The internet lives here.
Every paycheck deposit, emergency call, and video chat with family runs through a building like this one. Here is what those buildings really use, and what they leave behind for the towns that host them.
All U.S. data centers combined use about 0.02% of the nation's daily freshwater withdrawals.
Learn more →Power rates would be about 6% higher without the data centers built from 2019 to 2024, according to a federal lab study.
Learn more →Data centers pay for 38% of Loudoun County, Virginia's general fund while sitting on just 4% of its commercial land.
Learn more →Every direct data center job supports about four and a half more in the surrounding economy.
Learn more →Backup generators run about 100 hours a year, mostly for required testing, under EPA emissions rules.
Learn more →Most of what you have heard about data centers describes buildings from a decade ago. Today's facilities are quieter, darker at night, thriftier with water, and a major source of local revenue.
American jobs supported by the industry
Federal, state, and local taxes paid in 2024
Share of the nation's daily freshwater withdrawals
Typical sound at the property line, about a dishwasher
Take the campus
for a spin.
Drag to turn it. Hover or tap any part to see what it does.
Start with the question
you care about most.
How much power and water?
How much electricity and water these sites really draw, and who pays for the upgrades.
Read more →What is it like living next door?
Sound, lights, and backup generators, measured against modern standards.
Read more →What about jobs and tax dollars?
Where the paychecks go, and how one county funds 38% of its budget.
Read more →Facts first.
Then decide.
Every figure on this site is tied to a public source you can check yourself.
See the sources →