Virginia has more data centers than any other US state by a wide margin, according to a Statista analysis of figures from Pew Research Center and industry trackers published in July 2026. The state's lead is tied to a combination of tax incentives, dense fiber connectivity, an established technical workforce, and climate conditions suited to large scale cooling operations.

Texas and California, despite their size and economic scale, trail well behind Virginia in total data center count. New York ranks eighth nationally among states, sitting just behind Arizona and Ohio. Illinois and Georgia also carry sizable data center footprints, reflecting how the industry has spread beyond its original coastal hubs into a broader set of state markets over the past several years.

The geography of new construction looks different from the geography of existing facilities. Pew Research Center figures cited in the analysis show that new data centers are increasingly landing in rural areas, in contrast to the mostly urban footprint of facilities built in earlier years. Today, 38 percent of Americans live within 5 miles of a data center. That figure climbs to 42 percent once planned facilities are included, and the US South and Midwest are identified as the regions likely to see the largest relative increases in data center numbers as construction continues over the coming years.

Source: Statista - https://www.statista.com/chart/36434/number-of-data-centers-by-us-state/