# Dallas Leads Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Data Center Ranking > Source: > Published: 2026-08-10 12:00:17+00:00 # Dallas Leads Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Data Center Ranking Cushman & Wakefield's May 20 report ranked Dallas the world's top primary data center market for 2026, ahead of Atlanta, Virginia, Columbus, and Johor. The ranking reflects development capacity and growth conditions rather than current scale: Virginia still leads with 11.3 GW operating, while power access, land, regulation, and a 4.4-year average connection wait increasingly decide where AI infrastructure can expand. Cushman & Wakefield ranked Dallas No. 1 among the world's primary data center markets in its 2026 comparison, published May 20. The firm evaluated 107 markets across 24 variables covering operating fundamentals, power infrastructure, development activity, regulation, and risk. The ranking does not mean Dallas has the most capacity in service. Virginia remains the world's largest operating market at 11.3 gigawatts, according to the report. Dallas instead led the forward-looking primary-market comparison, followed by Atlanta, Virginia, Columbus, and Johor. Austin-San Antonio ranked first among secondary markets, while West Texas led the tertiary group. ### Growth is moving toward available power Cushman & Wakefield said global capacity under construction approached 31.7 GW in 2025, up from 12.5 GW in the prior edition. About 80% of capacity under construction was in the Americas, and West Texas alone had 2.9 GW underway. Planned capacity across the Americas rose from 46.1 GW in 2024 to 191.3 GW by the end of 2025. That pipeline is colliding with slow grid connections. The report put the global average delivery time for new large-load power requests at 4.4 years. Developers are therefore pursuing powered land, private generation, and secondary markets where projects may face fewer infrastructure constraints. ### What the ranking means for AI infrastructure Texas offers large development sites, an active project pipeline, and a regulatory environment that has attracted data center investment. Those advantages come with practical limits: electricity supply, transmission costs, water availability, permitting, and community acceptance can all constrain deployment. For AI infrastructure teams, the useful signal is not that Dallas has displaced Virginia in installed capacity. It is that site selection is shifting toward markets that can prove deliverable power and scalable land. The ranking is a commercial real estate assessment, not a guarantee that every planned facility will be financed, connected, or completed on schedule. ## Key Points - 1Cushman & Wakefield's May 20 comparison ranked Dallas first among primary data center markets after evaluating 107 markets across 24 variables. - 2Virginia remains the largest operating market at 11.3 GW, so Dallas's ranking reflects forward-looking market conditions rather than installed capacity. - 3Global large-load power connections now average 4.4 years, making deliverable electricity and scalable land central constraints for AI infrastructure projects. ## Scoring Rationale The report covers a large global market sample and quantifies major capacity and power constraints shaping AI infrastructure investment. Its value is strategic rather than a product launch or completed deployment, and the ranking remains the report author's assessment. ## Sources Primary source and supporting public references used for this report. Practice with real Real Estate data 90 SQL & Python problems · 15 industry datasets 250 free problems · No credit card [See all Real Estate problems](/problems/datasets/real-estate)