Market trends
How our nine markets are priced in 2026.
A directional premium range for every data center market we recruit in, measured against the U.S. infrastructure planning band. Each range mirrors the full market read we publish for that city.
The short answer
Chicago, Northern Virginia and Hillsboro's technical seats run above the U.S. planning band. Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Atlanta hold at the band, with Dallas' advantage arriving as take-home pay rather than base. Columbus, Salt Lake City and San Antonio sit below the band nominally and still close on top-of-band offers, because thin local benches price against relocations and competing campuses rather than local cost of living.
Premium ranges
Nine markets against the U.S. planning band.
These are directional planning ranges, not a licensed survey. Confirm any range against your own offer history before an approval.
| Market | Premium vs. U.S. planning band | Market read |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Virginia | +0 to 8 percent | Pays at to slightly above the U.S. planning band; the real premium is speed, because every credible candidate carries competing offers within commute distance. Full Northern Virginia salary read |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | At band; 6 to 9 percent take-home edge | Sits at the U.S. planning band, and the absence of state income tax gives an identical base a meaningfully better take-home story than a coastal offer. Full Dallas-Fort Worth salary read |
| Phoenix | 0 to 3 percent; top-of-band for high-ambient cooling | Pays at the U.S. planning band, with a genuine premium for candidates who have run high-ambient cooling plant through a desert summer. Most commissioning capacity travels in. Full Phoenix salary read |
| Columbus | 3 to 6 percent below band nominally; top-of-band to close | Sits below the planning band on paper and behaves like an above-band market in practice, because the thin local bench means most credible hires are relocations. Full Columbus salary read |
| Atlanta | 0 to 5 percent on operations and controls, rising | Pays at the band and is trending upward as new campuses absorb a bench that was sized for a much smaller market. Older approved ranges are usually stale here. Full Atlanta salary read |
| Chicago | +4 to 10 percent | Runs above the planning band on a mature critical-space market and union labor context that shapes seat scope before it shapes pay. Full Chicago salary read |
| Salt Lake City | 0 to 4 percent below band nominally; top-of-band to close | Sits at to slightly below the band nominally, but the small local bench means competitive offers land near the top, and senior commissioning almost always travels in. Full Salt Lake City salary read |
| Hillsboro and Portland | 0 to 6 percent above band on technical seats; at band on leadership | Semiconductor fabs compete directly for the same electrical, mechanical and controls talent, which raises the technical floor more than the leadership ceiling. Full Hillsboro salary read |
| San Antonio | 0 to 5 percent below band nominally; strong effective value | Pays at to slightly below the band with strong effective value from no state income tax and lower housing costs, plus the sector's strongest military talent pipeline. Full San Antonio salary read |
How to read this
The premium is not always in the base.
Dallas' edge arrives as take-home pay. Columbus and Salt Lake City close above their nominal ranges. Hillsboro's premium is technical, not leadership. Matching the wrong lever to the wrong market is how bands get approved correctly and still lose candidates.
Need the read for your specific site?
A market map benchmarks the range against the people actually within reach of your location.