Spending on compute and data center construction will average 3.6% of U.S. GDP each year from 2025 to 2032, based on forecasts from the Brookings Institution. Total expenditures will reach $10.3 trillion over this period, creating the largest single-industry expansion in the history of the U.S. economy and surpassing the cumulative economic footprint of the national canal and electric grid build-outs.

The current investment cycle dwarfs several other historic U.S. infrastructure projects, according to figures from Brookings. Railroad construction averaged 2.24% of GDP during its expansion, while the development of the highway system and the build-out of telecom and fiber optics reached 1.13% and 1.1%, respectively.