{"slug": "the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked", "title": "The states with the fewest and most data centers, ranked", "summary": "Vermont has the fewest operational data centers of any US state at 3, while Texas and Virginia are among those feeling the AI-driven buildout most, according to a Business Insider ranking compiled from Data Center Map's US database as of October 2026. The ranking counted only fully operational data centers with an initial capacity of at least 10 cabinets, and Business Insider cautioned the figures are not a complete census because no federal registration requirement exists. Alaska followed Vermont with 4 operational data centers and South Dakota with 5, while states including Maine and Delaware tied at 6 and West Virginia and Rhode Island tied at 7.", "body_md": "The AI boom has ramped up data center development. Some states are feeling the industry's growth more than others, like Texas and Virginia.\n\nThe AI boom is accelerating data center development across the US.\n\nEven states with few data centers are attracting major hyperscale projects.\n\nHere's how all 50 US states rank by their number of operational data centers.\n\nThe data center business is booming in the US, and some states are feeling it more than others.\n\nData centers, which house the computing machines that power digital services, have been around for decades. However, the amount of computing power required to fuel the AI boom has accelerated their development and brought the industry into the mainstream.\n\nThis ranking was compiled by analyzing data from Data Center Map, an industry source that maps data center locations around the world. It shows a snapshot of its US database as of October 2026. Business Insider limited this ranking to fully operational data centers.\n\nData Center Map compiles its data from multiple sources and mainly tracks cloud and colocation service providers. Each data center it tracks has to have an initial capacity of at least 10 cabinets. While some states have hyperscale AI data centers, others have relatively small operations.\n\nFirstly, data center operators and service providers add their own listings to market themselves. Data Center Map also monitors external databases and manually identifies any missing operators. It also handles requests from users who identify missing or outdated listings.\n\nThere is no federal requirement for data centers to register in a central database, so the figures should not be interpreted as a complete census of every data center in the country. Data Center Map also says it has a \"more limited coverage on enterprise and government data centers.\"\n\nLast year, Business Insider created its own US data centers map, which included estimated power usage, as part of an investigation into the industry.\n\nHere are the states with the most operational data centers, ranked from least to most.\n\n50. Vermont\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 3\n\nVermont's three operational data centers are located in Stowe, South Burlington, and Williston. The state has a limited electrical grid, according to the Vermont Natural Resources Council.\n\n49. Alaska\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 4\n\nHalf of Alaska's operational data centers are located in Anchorage. The University of Alaska Fairbanks said that the high cost of electricity and network connections are some of the challenges for data center buildout in the state.\n\n48. South Dakota\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 5\n\nMost of South Dakota's data centers are in Sioux Falls. Lawmakers in South Dakota rejected proposals for industry tax incentives in 2026 while enacting new restrictions on electricity and water use, according to the South Dakota Searchlight.\n\n46. Maine (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 6\n\nMaine has data centers in Portland, Brunswick, and Bangor.\n\nMaine's Gov. Janet Mills signed an order in April to establish a data center advisory council to advise on large-scale data center development.\n\n46. Delaware (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 6\n\nHalf of the data centers in Delaware are located in Wilmington.\n\nDelaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed legislation in August requiring data centers to generate their own energy and cover infrastructure costs, WHYY reported.\n\n44. West Virginia (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 7\n\nWest Virginia's data centers are located in South Charleston, Bridgeport, Charleston, Star City, Petersburg, Nitro, and Berkeley Springs.\n\nHaving previously lacked the regulatory framework to approve or deny large-scale projects, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced a data center development plan in August.\n\n44. Rhode Island (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 7\n\nAll of Rhode Island's data centers are located in Providence.\n\nThe Providence Journal reported in April that one of the reasons Rhode Island has not been as attractive to data center developers is high energy costs.\n\n42. Montana (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 8\n\nThe majority of Montana's data centers are located in Billings.\n\nOver half of Hawaii's data centers are in Honolulu.\n\nThe Honolulu Civil Beat reported that there are currently no hyperscale data centers in Hawaii.\n\n41. Arkansas\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 9\n\nThe city with the most data centers in Arkansas is Little Rock.\n\nGoogle announced its first data center in the state, to be located in West Memphis, in 2025, while Avaio is developing a large-scale one near Little Rock.\n\n39. New Hampshire (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 10\n\nManchester has three data centers, while the rest are spread across seven different cities.\n\nA proposed data center in Nottingham was withdrawn earlier this year following local opposition, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported.\n\n39. Idaho (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 10\n\nFour of Idaho's 10 data centers are located in Boise, followed by three in Coeur d'Alene.\n\nMeta plans to operate a $1.2 billion data center in Kuna, which it broke ground on in 2022.\n\n38. Louisiana\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 12\n\nThe majority of Louisiana's data centers are located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.\n\nMeta is building its largest-ever data center in Richland Parish, which will house the multi-gigawatt AI cluster Hyperion.\n\n37. North Dakota\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 13\n\nFour of North Dakota's data centers are located in Fargo, followed by three in Ellendale.\n\nThere are some large-scale data center projects in the state, such as Applied Digital's 280-megawatt campus near Harwood.\n\n36. Kansas\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 15\n\nNearly half of Kansas' operational data centers are located in Lenexa, which has seven of the state's 15 facilities.\n\nKansas is experiencing a surge in plans for large-scale data center development, including one by Dubai-based developer Damac Properties in Edgerton, Kansas, The Wall Street Journal reported.\n\n35. Mississippi\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 16\n\nSix of Mississippi's operational data centers are located in Canton.\n\nAmazon announced in April this year that it increased its total planned investment in its Mississippi data centers, including in Canton, to $25 billion.\n\n33. New Mexico (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 20\n\nOver half of New Mexico's data centers are located in Los Lunas.\n\nMeta opened a data center in Los Lunas in 2019, which it has since expanded.\n\n33. Connecticut (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 20\n\nConnecticut's 20 operational data centers are spread across multiple cities, with the highest concentration in Stamford.\n\nThe Connecticut Mirror reported that lawmakers said the state's high electricity costs make it unattractive to data center developers.\n\n32. Wyoming\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 22\n\nAll but two of Wyoming's data centers are located in Cheyenne, with the other two in Casper and Afton.\n\nIn 2012, Microsoft built its first data center in Cheyenne and has expanded its footprint there multiple times since.\n\n31. Alabama\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 23\n\nHuntsville has the most operational data centers in Alabama.\n\nMissouri's 47 operational data centers are spread across eight cities, with Kansas City accounting for most of them.\n\nAxios reported in September that most of Missouri's planned data center expansion is concentrated in the Kansas City metropolitan area, citing research by Cleanview.\n\n21. Minnesota (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 47\n\nMinnesota's 47 data centers are spread across 21 cities, with Minneapolis accounting for 15, followed by Eden Prairie, St. Paul, Shakopee, and Minnetonka.\n\nGoogle announced earlier this year that it plans to build a data center in Pine Island.\n\n20. Nevada\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 51\n\nMore than half of Nevada's data centers are located in Las Vegas.\n\nSwitch has plans to expand its Citadel Campus at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, which the company says will have gigawatts of power capacity upon completion.\n\n19. Indiana\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 51\n\nIndiana's 51 operational data centers are spread across 11 cities, with Indianapolis leading and New Carlisle following.\n\n18. Tennessee\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 53\n\nNashville has the largest concentration of Tennessee's 53 operational data centers.\n\nElon Musk's xAI describes its Colossus facility in Memphis as the world's largest AI supercomputer.\n\n16. Michigan (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 58\n\nMichigan's 58 data centers are spread across 27 cities, with Southfield accounting for the most.\n\nPart of the Stargate Project, Related Digital kicked off construction of a $16 billion data center called \"The Barn\" in Saline Township in June.\n\n16. Colorado (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 58\n\nThere are 14 data centers in operation in Denver, followed by 11 in Englewood, 7 in Centennial, and 7 in Colorado Springs.\n\nQTS is expanding its 65-acre data center campus in Aurora, Colorado, Colorado Public Radio reported in July.\n\n15. Iowa\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 69\n\nAltoona and West Des Moines are among Iowa's leading data center locations, alongside Council Bluffs and Des Moines.\n\nGoogle has had a campus in Council Bluffs since 2007, recently invested in its expansion, and has also kicked off a new one in Cedar Rapids.\n\n14. North Carolina\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 76\n\nCharlotte has 24 data centers, the most in North Carolina, followed by Raleigh, Maiden, and Lenoir.\n\nPittsburgh and Philadelphia have the largest concentrations of operational data centers in Pennsylvania.\n\nIn 2025, Amazon announced plans to invest at least $20 billion in the state to expand its data center operations.\n\n12. New Jersey (tie)\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 78\n\nSecaucus and Piscataway are two of New Jersey's main data center hubs, alongside Jersey City.\n\nEquinix operates a 129,436-square-foot data center in Secaucus, known as NY5.\n\n11. Florida\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 113\n\nFlorida's 113 operational data centers are spread across 27 locations, with Miami accounting for the most at 33, followed by Tampa with 20, Jacksonville with 13, and Orlando with nine.\n\nData center provider HostDime has been based in the state since 2003 and is building a 100,000-square-foot facility in Eatonville.\n\n10. Arizona\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 114\n\nPhoenix contains 34 of Arizona's data centers, followed by Goodyear with 24, and Chandler with 17.\n\nABC 15 reported that companies such as Meta, Apple, and Microsoft all have campuses in Arizona.\n\n9. Georgia\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 123\n\nAtlanta has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Georgia, with 43 facilities, followed by Lithia Springs with 25 and Social Circle with 10.\n\nQuincy has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Washington, with 33 facilities, followed by Seattle with 31, Tukwila with 16, and East Wenatchee with 11.\n\nWashington's Department of Ecology says Quincy and Wenatchee are popular spots because they have cheaper, reliable energy.\n\n7. Oregon\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 141\n\nHillsboro has the most operational data centers in Oregon, followed by Boardman, and then Umatilla and Prineville.\n\nOregon is home to Meta and Google's first-ever data centers: Meta built its in Prineville, and Google's The Dalles.\n\n6. Illinois\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 143\n\nChicago has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Illinois, with 49 facilities, followed by Elk Grove Village, which has 24. Lombard, Aurora, and DeKalb each have seven.\n\nNew York City is home to a large share of the state's operational data centers, with additional concentrations in Buffalo and Albany.\n\nIn July, New York was the first state to enact an executive order that imposed a statewide yearlong moratorium on hyperscale AI data centers.\n\n4. Ohio\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 189\n\nColumbus has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Ohio, with Johnstown, Hilliard, and Cleveland also home to significant numbers of facilities.\n\nIntel announced plans in 2022 for a major semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, a suburb in central Ohio known as the \"Silicon Heartland,\" which is already home to data centers operated by Amazon, Google, and Meta, as Business Insider previously reported.\n\n3. California\n\nNumber of operational data centers: 285\n\nSanta Clara has the largest concentration of operational data centers in California, with 75 facilities, followed by Los Angeles with 51 and San Jose with 26.\n\nOf Texas's 358 operational data centers, 58 are located in Dallas, 42 in Houston, and 39 in San Antonio.\n\nEarlier this year, Business Insider, citing research from Jones Lang LaSalle, reported that Texas is on track to become the largest data center market in the world by 2030.\n\nTexas is home to some of the world's largest planned data center projects, such as Fermi America's Project Matador.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked", "canonical_source": "https://www.machinebrief.com/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked-16af", "published_at": "2026-10-23 16:56:01+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-23 18:13:52.894208+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Business Insider", "Data Center Map", "Vermont", "Alaska", "South Dakota", "Texas", "Virginia", "Janet Mills"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-states-with-the-fewest-and-most-data-centers-ranked.jsonld"}}