South Central

Labor availability poses a significant challenge. A city like Chicago might bring in workers from Milwaukee or Indianapolis to make sure projects get finished on time if competition for labor is fierce enough.

But this isn’t an option in the South Central region, as cities across the region have been seeing similar booms in construction. Contractors are generally forced to pay the higher labor costs, as bringing labor to San Antonio from a distant city like Omaha is not practical.

Outside of Texas, data centers have been going up across the Deep South. These can be built anywhere with cheap land, plentiful electricity, and lots of water access – things that states like Louisiana and Mississippi have in spades. As commerce continues to move online, demand for these facilities has only accelerated. New projects are announced each week, making it difficult for contractors to keep up.

* Other structures include religious buildings, amusement, government communications, and public recreation projects.