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Markets · Data centers · Logistics
Dallas-Fort Worth industrial land: data center, port and air-cargo demand
Dallas-Fort Worth was ranked the number one global primary data center market by Cushman & Wakefield, displacing Northern Virginia. Data as of Q2 2026. It carries 765 MW under construction at about 95% preleased, 3.7 GW planned but not yet started, and industrial vacancy of 8.1% with year-to-date net absorption of plus 13,626,637 square feet.
Key takeaways
- Cushman & Wakefield ranked the market number one globally among primary data center markets, ahead of Northern Virginia (2026).
- 765 MW is under construction at roughly 95% preleased, with 3.7 GW planned but not yet under construction (Q2 2026).
- 78% of investors named it the most attractive market in CBRE's April 2026 survey.
- Industrial vacancy is 8.1% with plus 13,626,637 square feet of year-to-date net absorption and $9.19 asking rent (Q2 2026).
A quarterly brief on powered land, port capacity and air-cargo gateways, plus the Powered Land and Gateway Pricing Benchmarks data file.
- Dollar per megawatt and dollar per acre benchmarks by market, with the substation-distance and voltage premiums applied
- Every committed United States port capacity opening from 2026 through 2035, with cost, TEU and date
- Airport-adjacent rent premiums by gateway, and the constraint map that drives them
- The named project pipeline: site, megawatts, developer, power source, status
- Sources and periods for every cell. Nothing unattributed.
Dallas-Fort Worth in numbers
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Data center under construction | 765 MW, about 95% preleased | Q2 2026 |
| Planned, not under construction | 3.7 GW | Q2 2026 |
| Industrial vacancy | 8.1% | Q2 2026 |
| Industrial net absorption, year to date | plus 13,626,637 sq ft | Q2 2026 |
| Industrial asking rent | $9.19 per sq ft | Q2 2026 |
| Investor preference | Named most attractive market by 78% of investors | CBRE, April 2026 |
What buyers are paying for here
With 765 MW under construction already about 95% preleased, buyers here are not paying for speculative optionality. They are paying for a site that clears ERCOT screening, and the substation premium of roughly 2x for land within half a mile is being underwritten against a queue timeline rather than a construction timeline.
The 230kV and 500kV premium of roughly 2.4x is doing unusually heavy work in this market, because the 3.7 GW of planned but unstarted capacity is competing for the same high-voltage access. Parcels served only at 138kV and below are being bid as second-wave inventory.
The infill-versus-greenfield spread runs the other way from Northern Virginia. Large contiguous greenfield in the outer counties is the product buyers are assembling, and the per-acre number is a function of load size rather than lot size. A published land price band per acre for this market is not publicly available.
Apply the published substation-distance and service-voltage premiums to a parcel in Dallas-Fort Worth with the powered land premium calculator.
What is under construction within 100 miles
765 MW of data center capacity is under construction across the metro as of Q2 2026, at roughly 95% preleased.
A further 3.7 GW is planned but has not yet started construction, which is the figure that matters most for landowners: that pipeline still needs sites, and its timing depends entirely on ERCOT screening outcomes.
Industrial construction is absorbing at scale alongside it, with plus 13,626,637 square feet of year-to-date net absorption against 8.1% vacancy and $9.19 asking rent as of Q2 2026.
Named individual project sites within 100 miles are not publicly available in the sources behind this page.
The constraint
Senate Bill 6 and ERCOT's Batch Zero screening apply to loads at or above 75 MW and contemplate financial security of $50,000 per MW.
At that threshold a 300 MW campus faces $15 million of posted security before energisation, which pushes speculative developers out and concentrates buying power among operators who can fund the position.
For a landowner this is a buyer-quality filter rather than a demand ceiling. It narrows the credible buyer set and lengthens diligence, but it also means the buyer who does sign has already cleared the hardest gate in the state.
Who covers Dallas-Fort Worth
Brad Cohen covers Dallas-Fort Worth for Landside Partners. Send one parcel and he will return a written read on what it is worth against the demand above, using data as of Q2 2026.
No fee. One parcel. One page. Usually back within five business days.
A quarterly brief on powered land, port capacity and air-cargo gateways, plus the Powered Land and Gateway Pricing Benchmarks data file.
- Dollar per megawatt and dollar per acre benchmarks by market, with the substation-distance and voltage premiums applied
- Every committed United States port capacity opening from 2026 through 2035, with cost, TEU and date
- Airport-adjacent rent premiums by gateway, and the constraint map that drives them
- The named project pipeline: site, megawatts, developer, power source, status
- Sources and periods for every cell. Nothing unattributed.
This research was produced by Landside Partners, a commercial real estate research and advisory firm working with owners of industrial land across North America on data center, seaport and air-cargo demand. To have a specific parcel assessed, contact Brad Cohen at Landside Partners.
Related research
- Markets — Index of the twelve covered metros with each market's headline figure, Q2 2026.
- Atlanta industrial land — Atlanta: 2,882 MW under construction, up 52.3%, the most of any market in the country. Data as of Q2 2026.
- Columbus industrial land — Columbus: 0.1% data center vacancy and the number four global primary market. Data as of Q2 2026.
- West Texas industrial land — West Texas: 2.9 GW under construction, the largest beneficiary of frontier-market migration. Data as of Q2 2026.
- Phoenix industrial land — Phoenix: More than 260 MW of colocation absorption in the first half of 2026 and 1.7 GW under construction. Data as of Q2 2026.
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