Texas Data Centers
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, the AI Campuses in West Texas, and What the ERCOT Pause Means for Your Timeline
Texas is building more data center capacity than any other state, and in August 2026 it paused new large-load approvals to audit the queue. We find Texas space that has power on your date, in an existing building or a new one, at no cost to you.
Price My Texas RequirementSearches for data centers in Texas usually mean one of two things: colocation space for a company that needs cabinets, cages or a few megawatts, or the AI build-out that has made the state the center of new construction. This page covers both: the Texas markets and what each is good for, the AI data centers in Texas and their status, how ERCOT and the 2025 law known as SB 6 shape power, and how to get space. Market detail is on Dallas colocation, Houston colocation and Austin and San Antonio data centers.
Sources: JLL via the Houston Business Journal (August 2026); Utility Dive on the queue audit; ERCOT; facility count from Baxtel via ENGIE Resources. As of October 2026.
After the August 2026 pause, an energized hall is worth more than a promised one. We confirm what is powered and when.
DFW for interconnection and wholesale, Houston for energy and Gulf Coast companies, Austin and San Antonio for tech and lower cost, West Texas for scale.
From a few cabinets to multi-megawatt and liquid-cooled requirements, matched to buildings that can deliver them.
The operator you choose pays us. Your rate is not marked up, and you'll hear back within 24 hours.
Texas Data Center Markets
| Market | What is there | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | The state's largest market: carrier hotels downtown, wholesale campuses in Richardson, Garland, Plano, Allen and Red Oak | Interconnection, enterprise and wholesale colocation |
| Houston | The 1301 Fannin carrier hotel and suburban campuses, close to the energy industry | Energy, healthcare and Gulf Coast enterprises |
| Austin | Switch, CyrusOne, Digital Realty and DataBank, with growth in Round Rock and San Marcos | Tech companies and Central Texas enterprises |
| San Antonio | Microsoft's major hub and CyrusOne's Westover Hills campus, with new wholesale campuses | Lower-cost capacity and recovery for other Texas sites |
| West Texas and the Panhandle | Stargate in Abilene, Vantage's Frontier campus, and planned campuses near Amarillo and in the Permian Basin | Hyperscale AI campuses, mostly built for a single tenant |
MCA calculation from straight-line distance, about 1 ms round trip per 100 km; real fiber routes are longer. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Send power, cabinet or megawatt count, connectivity needs and date. You'll hear back within 24 hours with the Texas buildings that fit.
AI Data Centers in Texas
Texas attracts AI campuses for the same reasons it attracts every large industrial load: land, a fast-growing grid, natural gas, and a regulatory culture built for big projects. Most of these campuses are single-tenant builds for hyperscalers and AI labs rather than colocation, but they set the pace for the whole state.
| Campus | Who and where | Planned scale | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stargate Abilene | OpenAI and Oracle, developed by Crusoe on the Lancium site in Abilene | About 1.2 GW | Buildings online since 2025, ramping through 2026 |
| Frontier | Vantage Data Centers, near Abilene | About 1.4 GW | Under construction |
| Project Matador | Fermi America, near Amarillo | Up to about 11 GW planned | Delayed; construction paused in early 2026 |
| GW Ranch | Pacifico Energy, Pecos County | About 7.65 GW, planned with its own generation | Planned |
Sources: ERCOT queue tracker, Compute Law, ROC Telecom. Project scales are as announced and may change.
For a company placing GPUs rather than building a campus, the practical options are liquid-cooled halls in DFW and San Antonio, and smaller AI-ready colocation across the state. See AI and GPU colocation and GB200 and GB300 NVL72 for what high-density racks require.
Power: ERCOT, SB 6 and the August 2026 Pause
Most of Texas runs on ERCOT, a grid largely separate from the rest of the country. Its large-load queue grew from about 63 GW at the end of 2024 to roughly 474 GW by August 2026, more than five times the grid's record peak. Only a small fraction is real: by spring 2026 about 9 GW had approval to energize.
SB 6 (2025)
Sets the rules for loads of 75 MW and more: interconnection standards, financial security, disclosure of duplicate requests, and mandatory curtailment readiness for large loads connecting from 2026.
Batch Zero
A new process approved in June 2026 to study the first group of large-load projects together, with security deposits of about $50,000 per MW.
The August 2026 pause
On August 3, 2026, Governor Abbott called for an audit of data centers in the queue, and ERCOT delayed Batch Zero, effectively pausing new approvals.
Sources: Utility Dive, Global Data Center Hub, ERCOT. Rules are still being finalized by the Public Utility Commission.
Texas Data Center Incentives
Texas exempts qualifying data centers of at least 100,000 square feet that meet investment and job thresholds from state sales and use tax on qualifying equipment, with local tax also exempt for qualifying large projects of at least 250,000 square feet. Texas has no state income tax. Like other states, it is weighing how much large loads should pay for grid upgrades, so incentives and power terms may change. For tenants, the benefit shows up through the operator's costs rather than as a direct credit.
What Texas Colocation Costs
Texas markets generally price below Northern Virginia and Chicago, with Dallas and San Antonio among the more affordable large markets for wholesale space. Retail cabinets in the Dallas and Houston carrier hotels cost more than suburban campuses. Current figures are on the colocation pricing guide and each market page.
Who Texas Data Centers Suit
National enterprises
Central location with good latency to both coasts; DFW is a common primary or recovery site.
Energy and industrial companies
Houston's ecosystem and proximity to operations.
AI and GPU deployments
Scale and liquid-cooled capacity, with power dates checked.
Companies leaving cloud or their own server rooms
Lower costs than coastal markets. See cloud repatriation.
Texas and Other Markets
Texas pairs with Atlanta, Phoenix and Virginia for national footprints, and with Mexico for companies serving both sides of the border. For a recovery site, Dallas and Houston back each other up, and Austin and San Antonio sit between them.
How We Find Space in Texas
You send the requirement
Power, cabinet or megawatt count, connectivity, cooling and date. You'll hear back within 24 hours.
We find what is powered
Which Texas halls have space and energized power for your date, including space that is not advertised.
We negotiate and you sign
Rate, power dates, term and exit terms negotiated before you sign. The operator you choose pays us.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many data centers are in Texas?
About 600 by one directory count, concentrated in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, with large new AI campuses in West Texas and the Panhandle. Texas also leads the US in capacity under construction, about 26 GW by JLL's mid-2026 count.
Where are most data centers in Texas?
Dallas-Fort Worth is the largest market, followed by Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The newest large campuses are in West Texas, around Abilene, and planned near Amarillo and in the Permian Basin.
Why are so many data centers being built in Texas?
Land, a fast-growing grid, natural gas, a central location with good latency to both coasts and Mexico, and a regulatory culture used to large industrial projects.
What are the biggest AI data centers in Texas?
The Stargate campus in Abilene for OpenAI and Oracle, about 1.2 GW; Vantage's Frontier campus near Abilene, about 1.4 GW under construction; and planned projects including Fermi America near Amarillo and GW Ranch in Pecos County.
What is the Stargate data center in Abilene?
A campus built by Crusoe on the Lancium site in Abilene for OpenAI and Oracle, planned at about 1.2 GW. Buildings have been coming online since 2025, ramping through 2026.
What is happening with the Amarillo data center?
Fermi America's Project Matador near Amarillo was announced at up to about 11 GW, but construction paused in early 2026 and the project is delayed.
Did Texas pause data center approvals?
Yes. On August 3, 2026, Governor Abbott called for an audit of data centers in ERCOT's large-load queue, which had reached about 474 GW, and ERCOT delayed its Batch Zero study, effectively pausing new approvals. Existing data centers keep operating.
What is SB 6?
A 2025 Texas law setting rules for large loads of 75 MW and more on the ERCOT grid, including interconnection standards, financial security, disclosure of duplicate requests and curtailment readiness. Regulators are still finalizing parts of it.
Does the ERCOT pause affect colocation?
Not for space in existing, energized buildings. It matters for new multi-megawatt and AI requirements that depend on new interconnections, so confirm energization dates in writing.
Does Texas offer data center tax incentives?
Yes. Qualifying data centers of at least 100,000 square feet that meet investment and job thresholds can be exempt from state sales and use tax on qualifying equipment, and qualifying large projects of at least 250,000 square feet from local tax too. Texas has no state income tax.
How much does colocation cost in Texas?
Texas markets generally price below Northern Virginia and Chicago, with Dallas and San Antonio among the more affordable large markets. Quotes depend on power, cabinet count, term and connectivity.
Dallas or Houston for colocation?
Dallas for interconnection, the largest choice of buildings and wholesale capacity. Houston for proximity to energy and Gulf Coast companies. Many companies use one as a recovery site for the other, about 3.6 ms apart.
Is Texas a good place for AI and GPU colocation?
Yes for scale and liquid-cooled capacity, with the caveat that new power is slower after the 2026 pause. Existing AI-ready halls in DFW and San Antonio are the fastest route.
Is the Texas grid reliable for data centers?
ERCOT set a demand record of 91,089 MW in July 2026, and new rules require large loads to be ready to curtail in emergencies. Facilities rely on on-site generation and redundant feeds, which you should verify for any building.
Do you charge for finding Texas data center space?
No. The operator you choose pays us from its channel budget, and your rate is not marked up. You'll hear back within 24 hours.
Price Your Texas Requirement
Tell us power, cabinet or megawatt count, connectivity needs and date. You'll hear back within 24 hours from the person who will run your search. No cost, no obligation, and the operator you choose pays us.
Once you have contacted an operator directly, it usually will not work through an advisor on your deal.
Texas markets: Dallas, Houston and Austin and San Antonio.
AI and power: AI and GPU colocation, direct to chip cooling, powered land and NVIDIA Rubin.
Planning: wholesale colocation, data center cost, disaster recovery and how a data center broker works.
