Traders on Kalshi are leaning toward a bigger near-term footprint, suggesting the count of facilities planned or operating could surpass 5,000 before the new year. The same market also prices a 75% probability of topping 5,100 before 2027, a sharp rise from 60% only two weeks prior.
Kalshi's contract will be resolved using figures from Data Center Map, which catalogs both in-development and active sites. Its latest count shows more than 4,700 planned and operating data centers across the U.S.
Prediction markets are becoming a usable forecast for real infrastructure. Market Briefs covers that signal free every morning.
By state, Data Center Map places Virginia at the top, counting more than 670 sites either planned or active; Texas comes next with 537, and California has more than 200. Tech firms have been expanding footprints in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. That growth has drawn community resistance over the potential for higher household utility bills and the heavy water requirements of these projects.
Last month Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar, that Oracle issued its developer a "force majeure" notice tied to a New Mexico data center project to protect the company from higher costs if the site is not operating in 2028 as anticipated. Bloomberg also reported the proposal ran into difficulties this summer after New Mexico regulators denied applications for a gas pipeline intended to supply the facility.
Where traders expect data centers to be built is worth knowing. Get the free Market Briefs daily newsletter and follow it.
