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Data CentersData centers are locations that house computing infrastructure, including hardware for data storage and processing and network equipment that connects these components. Serving as the physical backbone of the digital age, data centers provide round-the-clock support for cloud-based applications (e.g., Google Docs), online financial services, streaming platforms, and generative AI systems. As of February 2026, about 37% of the world's 10,974 data centers have been built in the US, with construction largely accelerated by growing AI demands.
The first data centers were room-sized punch-card computers weighing dozens of tons. The development of microchips fueled miniaturization, shrinking these structures to fit in closet-sized server racks for businesses requiring in-house data processing capabilities. The widespread adoption of the internet, mobile devices, and nonlocalized cloud computing created a need for scalable, high-availability solutions to handle skyrocketing data volume. This led to the creation of hyperscale data centers—facilities managed by cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services—offering upgradeable computing resources to industries.
Modern data centers rely on power management, backup structures, climate control, and specialized software to ensure uninterrupted service amid changing user activity. These systems require substantial water, electricity, and critical minerals, which have driven up consumer utility bills and electronics costs and raised environmental concerns.Explore Data Centers
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Modular data centers can be transported on a truck for rapid deploymentBypassing the complications involved in building larger facilities over the course of several years, such as construction costs and permits, these pre-fabricated, self-contained pods, roughly the size of shipping containers, can carry thousands of graphics processing units for small- and medium-scale AI-related tasks. IEEE SpectrumDuring emergencies, backup diesel generators in data centers emit substantial pollutionDuring power outages or when the power grid is at insufficient capacity, these generators emit 200 to 600 times more nitrogen oxides—a greenhouse gas—than natural gas plants, as well as fine particulate matter linked to respiratory disease. World Resources InstituteNoise from data centers may disrupt wildlife and local residentsIndividuals living where local ordinances have allowed data centers to be built next to residential areas have reported that the constant humming and vibrations from cooling systems have prevented them from sleeping and exposed them to chronic noise, which the American Public Health Association says can lead to cardiovascular disease and increased stress. Business InsiderSince 2022, two-thirds of data centers have been built in water-stressed areasIn residential evaporative cooling systems, 10% of consumed water is lost to evaporation compared to 80% in data centers. Although some companies have pledged to become water-positive—replenishing more freshwater than they consume—by 2030 through a transition to air cooling, only 10% of data center operators track water use across all their facilities. EthicalGEOUnderwater data centers may provide an alternative to energy-intensive air coolingBy submerging electronic hardware into a non-conductive fluid, such as an oil with strong thermal transfer properties, significant thermal energy can be quickly drawn away from a chip and brought to the surface as warm materials rise. Thermal energy can then be removed from the fluid with a heat exchanger before it is recirculated. IEEE SpectrumThermodynamics makes building data centers in space to cool equipment impracticalRather than cooling via interactions with flowing cold air or water, data centers in space would dissipate energy primarily by radiation, in which an object at any temperature above absolute zero emits light. This method is much less efficient at cooling and would require hyperscale data centers to have radiator panels thousands of times larger than those on the International Space Station. Kyle HillGoogle data centers possess six layers of securityProperty boundaries, such as anti-climb fencing, overlapping cameras, vehicle crash barriers, and circulating patrols, are coupled with lobby iris scans and ID and badge checks. The security operations center monitors individuals throughout their visit, including the less than 1% of Google users who ever receive permission to visit the data center floor. Google Cloud TechExplore a map of data centers worldwideAs of February 2026, the US has more data centers (over 4,000) than the next 15 countries combined, thanks to years of investment by cloud service providers and technology companies. The next largest data center footprints come from the UK and Germany, with about 500 facilities each, followed by China with about 370. Data Center MapMost of the critical mineral supply needed for US data centers is importedThe country with the most data centers relies on other nations for about 80% of the rare earth elements needed for magnetic materials in storage drives, 64% of the silver and 85% of the platinum it uses for electrical circuitry, and about half the aluminum and copper used in heat sinks that dissipate thermal energy from electronic components. USGSData centers require interconnected server- and building-level cooling systemsComputer equipment can be cooled by circulating cold air or water through the equipment racks, siphoning the heated fluid into a heat exchanger. This exchanger transfers thermal energy to building cooling systems, which can dispose of the heat by evaporative cooling—the way humans cool off by sweating—or via air conditioning. EquinixMost data centers rely on the local power grid to feed power-hungry computer equipmentThese facilities house rows of vertical racks containing multiple types of hardware, including servers that provide 24/7 access to online applications, services, and data. In a hyperscale center with thousands of these racks, the annual electricity used is estimated to equal that of 400,000 electric vehicles. AP NewsToday's massive data centers evolved from single-room mainframesPunch card computers from the late 1940s were used to store and process a company's data locally before the advent of desktop computers. As the amount of data and company sizes increased alongside the miniaturization of technology, mainframes were replaced by local server rooms and external facilities with interconnected servers running cloud-based and AI software. Stuff You Should KnowFracking rates may increase with the construction of new data centersIn Pennsylvania, plans to build at least five new facilities supported by gas-fired power plants are expected to escalate public health risks through surges in air and water pollution. Data center water demands are expected to further strain local resources. Yale E360Data centers' electrical needs create increased water demands beyond coolingEach query uses approximately one single-serving water bottle per conversation, but water is also used for steam cycles and cooling in power plants that generate electricity for data centers. Newer cooling methods, such as immersion cooling, where servers are submerged in fluids that don't conduct electricity, can minimize water use. The ConversationCarbon-neutral data centers may be possible if built within wind turbinesWind turbine towers are typically hollow, housing only cables and a ladder for maintenance access. The excess electricity a wind turbine collects could power a stack of server racks more than 100 meters (328 feet) high within its tower. CNNPermanent staff at NPS dropped nearly a quarter in 2025Despite record-level visitation in recent years, NPS staffing reductions have affected maintenance, scientific research, and search-and-rescue operations most acutely, functions visitors don't typically see. According to the NPCA, some visitor centers have reduced hours, lifeguard positions have gone unfilled, and rangers report covering multiple roles simultaneously. National Parks Conservation AssociationDNA cassette tapes could store 36,000 terabyte hard drives of dataBy translating binary code into the base-pair code found in genetic sequences, researchers in China are storing digital data on DNA-coated tapes for compact, durable, and energy-efficient storage. The tapes use a blend of polyester and nylon with barcode patterns for data addressing. Popular Science'The digital colonization of flyover states': how datacenters are tearing small-town America apart the GuardianLoudoun County, Virginia, is considered the world's densest data center hubNicknamed "Data Center Alley," some estimates indicate that the region's approximately 200 data centers will generate over $1B in taxes in 2026, which county officials say will help lower residential property tax bills. However, from 2020 to 2025, wholesale electricity costs have risen by as much as 267% in areas near data centers. NBC4 WashingtonFrom 2014-25, US private sector data center investments have increased more than 25-foldThe annualized rate of US data center construction has ballooned from $1.6B to $41.1B, creating a market for data centers whose infrastructure costs and land, power, and transmission capacity demands rival those of offices and industrial facilities. Visual CapitalistData center companies are worsening housing undersupply in some regional marketsWith large capital to spend, technology giants have disrupted the real estate market, driving up prices by outbidding commercial and residential developers and intensifying competition for available land. A property purchased over several years for $50M in Prince William County, Virginia, was sold to Amazon for $700M in 2025. CRE DailyCryptocurrency and data center growth are expected to increase greenhouse gas emissionsAn analysis from the Open Energy Outlook Initiative estimates a 30% increase in emissions through 2030, as growing energy demands in regions where data centers are being built (20%-30%) far exceed the traditional growth rate of utilities in those areas (1%-2%). The emissions spike is expected to equal France's annual carbon output. Carnegie Melon UniversityView data center electrical demand and fiber optic cable connections across the USData center hub construction has prioritized locations with affordable electricity and fiber internet for data transmission, including Loudoun and Prince William Counties in Virginia and Maricopa County in Arizona. As of 2025, Northern Virginia's robust data center infrastructure is estimated to handle about 70% of global internet traffic. Visual CapitalistAI data center growth has created shortages and price hikes in computer partsThe parallel processing needed to power large language models for AI chatbots and other tools drove demand for high-speed graphics processing units to spike in 2025, enabling capital-rich technology companies to price out consumers. Similar demands for the computer memory used in storage drives are expected to keep shortages from easing through 2028. Ars TechnicaData center types vary based on location and the workloads they manageEnterprise data centers are built on-premises and afford businesses greater control over the management and security of their data. Cloud data centers are built off-site and share their resources with millions of users through an internet connection, with the largest—hyperscale data centers—spanning millions of square feet. Managed data centers offer off-site hardware that companies can lease. IBMView the layout and components that make up a typical data centerAlongside server rooms for the storage, processing, and transmission of data, data centers include climate control systems to manage the heat generated by microchips, backup systems to ensure systems can run during power outages, offices for on-site personnel, and monitoring and security stations to provide continuous protection against physical threats. ACS GroupData center builders thought farmers would willingly sell land, learn otherwise Ars TechnicaTake a 360-degree tour of a Google data center Google Cloud TechView a map of US data center infrastructure in 2025Thousands of data centers across the country have already been built, with more under construction or planned. Facilities are connected via transmission and fiber optic lines, with the latter spanning an estimated length of 160 million miles. FlowingDataData center power demands have delayed the retirement of coal plantsUS data center power consumption is expected to triple by 2035 to meet the growing infrastructure needs of AI platforms. Longer construction times and higher startup costs for renewable energy systems such as wind and solar have led to at least 15 coal power plant closures being postponed. Yale E360Frictionless online gambling platforms accelerate compulsive behaviorAs of late 2025, as much as 95% of bets are placed online, where "always on" betting and a variety of formats, such as prop bets and parlays, encourage users to keep participating. Experts warn that the normalization of gambling through advertisements also reduces the perceived danger of addictive gambling. Horizons with PBS NewsAmerica's top causes of death are heart disease, cancer, accidents, and strokeHeart disease killed more than 680,000 people in 2023 and cancer killed around 613,000 people that year. Both causes of death are far above the next leading cause of death—accidents, which numbered around 223,000. Provisional data for 2024 indicates the leading causes of death remained the same. US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMany religions have core majorities in certain countriesThough most religions have members across the world, they also have major concentrated populations in specific nations. For example, 95% of Hindus live in India, while 85% of the world's Jews live in Israel and the US. Pew Research CenterFind out how prevalent the flu is at this current momentUpdated weekly, this USAFacts resource shares current data from the CDC detailing how many cases of influenza and other flu-like illnesses accounted for doctor's visits. Monitor the spread of respiratory illness during flu season with this handy resource and prepare accordingly. USAFactsMapping the spread of a dangerous fungus growing in US healthcare facilitiesExplore the data showing how the fungus C. auris has spread in the US, with more than 10,000 reported cases since 2016. Recommended steps to prevent infections and limit their spread have been successful in some areas, but infection control remains complicated because the fungus is often now multidrug-resistant. US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFungal diseases cost the US around $19B annuallyEstimates derived from health insurance claims, death certificates, and hospitalization data suggest that fungus is a significant medical issue. Each year, fungal diseases kill some 7,300 people—roughly the same number of deaths attributed to motor vehicles striking pedestrians. Around 130,000 people are hospitalized with fungal diseases, and the total national cost from fungal diseases is estimated to be about $19B—a figure that roughly matches Jamaica's entire gross domestic product. US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionWeb crawlers and internet archives and back-ups limit perfect erasure of online dataCrawlers are programs that automatically browse the internet for links and index pages for search engines to pull up when page content matches search queries. Networks of global data centers also create copies of content as fail-safes for potential failures to ensure access isn't ever lost. Explaining Tech Like You're FiveSome materials can absorb low-energy light and emit high-energy radiationThrough anti-Stokes cooling, incoming energy is combined with vibrations in a material's crystal lattice to produce a net reduction in its temperature. Using this effect, lasers can be directed at microchip hot spots to help keep data centers cool. IEEE SpectrumSynthetic diamonds may be used to cool microchipsThe strong carbon bonds in diamonds efficiently carry vibrations, allowing them to conduct heat several times faster than copper, a metal commonly used in heat sinks. AI and high-performance computing have pushed researchers to investigate alternative materials for cooling solutions. The New York TimesExplore an interactive map of historical volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamisThe Natural Hazards Viewer allows users to map the locations of major natural hazards from 2150 BCE to the present. Advanced filters allow for various refinement methods, including volcano morphology, earthquake magnitude, tsunami height, deaths, and damage. NOAAThe cloud relies on hardware infrastructure with real-world limitsWhile unlimited storage providers exist, this does not mean online storage is limitless, as it runs on servers, cables, power, and space with a finite supply. However, the cloud seems infinite because building new servers and data centers outpaces demand. GeeksforGeeksThe Internet of Things refers to the connection of all devices to the cloudThese connections from everyday objects to each other and data processing centers allow devices to adapt to user needs and improve their ability to respond to real-time data. The IoT networks are designed to enhance the efficiency of homes, cities, and industries. Amazon Web Services, Inc.DNA computing allows for storage and processing of massive amounts of data Although costly and less efficient for simpler tasks, as of 2025, DNA could hold 455 exabytes of data with near limitless parallel computation potential in small data centers. Every movie ever made would fit inside the volume of a single sugar cube. PluralsightBy 2028, data center power consumption may equal 22% of US householdsDate from 2023 suggests that data centers accounted for around 4.4% of US electricity consumption, with new facilities supporting the AI boom consuming more power than the state of New Hampshire annually. However, the energy impact of individual use varies widely depending on the prompt and AI model. (Some readers may experience a paywall.) MIT Technology ReviewCurrent US measles outbreak data from the CDCThis data portal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks current cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from measles. A 2025 outbreak in Texas and New Mexico drove US cases to their highest levels since the early 1990s. CDCBy 2024, Nvidia had become one of the world’s most valuable companiesNvidia started as a graphics chip designer for PCs and consoles. This explainer traces its rise from early GPU innovation to powering AI breakthroughs and fueling the data centers behind today’s biggest tech platforms. 1440Nvidia entered its AI era after learning that its chips could be used in industries beyond gamingIts semiconductor chips were used in the automotive industry, for data centers, and by crypto miners. And starting in 2006, Nvidia took steps that would ultimately transform it into the AI company it’s known as today. This podcast is the second part of a three-part series diving deep into Nvidia’s company evolution. AcquiredFind fertility clinics and their success rates in your stateThis database from the CDC provides a searchable portal of fertility clinics across the US, with reported data on services, total procedures performed, and live births recorded through 2022. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionArthritis affects almost 60 million AmericansArthritis refers to a range of conditions resulting in joint pain that currently affects nearly 60 million people in the United States alone. This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explores the basics of arthritis and provides resources for understanding its near-universal impact on our population. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFederal data on overdose deaths shows rise in 2023The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States has continued to rise throughout 2023—which is key for public health officials, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and the general public to understand in order to address this public health crisis effectively. This data visualization includes provisional counts for drug overdose deaths based on current mortality data, allowing insights into the trends of these deaths both nationally and on a state-by-state basis. View this resource for an approximate breakdown of total 12-month overdose deaths by year, drug type, and state. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention