Colocation pricing by market is the monthly rate a data center operator charges per kilowatt of contracted power in a given metro, usually quoted as dollars per kW per month and inclusive of space, cooling and a base level of power. In 2026 the published range across North American markets runs from roughly $125 per kW in the softest secondary markets to more than $235 per kW in Northern Virginia and Chicago, and the number a buyer actually pays depends on the market, the size of the requirement, the contract term and the density of the deployment. This guide collects the rates that CBRE, JLL and other published sources have reported for 2025 and 2026, explains what moves them, and shows how to use them as a benchmark for a new deal or a renewal.
What does colocation cost per kW in 2026?
Across the eight primary North American markets, the average asking rate for a 250 kW to 500 kW requirement reached $196.25 per kW per month in the second half of 2025, up 6.6 percent year over year, and CBRE expected that band to pass $200 in 2026. The CBRE North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 report, published August 27, 2026, confirms the direction: asking rates rose 4.3 percent year over year for 250 kW to 500 kW requirements, 7.9 percent for 500 kW to 3 MW, 8.3 percent for 3 MW to 10 MW, and 6.7 percent for 10 MW and above.
The context behind those increases is a market with almost nothing to sell. Supply isn’t coming quickly either. CBRE puts primary-market vacancy at a record low 1.4 percent in the first half of 2026, with 10,903 MW of inventory, 7,481 MW under construction and 80.4 percent of that construction already preleased. JLL’s mid-2026 update says rents have climbed nearly 70 percent since 2020, averaging about 9 percent a year, and that tenants signing today are contracting for deliveries in 2028. JLL also names the group feeling it most: enterprises whose requirements sit between 500 kW and 3 MW, which it says are struggling to secure capacity at all.
How does colocation pricing differ by market?
The table below gathers the published bands by market. The requirement size matters as much as the metro, so each row states the size the figure applies to, the source and the period. Older bands are included where no newer figure has been published, and they should be read as a floor rather than today’s price given the increases above.
| Market | Published rate (per kW per month) | Requirement size | Source and period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Virginia | $190 to $235 | 250 kW to 500 kW | CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026, Q1 2026 |
| Northern Virginia | $155 to $185 | 10 MW and above | CBRE, H2 2025 |
| Chicago | $200 to $230 (up 14.7 percent year over year) | 250 kW to 500 kW | CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026, Q1 2026 |
| Silicon Valley | $180 to $275 | market range | CBRE Silicon Valley market release, H2 2025 |
| Hillsboro (Portland) | $175 to $225 | market range | CBRE Hillsboro market release, H2 2025 |
| Phoenix | $150 to $210 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL North America Data Center Report, midyear 2025 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $130 to $170 (CBRE reports DFW pricing flat year over year at Q1 2026) | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025; CBRE Q1 2026 |
| Atlanta | $140 to $155 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| New Jersey | $145 to $225 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| New York | $145 to $185 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Salt Lake City | $150 to $210 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Las Vegas and Reno | $145 to $195 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Columbus | $125 to $165 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Austin and San Antonio | $125 to $165 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Houston | $130 to $160 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Los Angeles | $125 to $145 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
| Denver | $125 to $145 | 1 MW to 5 MW | JLL midyear 2025 |
Sources: CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026, CBRE Silicon Valley H2 2025, CBRE Hillsboro H2 2025, JLL North America Data Center Report, midyear 2025.
Two patterns stand out. First, the spread between the most expensive and the cheapest markets is roughly $100 per kW per month, which on a 1 MW deployment is about $1.2 million a year. That’s real money. Second, the cheap markets are cheap for a reason: Los Angeles and Denver carried vacancy in the mid to high teens in the same reports, while Northern Virginia and Columbus were effectively full. Cheap isn’t the same as available. A low rate with no capacity behind it isn’t a price a buyer can pay. The live inventory behind each of these metros is on the GoDataCenters market pages, for example Northern Virginia, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Atlanta.
Why do large requirements pay less per kW?
Wholesale pricing runs well below retail on a per-kW basis because the operator sells a whole hall or building to one tenant, carries less sales and operating overhead per kW, and usually signs a longer term with an investment-grade credit. Northern Virginia illustrates the gap: $155 to $185 per kW for a 10 MW plus requirement in H2 2025 against $190 to $235 for a 250 kW to 500 kW requirement a quarter later.
That discount is narrowing in the markets with the least supply. CBRE’s H1 2026 report shows 10 MW plus asking rates up 19 percent year over year in the New York Tri-State market, 14.5 percent in Atlanta and 9.7 percent in Chicago, while Northern Virginia rose only 1.5 percent and Silicon Valley and Hillsboro were unchanged. The largest buyers are now paying the increases that used to land only on retail tenants.
The middle of the market is where the squeeze is worst. A 500 kW to 3 MW requirement is too small for a wholesale hall and too large for a standard retail cage, and it competes for the same halls that hyperscale and AI tenants preleased months ago. That’s the segment CBRE recorded a 7.9 percent increase for, and the segment JLL describes as struggling to secure space. The capacity-band pages on this site, such as 1 to 5 MW colocation in Northern Virginia, track the operators that still list space at that size.
What is included in a per-kW colocation rate?
A quoted rate per kW normally covers the space, the power feed up to the contracted amount, cooling, physical security and a base level of remote hands. It doesn’t usually cover metered power consumption, which is billed at a pass-through or a marked-up utility rate; cross-connects, which run to about $750 for installation plus a monthly recurring charge per connection; bandwidth; and remote hands above the included hours, which published surveys put at $100 to $200 an hour.
Two contract terms change what you actually pay more than the headline rate does. The first is the ramp: an operator that lets a tenant pay for 40 percent of the contracted power in year one and step up over 24 months has cut the effective year-one rate almost in half. The second is the take-or-pay floor. CBRE’s H1 2026 report notes minimum utilization floors of 60 to 85 percent are now common in new leases, which means a tenant that contracts 1 MW and uses 500 kW still pays for 600 kW to 850 kW. When comparing quotes, restate every offer as total cost over the term at the expected load, not as a rate per kW. The colocation RFQ guide on this site sets out the template for that comparison.
How should you benchmark a colocation renewal in 2026?
Renewals are where the published rates matter most, because the operator already knows what it can charge the next tenant. So should you. A tenant that signed in 2020 or 2021 is sitting on a rate that JLL’s numbers suggest is 40 to 70 percent below today’s asking price for the same market, and the renewal proposal will try to close that gap in one step. That gap is the whole negotiation.
Four checks make the negotiation concrete. First, place the current contracted rate against the published band for the same market and requirement size in the table above; the difference is the operator’s opening position, not the settlement. Second, price the alternative in full, including migration cost and the lead time for new space, which JLL’s mid-2026 data says can extend to 2028 in primary markets. Third, use term and growth as currency: operators price a five-year renewal with a committed expansion below a two-year renewal with none. Fourth, ask for the rate on a comparable requirement from two other operators in the same metro before the renewal deadline, which is the purpose of the GoDataCenters quote request and the 2026 colocation buyer’s playbook.
In a market with 1.4 percent vacancy, a tenant in place with a clean payment record is valuable to an operator. That position is real, but it only works when the tenant can show that the alternative is priced and available.
FAQ: colocation pricing by market
Q: What is the average colocation price per kW in the United States in 2026?
The published primary-market average for a 250 kW to 500 kW requirement was $196.25 per kW per month in the second half of 2025, and CBRE expected it to exceed $200 in 2026. Asking rates rose a further 4.3 percent year over year for that size band in the first half of 2026, and 7.9 percent for 500 kW to 3 MW requirements.
Q: Which US data center market is the most expensive?
On published 2026 figures, Northern Virginia ($190 to $235 per kW) and Chicago ($200 to $230 per kW) carry the highest retail bands, with Silicon Valley’s top of range reaching $275 per kW in H2 2025.
Q: Which markets are cheapest for colocation?
Los Angeles and Denver were published at $125 to $145 per kW for 1 MW to 5 MW requirements in JLL’s midyear 2025 report, with Columbus, Austin, San Antonio and Houston close behind. Those markets also had the most available capacity, which is the reason for the price.
Q: Does colocation pricing include power usage?
The per-kW rate covers the contracted power capacity and the infrastructure behind it. Actual consumption is normally metered and billed separately, and take-or-pay floors of 60 to 85 percent of the contracted amount are common in new leases.
Q: How much have colocation rents increased?
JLL reports rents up nearly 70 percent since 2020, averaging about 9 percent a year, and expects the momentum to hold through 2030 because the capacity under construction is 95 percent pre-committed.
Get quotes for your market before you sign
GoDataCenters tracks 4,551 facilities across 109 countries and every published US market in the table above. Submit your requirement through the quote request form and receive a shortlist of operators with listed capacity in your market and size band, at no cost to the buyer. For a renewal, send the current rate and term and the shortlist will show the comparison directly.