Texas, when viewed as a single market, could overtake Northern Virginia as the world\u2019s largest data center market by 2030, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm JLL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report cites the state\u2019s abundant energy resources, ample land availability and a business-friendly operating environment as factors in the expected growth, according to Curt Holcomb, vice chairman of data center solutions at the firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a development super cycle,\u201d said Holcomb. \u201cWe\u2019ve never seen development of this asset class like this ever. It\u2019s a relatively new asset class compared to office or industrial, so there\u2019s a lot of activity, and a lot of capital pouring into the market.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Holcomb expects Texas to be No. 1 in the near future, the state is currently at No. 4, behind Northern Virginia, the Pacific Northwest and Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Dallas-Fort Worth area remains the current largest data center market in the state but other areas, like Houston and West Texas, are expected to see rapid growth over the next few years, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf ERCOT and the utilities could provide the amount of power that we see demand for, then this thing would be kind of easy, but it takes time to grow capacity,\u201d Holcomb said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Texas accounts for nearly a third of U.S. planned buildout with 80.6 gigawatts of gas-fired power capacity in development with almost half of that capacity planned to directly power data centers, according to a report <\/a>from Global Energy Monitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really seeing everybody exploring all sources of energy \u2014 that includes what some people would call alternative energy solutions,\u201d said Holcomb.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas is attractive, not just because of its large supply of natural gas, but also because of the wind and solar power offerings in the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry is open to everything right now and if it is clean energy, then so much the better,\u201d said Holcomb.\u00a0<\/p>\n In late 2024, Google and Fort Worth- and San Francisco-based TPG Rise Climate announced a partnership to develop data center capacity in the U.S., co-located with new clean energy plants to power them. Google has or is developing several data centers in the state, including in nearby Midlothian.<\/p>\n There are other efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the plants, including a recent one approved for tax breaks <\/a>by the Fort Worth City Council. Edged Data Centers, a subsidiary of Endeavor, has proposed a data center on a 186-acre site near the intersection of Interstate 20 and Chapin School Road. The company is proposing to invest $1.1 billion in the site over two phases.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last 10 years, the industry has gone from evaporated cooling systems to closed loop type systems, which drastically cuts the amount of water that\u2019s consumed within these data centers,\u201d Holcomb said. \u201cIt may be 10% to 15% of what they used to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Government entities like these projects because they increase the tax base, said Holcomb. While the plants don\u2019t employ a large number of workers, the taxes paid by the centers are very attractive.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at communities and what these things bring to a community, the amount of capital invested in these is a gigantic number,\u201d he said. \u201cThe tax revenues generated by the facilities and real property taxes in sales tax and business personal property tax are really enormous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A little housing ZIP\u00a0<\/p>\n What were Fort Worth\u2019s top ZIP codes for homebuyers in 2025?<\/p>\n The Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors ranked the top-10 ZIP codes for the largest year-over-year percentage increase in home transactions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 76102 ZIP code, in central Fort Worth, saw the highest percentage increase in transactions at 55%. Though there were only 31 transactions, that was a 50% increase over 2024. Next up was 76132 in the southwest and Wedgwood neighborhood at 25.9%, and 76126, also in the southwest part of the city, including Benbrook, at 14.2%. There were 170 transactions in 76132 with a 26% increase over 2024. The average sale price there in 2025 was $632,858. There were 580 transactions in 76126, a 14% increase over 2024 with an average sale price of $581,918.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coming in No. 10 is ZIP code 76123, also in the southwest part of the city and including parts of Crowley. This area saw only a 2.4% year-over-year increase in transactions, but it had the highest transaction volume on the list at 600. The average sale price there was $352,134.<\/p>\n The lowest average sales price was $283,378, found in ZIP code 76133, also in the southwest part of the city. That ZIP code saw 505 transactions last year.<\/p>\n The Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors\u2019 analysis of the data, demonstrated the variety of offerings in the city, said Shawn Buck, the 2026 president of the association.<\/p>\n \u201cReal estate has always been and will always be local, so much so it can change from one street to the next,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople love Fort Worth, and there is something here for everyone. We have modern city living mixed with Texas charm, so folks can find a condo or country life. We have the best of both worlds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Have something for Bob on Business: Send to bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bob Francis is business editor at the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n