As demand for data centers increases across the world, Newsweek has mapped out every center in the U.S.
The increasing demand for this kind of infrastructure comes at a time of increasing energy bills across the country.
Why It Matters
Data centers are the lifeblood of modern technology, providing the processing power that fuels internet searches and, more recently, artificial intelligence queries. The rapid adoption of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT means that there is more demand for data centers than ever before, but the infrastructure comes at a cost; they are extremely resource-hungry, especially for electricity and water, leading to concerns that areas near the centers could see spikes in bills.
What To Know
According to research from infrastructure watchdog DataCenterMap, there are currently 4005 active data centers registered in the U.S.
When mapped by Newsweek, the data shows that data centers are present in every state in the union. The state with the fewest centers is Alaska, with 4, while the state with the most is Virginia, which has 663.
Despite being home to Silicon Valley, California ranked third in the list with 318 centers, behind Texas with 384.
Hawaii ranked with nine, beating out mainland states like Oklahoma (five) and West Virginia (seven).
Beyond these three states, the number of data centers was spread relatively evenly across the U.S., with the average number of centers in each state being 78.
An average midsize data center typically uses 300,000 gallons daily, which is roughly comparable to the same water consumption from 1,000 households in the same timeframe.
In 2025, data centers in Texas alone are projected to use 49 billion gallons of water, enough to supply millions of households, primarily for cooling massive banks of servers that power generative AI and cloud computing.
Texas also ranked as one of the most expensive states to pay electric bills, with an average monthly bill of $178.20, the fourth-highest in the country.
California, another extremely tech-friendly state that invites large investment in artificial intelligence development, also reported high electricity bills in 2025, with the average bill from May clocking in at $171.91 a month.
The most expensive bills at the time of writing are found in Connecticut at $214.66 a month, a state with 60 data centers.
What Happens Next
Currently, very few regulations on data centers and resource allocation for them exist, as the technology remains very new, and artificial intelligence developments have occurred at a rapid rate since 2022. However, lawmakers at both the state and federal levels are beginning to take notice and propose new laws that could change how the technology is treated.
The post Map Shows States With The Most Data Centers As Electricity Bills Rise appeared first on Newsweek.
