Why do counts differ so much?

OpenStreetMap counts what volunteers have mapped (1,818, a floor). Data Center Map runs a commercial census (>3,000 operating). Different methods, different answers — a single 'true' count does not exist publicly.

How much is under construction?

7,481 MW in North America's primary markets as of H1 2026 (CBRE) — a record — with 1.4% vacancy and 80.4% of construction pre-leased.

How big is the Texas queue?

ERCOT reported more than 233 GW of large-load interconnection requests at year-end 2025, over 70% of it data centers. Queue requests are not committed load.

BRAIAIN Infrastructure Last updated: 2026-10-20

How many data centers are in the US?

Name: US data centers mapped in OpenStreetMap, Oct 2026
Creator: BRAIAIN
Published: 2026-10-20
License: https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/

It depends on the method. 1,818 US facilities are tagged as data centers in OpenStreetMap as of October 2026 (a mapped floor, coordinates in the file below). The proprietary Data Center Map database counted more than 3,000 operating US data centers with more than 1,500 in development as of February 2026, per Pew Research Center. CBRE reports a record 7,481 MW under construction in North America's primary markets (H1 2026), 1.4% vacancy, 80.4% pre-leased.

The data

The CSV below carries all 1,818 coordinates (lat, lon). The interactive map is on the board.

Download: CSV · JSON — ODbL — map data © OpenStreetMap contributors; underlying sources keep their own terms.

Method & caveats

The mapped count is every OpenStreetMap feature tagged telecom=data_center within the US (including territories), extracted via the Overpass API on Oct 20, 2026 — a community-maintained floor, not a census; campuses can appear as several buildings. The >3,000 / >1,500 figures are Data Center Map's counts as reported by Pew Research Center (Feb 19, 2026 data); that database is proprietary, so only Pew's published figures are cited. The two methods are not comparable and are always shown separately. Construction figures are CBRE's H1 2026 North America report (MW, primary markets).

Sources

Questions

Why do counts differ so much?: OpenStreetMap counts what volunteers have mapped (1,818, a floor). Data Center Map runs a commercial census (>3,000 operating). Different methods, different answers — a single 'true' count does not exist publicly.
How much is under construction?: 7,481 MW in North America's primary markets as of H1 2026 (CBRE) — a record — with 1.4% vacancy and 80.4% of construction pre-leased.
How big is the Texas queue?: ERCOT reported more than 233 GW of large-load interconnection requests at year-end 2025, over 70% of it data centers. Queue requests are not committed load.

Cite this

BRAIAIN. "How many data centers are in the US?" www.braiain.com/us-data-centers.html, updated 2026-10-20. Original sources as listed above.

Part of BRAIAIN — the AI buildout, measured. Every figure carries its source and date; the full rules are in the methodology. Corrections: see the contact note there. © 2026 BRAIAIN, a dnilgis project.