These Counties Are America’s Data Center Hotspots

Since ChatGPT was released to the public in late 2022, Artificial Intelligence has proliferated in  the United States. According to a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 58% of small businesses used AI in 2025, up from 40% in 2024, and just 23% in 2023. A separate survey, conducted in June 2025 by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, found that over half of all Americans now use generative AI tools for personal purposes. But despite rapid adoption, AI is being met with widespread skepticism. 

A 2025 study from the Pew Research Center found that 57% of American adults say that the risks AI poses to society are high or very high, compared to 25% who say AI will be highly beneficial. Notably, the Pew study also found that potential job losses is one of the most commonly cited risks Americans associate with AI. These concerns are not unfounded. Projections from Goldman Sachs Research suggest that continued adoption of AI in its current form could displace up to 14% of the work force. 

From a business perspective, however, AI-driven automation represents lucrative cost-saving opportunities – and many tech-industry leaders are going all in, investing tens of billions of dollars in AI data centers. Between Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, announced AI infrastructure capex exceeds $600 billion, more than the GDP of many countries, including Austria, Israel, and Singapore.

According to a recent report from the American Edge Project, nearly 2,800 new data centers are currently in the planning or construction phase nationwide. These energy-intensive facilities are expected to drive a surge in electricity demand in the coming years, exposing vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. A single data center can require more than 500,000 megawatt hours per year, enough electricity to power tens of thousands of households. 

Using data compiled by Business Insider, Climate Crisis 247 identified the U.S. counties where new data centers will consume the most energy. Counties are ranked by the combined, estimated power usage of local data centers that have either been built or approved for construction as of late 2024. Supplemental data for each data center’s location and corporate affiliation are also from BI. 

Among the 10 counties on this list, high-end estimates for data center electricity demand ranges from 643,000 MWh to 4.9 million MWh per year. Combined data center electricity use across these counties is enough to power more than 1.5 million typical American households annually. These counties are spread across six states – Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. 

10. Bexar County, Texas

• Est. data center power-use in county: 401,907 – 643,049 MWh per year (enough to power up to 61,243 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 17
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Microsoft, 7 data centers
• Microsoft’s power-use in county: 63.6% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 38,949 households annually)

9. Washington County, Oregon

• Est. data center power-use in county: 431,805 – 690,884 MWh per year (enough to power up to 65,798 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 19
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Digital Realty, 3 data centers
• Digital Realty’s power-use in county: 27.2% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 17,924 households annually)

8. Morrow County, Oregon

• Est. data center power-use in county: 465,068 – 744,110 MWh per year (enough to power up to 70,868 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 8
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Amazon, 8 data centers
• Amazon’s power-use in county: 100.0% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 70,868 households annually)

7. Cook County, Illinois

• Est. data center power-use in county: 470,557 – 752,884 MWh per year (enough to power up to 71,703 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 36 (35 with available energy-use data)
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Digital Realty, 8 data centers
• Digital Realty’s power-use in county: 31.3% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 22,432 households annually)

6. Mecklenburg County, Virginia

• Est. data center power-use in county: 505,145 – 808,228 MWh per year (enough to power up to 76,974 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 9
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Microsoft, 8 data centers
• Microsoft’s power-use in county: 98.5% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 75,820 households annually)

5. Fairfax County, Virginia

• Est. data center power-use in county: 573,339 – 917,336 MWh per year (enough to power up to 87,365 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 45 (44 with available energy-use data)
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: CoreSite, 2 data centers
• CoreSite’s power-use in county: 66.1% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 57,761 households annually)

4. Sarpy County, Nebraska

• Est. data center power-use in county: 773,792 – 1.2 million MWh per year (enough to power up to 117,911 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 7
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Meta, 1 data centers
• Meta’s power-use in county: 64.2% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 75,661 households annually)

3. Prince William County, Virginia

• Est. data center power-use in county: 1.3 million – 2.1 million MWh per year (enough to power up to 202,415 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 77
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Amazon, 40 data centers
• Amazon’s power-use in county: 38.9% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 78,697 households annually)

2. Maricopa County, Arizona

• Est. data center power-use in county: 2.1 million – 3.3 million MWh per year (enough to power up to 318,218 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 48 (47 with available energy-use data)
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: QTS, 2 data centers
• QTS’s power-use in county: 25.0% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 79,508 households annually)

1. Loudoun County, Virginia

• Est. data center power-use in county: 3.1 million – 4.9 million MWh per year (enough to power up to 466,819 households annually)
• Number of known existing or planned data centers in county: 176
• Company with the largest data center presence in county: Amazon, 80 data centers
• Amazon’s power-use in county: 34.2% of data center energy demand (enough to power up to 159,823 households annually)