A new study by TRG Datacenters ranks Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas as the top five states for AI data center growth, based on factors like power capacity and water stress. The findings highlight how resource constraints are shaping where AI infrastructure can be built.
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A new study shows that the expansion of AI data centers in the US is no longer solely determined by the number of facilities; electricity, water resources, and environmental pressures are becoming decisive factors. Virginia ranks first overall, while Texas, despite having the most large-scale sites, ranks fifth due to a high proportion of sites in water-stressed areas.
TRG Datacenters' research covered 24 states with significant existing AI infrastructure, comparing the number of large AI data center sites, total power capacity, share of state electricity consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and the proportion of sites in high water-stress areas. The lower the environmental stress, the higher the ranking.
The results show Virginia ranking first with a readiness index of 100, followed by Ohio at 88.2, Tennessee at 83.7, Georgia at 81.8, and Texas at 80.8. South Carolina, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, and Indiana round out the top ten.
This ranking differs significantly from a simple count of facilities, highlighting the importance of resource constraints in site selection.
This report is based on research published by TRG Datacenters. The data comes from a single source, some figures (such as electricity consumption and emissions) are estimates, and the study covers only 24 states, which may not reflect the full picture. Analyst quotes are directly cited but have not been independently verified.
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