Chicago Data Center Market: Market Size & Forecast 2026

The global data center market encompasses facilities that house critical IT infrastructure, including servers, storage systems, and networking equipment, supporting cloud computing, enterprise IT, and increasingly, artificial intelligence workloads. In 2025, the market was valued at approximately $521.1 billion, with projections indicating growth of roughly $622 billion in absolute terms over the following five years. This expansion reflects both hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise customers accelerating their infrastructure investments.

• •Market valued at $521.1 billion in 2025, with projected growth of $622.2 billion through 2030 at a 15.9% CAGR
• •Global data center capacity expanding from approximately 103 GW to 200 GW by 2030 amid an AI-driven infrastructure boom
• •Chicago region commands approximately 1.9 GW of installed data center power capacity as of 2025

The single largest catalyst for data center market expansion is the proliferation of artificial intelligence workloads, which demand significantly higher power densities and specialized infrastructure compared to traditional enterprise computing. Hyperscale cloud providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud continue to invest heavily in new facility construction to meet enterprise demand for scalable, on-demand services.

• •AI infrastructure boom driving demand for high-density computing environments with substantially greater power and cooling requirements
• •Enterprise digital transformation and cloud migration accelerating demand for colocation and managed data center services
• •Data center interconnect market projected to grow at 13.1% CAGR, reaching roughly $10.99 billion in 2025, supporting the need for high-speed connectivity between facilities

The data center market is segmented across infrastructure type, including colocation, hyperscale, managed hosting, and edge facilities, with AI-optimized data centers representing a rapidly emerging category valued at $17.73 billion globally in 2025. North America, and specifically markets like Chicago, benefit from abundant power availability, favorable regulatory environments, and proximity to major enterprise customers and network backbones.

• •Chicago region is a prominent North American data center hub, with approximately 1.9 GW of power capacity, supported by access to robust electrical grid infrastructure and multiple major network interconnection points
• •The AI-optimized data center segment reached $17.73 billion in 2025 and is forecast to expand at a pace exceeding the broader market average
• •Data center interconnect market valued at $10.99 billion in 2025, growing at a 13.1% CAGR, as cross-facility connectivity becomes critical for distributed cloud and AI architectures

What are the recent trends and outlook?

Looking ahead through 2030, the data center industry is expected to confront intensifying scrutiny around energy consumption, water usage, and carbon emissions, accelerating adoption of renewable energy procurement, advanced cooling technologies, and circular design principles. The shift toward AI-optimized facilities with higher power density racks and liquid cooling systems is reshaping facility design specifications across the industry.

• •Sustainability and regulatory pressure driving data center operators to commit to 100% renewable energy targets and implement energy-efficient cooling and power delivery architectures
• •Edge computing and distributed AI workloads expected to expand the geographic footprint of data centers beyond traditional hyperscale hubs into secondary and tertiary markets
• •Industry forecasts project the global market to approach $1.1 trillion in value by 2030, representing near-doubling of capacity as AI, cloud, and enterprise demand continues unabated