GPUs, according to the report. Power infrastructure remains the single largest cost category, representing roughly one-fifth of total greenfield development costs, on average.