Compute Institute
Ratings for the physical buildout of AI

Jurisdiction Index / US — Rest of US (composite)

US — Rest of US (composite)

Tier 2 · Competitive
Stable
Rank #8 of 30
Data confidence A
63.4 /100

JCI composite · as of · methodology v0

US — Rest of US (composite) scores 63.4/100 on the Compute Institute Jurisdiction Competitiveness Index (Tier 2, Competitive), ranking #8 of 30 rated jurisdictions with a stable outlook, as of June 15, 2026 under methodology v0. Its strongest dimension is Stability & Execution Risk at 8.1/10; its weakest is Power Availability & Deliverability at 5.1/10. 22 of 22 sub-factors are scored on E1–E2 evidence (data confidence A).

Dimension breakdown

Seven dimensions, each 0–10, weighted per methodology v0. JCI = Σ(dimension × weight) × 10.

Power Availability & Deliverability

5.1 /10 weight 20%

Power Cost

5.9 /10 weight 12.5%

Speed to Build

6.3 /10 weight 17.5%

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment

6.1 /10 weight 12.5%

Fiscal & Incentives

6.4 /10 weight 10%

Capital & Ecosystem Depth

6.9 /10 weight 12.5%

Stability & Execution Risk

8.1 /10 weight 15%

Sub-factor scores and sources

Every base-scored input below carries E1–E2 evidence: a justification, an evidence-level grade, and a link to the underlying source document.

Power Availability & Deliverability — 5.1/10 (weight 20%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Grid headroom 40% of dimension 5 /10 Composite: ~2,600 GW of US generation queue requests against constrained RTO capacity (PJM/MISO tight, pockets of headroom in Upper Midwest/Mountain West); explicitly a capacity-weighted blend. as of
E1
LBNL Queued Up — US interconnection queues emp.lbl.gov
Time-to-power 35% of dimension 4.5 /10 Composite: median US queue-to-operation for generation ~5 yrs and large-load offers typically 3-5 yrs across RTOs; best regions faster, PJM slower. as of
E1
LBNL Queued Up — US interconnection queues emp.lbl.gov
Energy mix & expandability 15% of dimension 6 /10 Massive solar/storage/gas pipeline (EIA-860M) and growing legal acceptance of co-located/BTM generation, offset by RTO study backlogs. as of
E1
ERCOT interconnection queue / EIA-860M preliminary generator data www.eia.gov
Water availability 10% of dimension 6 /10 Composite: low stress in Midwest/Northeast, high stress in Southwest growth markets (Phoenix) per WRI Aqueduct. as of
E1
WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas www.wri.org

Power Cost — 5.9/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Industrial electricity price 60% of dimension 6 /10 US industrial average ~7.5-8 c/kWh in 2026 (up ~4% y/y), spanning ~5.5 c (WA/ID) to ~10+ c (Northeast/CA). as of
E1
EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A www.eia.gov
Price trajectory & exposure 25% of dimension 4.5 /10 PJM/MISO capacity-cost escalation passing to load and broad data-center-driven rate cases; politically salient retail increases create regulatory pushback risk. as of
E1
PJM capacity auction results (reported, Utility Dive) www.utilitydive.com
Cost certainty / contractability 15% of dimension 8 /10 Deepest corporate PPA market in the world, USD, 10-15 yr tenors routine across organized markets. as of
E1
ERCOT market rules / LBNL utility-scale market reports emp.lbl.gov

Speed to Build — 6.3/10 (weight 17.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Permitting regime 40% of dimension 6 /10 Composite: most private DC builds avoid federal NEPA; state/county regimes range from by-right (OH, AZ) to restrictive (parts of Northeast, Pacific NW). as of
E1
State permitting statutes (composite assessment) www.ncsl.org
Observed construction velocity 35% of dimension 6.5 /10 Typical US hyperscale shell 18-30 months once powered (Ohio, Arizona, Iowa builds); internal project DB not yet populated. as of
E2
Hyperscaler sponsor disclosures (composite) www.datacenterknowledge.com
Labor & supply capacity 25% of dimension 6.5 /10 Deep national EPC base but documented shortages of electricians and 160-week transformer lead times constrain parallel builds. as of
E2
Hyperscaler sponsor disclosures (composite) www.datacenterknowledge.com

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment — 6.1/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
AI-specific law in force 35% of dimension 5.5 /10 No federal AI statute; state patchwork (Colorado AI Act delayed/amended, sectoral rules) leaves a permissive but unsettled regime. as of
E1
Colorado SB24-205 and state AI legislation record (NCSL tracker, verified to primary text) www.ncsl.org
DC-specific regulation 35% of dimension 5.5 /10 Composite of supportive states and emerging county moratoria/ordinances; several states adopting large-load tariffs that condition access. as of
E1
State PUC large-load tariff dockets (composite) www.naruc.org
Regulatory predictability 30% of dimension 7.5 /10 US WGI Regulatory Quality ~88th and Rule of Law ~89th percentile. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org

Fiscal & Incentives — 6.4/10 (weight 10%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Enacted incentives 40% of dimension 7 /10 30+ states have enacted data-center sales-tax exemptions or abatements; depth varies widely across the composite. as of
E1
State data center incentive statutes (composite; e.g., Ohio R.C. 122.175) codes.ohio.gov
Headline tax burden 40% of dimension 6 /10 21% federal CIT plus average ~6% state CIT; bonus depreciation restored federally aids capital-intensive build. as of
E1
OECD Corporate Tax Statistics — United States www.oecd.org
Incentive durability 20% of dimension 6 /10 Most exemptions have long sunsets, but ratepayer politics is generating review bills in multiple states. as of
E1
State permitting statutes (composite assessment) www.ncsl.org

Capital & Ecosystem Depth — 6.9/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Committed capital 40% of dimension 8.5 /10 Hundreds of billions of closed hyperscaler and neocloud financings across OH, AZ, IA, WI, LA (Stargate sites, Meta Hyperion etc.), E1 filings. as of
E1
SEC filings — hyperscaler capex disclosures www.sec.gov
Ecosystem 30% of dimension 8.5 /10 Multiple mature DC metros, dense national fiber, every hyperscaler present, unrestricted GPU access. as of
E1
EIA/ERCOT load data; TeleGeography fiber maps www.submarinecablemap.com
Sovereign/anchor capital availability 30% of dimension 3 /10 No sovereign wealth fund; federal loan programs not AI-DC-specific. as of
E1
IFSWF member directory (no US state AI-infra SWF) www.ifswf.org

Stability & Execution Risk — 8.1/10 (weight 15%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Political/policy continuity 40% of dimension 7 /10 Strong institutions; WGI Political Stability mid-range (~45th pct) and federal energy/AI policy reversals across administrations are documented. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org
Currency, transfer & convertibility 35% of dimension 9.5 /10 USD, no capital controls, AA+ sovereign. as of
E1
IMF AREAER — United States www.elibrary-areaer.imf.org
Physical & geopolitical risk 25% of dimension 8 /10 No sanctions/conflict exposure; regional natural-hazard exposure varies (wildfire, hurricane, tornado) across composite. as of
E1
FEMA National Risk Index hazards.fema.gov

Signals

Recent ingested source documents linked to this jurisdiction via extracted claims or triage mentions, newest first.

  1. www.sec.gov · relevance 0.50

  2. codes.ohio.gov · relevance 0.70

  3. www.oecd.org · relevance 0.00

  4. www.naruc.org · relevance 0.50

  5. www.ncsl.org · relevance 0.40

  6. www.datacenterknowledge.com · relevance 0.30

  7. www.ncsl.org · relevance 0.10

  8. emp.lbl.gov · relevance 0.60

  9. hazards.fema.gov · relevance 0.10

  10. www.utilitydive.com · relevance 0.50

Scores are reproducible from the frozen inputs snapshot recorded at computation time (2026-06-15T23:52:45+00:00). See the full methodology for rubrics, weights, and the evidence ladder.