Data Center Alley & Northern Virginia
Explore the world's densest data center hub, known as Data Center Alley!
Scroll down to take a virtual tour through Data Center Alley and nearby key markets in Northern Virginia. See who the operators are and visualize the density of their data centers in this region.
We cover data centers from colocation providers, cloud providers and hyperscale operators, whether planned, under construction or operational.
Ashburn
Located in Loudoun County and the heart of Data Center Alley, Ashburn is known as the original data center hub of Northern Virginia. It is often referred to as The Data Center Capital of the World.
Market Sponsor: Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together in bold new ways in Virginia
Sterling
Located in Loudoun County, in close proximity to Ashburn and part of the Dulles Technology Corridor, Sterling is also a key hotspot for data centers in Northern Virginia.
Market Sponsor: Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together in bold new ways in Virginia
Herndon & Reston
Located in Fairfax County, Herndon and Reston is home to many tech companies and data centers.
Market Sponsor: Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together in bold new ways in Virginia
Vienna & McLean
While located east of Data Center Alley and not as large a hotspot as some of the major markets in Northern Virginia, Vienna and McLean in Fairfax County does have its share of data centers.
Market Sponsor: Centersquare
Ashburn Colo, Cloud, BTS Solution. 6.6MW Available Today. Carrier Neutral, Cloud Enabled
Why Northern Virginia?
Why has Northern Virginia become the data center hub of the US East Coast, and what role does it play in US digital infastructure?
Northern Virginia is the epicenter of digital infrastructure in North America, and the favorite data center location for hyperscale operators seeking capacity to power cloud computing platforms and social networks. The region is one of biggest success stories of the Internet economy, with the rapid growth of the data center industry transforming real estate markets and the local tax base.
The Northern Virginia data center market is focused on a number of towns in Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax counties, and is now expanding into adjacent counties. At the heart of the region’s geography and success is Ashburn, which has become known as Data Center Alley for its concentration of mission-critical facilities. Ashburn sits atop the world’s densest intersection of fiber networks, making it an ideal location to store and distribute data. It is unique in its connectivity, and its data centers are laying the physical foundation of the digital economy.
Rich Miller,
Founder & Editor at Large, Data Center Frontier
* Get the Data Center Frontier Northern Virginia Data Center Market Report
One of the Most Interconnected Markets
Northern Virginia is renowned for its exceptional connectivity, largely due to the Equinix data center at 21715 Filigree Court — one of the most interconnected data centers in the world, with multiple internet exchanges.
Additionally, Northern Virginia's strategic location on the East Coast ensures low latency connections to other major markets in the region. This proximity includes access to numerous cable landing stations linking the US to South America, Europe, and Africa.
Significant submarine cables such as MAREA, BRUSA and Dunant land in Virginia, with major tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google as key stakeholders.
Gigawatt-Scale Power Consumption
Northern Virginia (NoVa) is known for its robust power infrastructure, with many power plants based on various energy sources, such as natural gas, nuclear, coal, waste, and renewables like solar and wind power.
The primary utility company in NoVa is Dominion Energy, and their subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Company, who operates power plants and manages power distribution networks in the market.
According to their filings in 2024, Dominion Energy connected 94 new data centers with more than 4+ GW of power in the period 2019-2023.
Rapidly Growing Data Center Cluster
Despite the high number of data centers already constructed in Northern Virginia, many more are under development.
According to the NVTC 2024 Data Center Report*, Fairfax County and Prince William County have a significant pipeline undergoing development:
- Fairfax: 4.4 million sq. ft.
- Prince William: 30 million sq. ft.
Land Banked > Planned > Under Construction > Operational
* Get the Northern Virginia Technology Council's 2024 Data Center Report
End of Northern Virginia Tour
46 Companies Featured:
Disclaimer: Some listings are based on data directly from the operators, while others are based on our own research or third party data. The list is by no means complete and there may be outdated or incorrect listings. Locations, addresses and development phases (Land Banked > Planned > Under Construction > Operational) should be considered indicative only. We strive to list the operators of the data centers, but in some cases, we only know the investor or owner. Please reach out if you notice issues or have updates.