West Virginia, Oregon and Wyoming Rank Among the States Where Data Centers Have the Largest Footprint Relative to the Economy

­West Virginia has America’s most concentrated data center capacity relative to the size of its economy, according to new analysis revealing the smaller states where the industry could have an outsized economic and infrastructure impact.

Research from SIGNAL+POWER, a US manufacturer of power cords and electrical connection products, compared estimated data center capacity, facility numbers and industry employment with the real GDP of all 50 states.

Virginia ranked first in the overall index, reflecting its position as the country’s largest data center market. However, West Virginia, Oregon, Missouri and Wyoming also ranked among the top states once activity was adjusted for the size of their economies.

The findings come as data centers accounted for 50% of new US electricity demand in 2025. Goldman Sachs projects that US data center power demand will more than double from 31GW in 2025 to 66GW by 2027, increasing demand for the electrical infrastructure, components and supply chains needed to support new facilities.

The results suggest that the economic and infrastructure implications of data center growth could be felt particularly strongly in smaller states, not only in established markets such as Virginia, Texas and California.

Smaller states record the greatest data center concentration

Although Virginia ranked first in the combined index, West Virginia recorded the highest estimated data center capacity relative to its economy.

The state has an estimated capacity of 8,595MW, equivalent to 103.3MW for every $1 billion of real GDP, almost twice Virginia’s concentration of 52.9MW.

New Mexico recorded the second-highest capacity concentration at 68.3MW per $1 billion of GDP, despite placing outside the overall top 10.

Oregon ranked third overall, ahead of California, Texas, Florida and New York, while Missouri placed fourth after recording the highest concentration of data center employment in the analysis. Georgia completed the top five.

The findings do not suggest these states currently consume this amount of electricity or face an immediate shortage. Instead, they identify where estimated data center capacity and activity are particularly significant relative to the wider state economy.

What growth in smaller markets means for the supply chain

Growth outside established data center clusters could create new challenges for operators, contractors and equipment suppliers.

Data centers rely on electrical infrastructure ranging from utility connections, transformers and backup generation to rack-level power distribution, cords and connectors. In emerging markets with less-established networks of specialist contractors and suppliers, early planning and procurement could become particularly important.

Jae Ro, marketing manager at SIGNAL+POWER, comments:

“Virginia’s position as America’s largest data center market is well established, but the concentration recorded in states such as West Virginia, Wyoming and New Mexico is particularly interesting.

“A hyperscale development can have a proportionally greater impact in a smaller market. Operators expanding into these locations should consider whether the local contractor base, electrical infrastructure and component supply chain are prepared to support facilities of that scale.

“Essential electrical components should be specified and sourced earlier in the process. Incorrect or inconsistent specifications can delay installation, while limited visibility over future demand can make it more difficult for suppliers to prepare for changes in product volume and requirements.

“As AI increases rack density and facility power requirements, closer planning between operators, contractors and component suppliers will become increasingly important.”

Methodology

SIGNAL+POWER analyzed all 50 US states to identify where the data center industry has the greatest footprint relative to the size of each state economy.

The analysis considered three equally weighted factors:

• Employment intensity: Employment in data processing, hosting and related services for every $1 billion of real state GDP.

• Facility intensity: The number of data center facilities for every $1 billion of real state GDP.

• Capacity intensity: Estimated data center capacity in megawatts for every $1 billion of real state GDP.

Each factor was normalized to produce a comparable score out of 10. The three scores were then combined using an equal weighting to produce the final index score.

The index measures the relative economic concentration of data center activity. It does not measure grid reliability, available electricity generation, current facility consumption or the likelihood of power shortages.

Employment data was taken from the US Census Bureau’s QWI Explorer. Data center facility and estimated capacity figures were sourced from Aterio, while 2025 real state GDP figures were taken from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The full dataset can be found here.