Data Centers in Virginia

Virginia – The Global Hub for Digital Infrastructure

Executive Summary

Virginia, and specifically Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley," is the largest, most connected, and most influential data center market in the world. This region is purpose-built for organizations that require massive scale and low-latency connectivity to major cloud providers, government agencies, and the global internet backbone. Deploying here ensures optimal performance and reach for mission-critical applications serving the U.S. East Coast and beyond.

Virginia: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Virginia’s connectivity is the global standard. The density of fiber, carriers, and cloud access points in such a concentrated area is unmatched anywhere else on the planet, making it the center of the internet.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality With over 115 carriers operating in the state as of September 2025, enterprises have extensive choice. A healthy ecosystem of carrier-neutral facilities ensures competitive pricing and resilient network design options.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps There are over 10 cloud on-ramps enabling dedicated, high-performance access to 16 cloud regions. Major providers with a direct presence include:

• AWS
• Google Cloud (GCP)
• Microsoft Azure
• IBM Cloud
• Oracle Cloud

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) The region is home to some of the world's most important IXPs, including DE-CIX Ashburn and the Equinix Ashburn exchanges. These platforms facilitate massive volumes of direct traffic exchange, lowering latency and cost.

Bare Metal Bare metal server options are widely available from a variety of providers. Companies like Hivelocity and phoenixNAP offer dedicated servers for performance-intensive workloads.

Power Analysis

The power infrastructure in Virginia, particularly in Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax counties, was developed specifically to support the immense needs of the data center industry.

Average Cost Of Power Industrial electricity rates typically range from $0.07 to $0.09/kWh, as of September 2025. This competitive pricing is a key driver for hyperscale operators and enterprises with large-scale compute requirements.

Power Grid Reliability The electrical grid is exceptionally reliable, serviced by well-engineered infrastructure from Dominion Energy. Major data center zones are supported by multiple substations and redundant high-voltage transmission lines to ensure high uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Virginia combines strategic location with a favorable business environment, making it a highly efficient and effective place to house digital assets.

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers in Northern Virginia offer low-latency connectivity to the Washington D.C. metro area, including federal government agencies, defense contractors, and the dense Dulles Tech Corridor.

Regional Market Reach From Virginia, organizations can effectively serve a massive population across the Mid-Atlantic and the entire U.S. East Coast, reaching tens of millions of users with minimal delay.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers Virginia offers a significant tax advantage with its sales and use tax exemption on qualifying data center equipment and software. This incentive directly reduces the capital expenditure required for new builds and technology refreshes, lowering the total cost of ownership.

Natural Disaster Risk

Virginia has a moderate natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 27.17 out of 100, as of September 2025. The primary hazards are atmospheric and weather-related rather than catastrophic geological events.

Key environmental risks for consideration include:

• Hurricanes and associated strong winds
• Winter weather, including ice and snow storms
• Riverine flooding in specific low-lying areas
• Hail and severe thunderstorms
• Heat and cold waves