While Oklahoma confronts efforts to expand the construction of data centers, Virginia remains the king of data centers nationwide—-an astounding more than 600 in operation while the state prepares to house nearly 1,100.
The state is clearly leading the country when it comes to data centers — both the number already operational and the tally of ones under construction or planned, according to a report by Axios.
Virginia has 663 operational data centers and 595 more under construction or planned — the most in the U.S., per a new report.
The report also showed Oklahoma ranked 38 out of the 40 states in the state. The state had 39 data center deals from 2019 to 2025 and they were valued at $97 million. It saw a 16% gain in tech jobs as a result of AI growth and has 13 more data centers planned across the state. The growth showed nearly 22,000 temporary jobs because of the construction and 3,250 permanent jobs created by the centers. Oklahoma should expect $100 million in tax revenue in the next decade because of the centers, according to the report.
Texas is second with 405 data centers in operation and 442 under construction or planned.
- The report, from tech and pro-tech groups, focuses on the tax and jobs benefits for every state, and dubs the data center boom “America’s fastest, broadest infrastructure build-out in peacetime history.”
- AI is driving much of the new data center demand, and the market is expected to expand by 14% this year — and every year — for the rest of the decade, per a separate report from the real estate firm JLL.
The same report contended that Virginia data centers will generate $4.2 billion in estimated tax revenue over the coming ten years. It also showed tech jobs are growing two-and-a-half times faster than the rest of the economy, with 33 states experiencing tech employment growth of 10 percent or more from 2019 to 2025.
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