1-5 MW requirements in Chicago fall into the retail and small wholesale colocation segment. Market pricing bands: $200-230/kW/month (CBRE Q1 2026, +14.7% YoY) (brokerage data). Market vacancy is 2.2%, so 1-5 MW blocks are scarce and typically pre-leased. Total operational inventory is about 911 MW.
1-5 MW colocation in Chicago: key numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing band (market) | $200-230/kW/month (CBRE Q1 2026, +14.7% YoY); $155-165/kW 1-5 MW (JLL H1 2025) | |
| Vacancy | 2.2% | CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026 (Q1 2026); CBRE H2 2025 chapter: 1.9% |
| Inventory | 911 MW | CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026 (Q1 2026, +37.7% YoY); CBRE H2 2025: 904.6 MW; JLL H1 2025: 882 MW |
| Under construction | 1,184 MW | JLL Midyear 2025 (1,184 MW); CBRE H2 2025 reports Chicago under-construction +169% YoY (no absolute) (H1 2025) |
| Grid | PJM |
Can Chicago deliver 1-5 MW of power today?
Projects serviced by ComEd face power delivery delays until 2032 or later; ComEd now requires 10-year letters of credit backing transmission revenue on 50 MW+ projects; no contiguous 5 MW+ space available; development moving outside suburbs to 500 MW+ power sites (CBRE H2 2025).
Which operators can serve 1-5 MW in Chicago?
Operators active in the market at scale include Digital Realty, Equinix, Meta, Microsoft, CyrusOne, Aligned, Prime Data Centers, CoreSite, T5, Compass Datacenters, STACK, PowerHouse, CoreWeave (tenant). Availability for a specific block changes monthly; request a capacity check for current options.
What to specify in a 1-5 MW RFP
State IT load in MW and the ramp schedule, target density in kW per rack, redundancy (N+1 or 2N), term, and whether you need liquid cooling. See colocation RFP questions to ask and take-or-pay.
Frequently asked questions
What does 1-5 MW colocation cost in Chicago?
Market pricing bands are $200-230/kW/month (CBRE Q1 2026, +14.7% YoY); $155-165/kW 1-5 MW (JLL H1 2025). Larger blocks and longer terms price toward the low end.
Is 1-5 MW capacity available in Chicago right now?
Market vacancy is 2.2%. Blocks of this size are usually committed before completion; lead times run into future delivery phases.
Is Chicago a good market for a 1-5 MW deployment?
Chicago is a Tier 1 market with about 911 MW of inventory. Fit depends on power lead time, latency needs and incentive eligibility.
Related pages
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Sources
- https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/global-data-center-trends-2026
- https://www.cbre.com/insights/books/north-america-data-center-trends-h2-2025/chicago-data-center-market
- https://www.cbre.com/press-releases/northern-virginia-extends-lead-as-largest-u-s-data-center-market-in-2025
- https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/cbre-new-data-center-capacity-under-construction-in-primary-us-markets-declines-year-on-year/
- https://realestatedaily-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/JLL-North-America-Data-Center-Report-Midyear-2025-8.14.25.pdf
- https://baxtel.com/data-center/chicago
- https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/datacenters.html
- https://www.constructionowners.com/insights/data-center-tax-incentives-state-by-state-whos-still-giving-whos-taking-back
Data compiled by GoDataCenters. Last updated 2026-09-02. Figures are market-level ranges from cited reports, not quotes.