Where Are the Largest Data Centers in the U.S.? Trends, Locations, and the Growing Strain on Power
by King White, on Dec 11, 2025 7:00:00 AM
The scale of data center expansion in the United States has reached unprecedented levels, with some facilities spanning millions of square feet and entire campuses dedicated to cloud, AI, and hyperscale compute. Yet despite their growing importance, detailed, consistent information about where the largest data centers are located—or being built—is surprisingly difficult to find.
This blog explores known and emerging data center hotspots across the U.S., based on publicly available data, press releases, and industry reporting. The list isn’t exhaustive, but it offers a data-rich snapshot of some of the largest facilities operating or under development today.
Data Center Locations: A National Overview
The following table summarizes more than 25 large-scale data center campuses from major operators, including Meta, Google, Switch, Microsoft, and others.
Owner/Operator |
Location |
Status |
Approx. Size (SF) |
Notes |
| Switch | Reno, NV | Operational + Expansion | Up to 7,200,000 (planned); >2,000,000 operational | 8-building plan; 2,000-acre campus; up to ~650MW |
| Meta | Prineville, OR | Operational | ~4,600,000 | 11 buildings as of 2021 announcement |
| Switch | Las Vegas, NV | Operational + Expansion | Up to 3,500,000 (planned); >2,000,000 built | Up to 495MW upon completion |
| Council Bluffs, IA | Operational + Expansion | ~2,900,000 | Southlands campus, 4 buildings; multiple sites in area | |
| Digital Realty | Chicago, IL | Operational | 1,133,000 | Major interconnect hub |
| QTS Realty Trust | Atlanta, GA | Operational | 970,000–990,000 | On-site Georgia Power substation; LEED Gold (phase II) |
| Equinix | Miami, FL | Operational | 750,000 | Carrier hotel/interconnection hub |
| Vantage Data Centers | Quincy, WA | Operational | 775,000 | 89MW IT capacity across 3 DCs |
| Meta | New Albany, OH | Operational + Expansion | 970,000 initial; campus >1.9M | Multiple buildings; ongoing expansion |
| Apple | Maiden/Newton, NC | Operational | 500,000 core; campus >1,000,000 total | Solar + fuel cell on campus |
| Digital Realty | Loudoun County, VA | In Development (long-term) | Up to 7,500,000 (plan) | 15-year build horizon |
| QTS Realty Trust | Fayetteville, GA | In Development | 6,600,000–7,000,000 (plan) | Up to 16 buildings on ~615 acres |
| Meta | Richland Parish, LA | Under Construction | 4,000,000 | Targeting >2GW compute capacity |
| Equinix | Dallas, TX | Operational | 1,583,309 | Iconic interconnect building; DC portion subset |
| Microsoft | West Des Moines, IA | Operational + Expansion | 1,700,000 (Osmium campus) | Multiple campuses over 6,500 acres opened |
| Meta | DeKalb, IL | Operational + Expansion | Campus ~2,300,000 | First H-building: 907,000 sq ft |
| Meta | Gallatin, TN | Operational + Expansion | Campus ~1,900,000+ | Ongoing additions per city filings |
| Meta | Huntsville, AL | Operational + Expansion | Up to ~3,500,000 (with expansions) | Two new buildings added in 2022 announcement |
| Sabey Data Centers | Seattle/Quincy, WA | Operational | 1,000,000+ (aggregate) | Multiple buildings across campuses |
| Amazon Web Services | Hermiston/Boardman, OR | Operational + Expansion | ~967,900 (4 buildings) | Multiple new buildings planned in Morrow County |
| The Dalles, OR | Operational + Expansion | 350,000–1,300,000 | First custom Google DC (2006); ongoing expansion | |
| Ridgeville, SC | In Development | ~570,500 (campus plan) | New campus near Charleston market | |
| NSA (US Government) | Bluffdale, UT | Operational | ~1,400,000 | Signals intelligence facility |
| Switch | Grand Rapids, MI | Planned/Operational portions | Up to ~1,800,000 | Repurposed Steelcase Pyramid |
| EdgeConneX | Bastrop County, TX | In Development | ~578,000 (first building) | Large AI-focused campus under development |
The Power Problem: Data Centers Are Outgrowing the Grid
While space is critical, power availability is now the top constraint in site selection and expansion planning. Across many of these sites, operators are facing long delays in securing electrical capacity—especially as generative AI and GPU compute further increase power densities.
- Meta’s site in Louisiana is aiming for >2GW of compute capacity, a staggering figure by traditional standards.
- Switch's Reno and Las Vegas campuses target more than 1GW combined.
- Loudoun County, Virginia, already one of the world’s densest data center clusters, is nearing infrastructure limits and has prompted a wave of long-term buildouts elsewhere.
Utilities are struggling to keep pace, and some markets are instituting moratoriums or multiyear wait times for new grid capacity. As a result, more operators are turning to on-site power generation, microgrids, and long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to ensure scalability.
Location Trends: Why These Places?
The emergence of specific regions—like Central Oregon, Northern Virginia, Iowa, Georgia, and South Carolina—is no accident. These areas offer:
- Access to renewable or low-cost energy
- Tax incentives and economic development programs
- Favorable climate conditions for free cooling
- Available land for multibuilding campuses
But even these factors are being overshadowed by grid capacity, proximity to end users, and AI/ML workloads.
Final Thoughts
Data center growth isn’t slowing—it’s accelerating. But the narrative is shifting from “where can we build?” to “where can we power what we build?” As cloud providers, AI companies, and hyperscale operators compete for space and megawatts, expect the next wave of innovation to focus not just on servers, but on the energy infrastructure that supports them.
