Artificial intelligence

These are the states with the most data centers: What you need to know about AI energy use

As AI expands, U.S. data centers are using massive amounts of electricity, raising concerns about future energy demand.

Jonathan Ernst

Scottish sports journalist and content creator. After running his own soccer-related projects, in 2022 he joined Diario AS, where he mainly reports on the biggest news from around Europe’s leading soccer clubs, Liga MX and MLS, and covers live games in a not-too-serious tone. Likes to mix things up by dipping into the world of American sports.

Update: Oct 29th, 2025 12:02 EDT

Earlier this year, reports showed that electricity use in parts of the United States was soaring, with bills expected to rise as much as 20%. Experts cited artificial intelligence as one of the main factors.

AI use is skyrocketing

More and more people are using artificial intelligence, particularly powerful AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Microsoft Copilot. As these systems evolve rapidly, the electricity needed to run the data centers supporting them has surged.

Data centers: energy-intensive hubs

Data centers are large facilities housing essential infrastructure such as servers, data storage systems and networking equipment for digital service providers. Some data centers now run AI systems, turning them into massive energy consumers.

A report from Fox Business found that AI-focused data centers can consume up to 30 times more electricity than traditional ones. Because these centers are connected to the same grid as homes and businesses, higher electricity use often leads to increased bills for all grid users.

Where the data centers are

The United States has more than 4,000 data centers. About a third are concentrated in Virginia (643), Texas (395) and California (319). By city, Dallas leads with 193, while the area around Ashburn, Sterling and Manassas in Virginia, just west of Washington D.C., hosts 349 data centers close together.

Energy consumption on the rise

Even before this year’s AI boom, U.S. electricity consumption hit a record high in 2024, with data centers accounting for 4% of total use.

Measuring how much energy AI specifically consumes is difficult. Reports suggest AI-focused hyperscalers - companies operating massive data centers and cloud infrastructure - use as much electricity as 100,000 homes. New, larger data centers currently under construction could consume 20 times more, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

IEA data also shows that 60% of the electricity used by data centers powers servers that store and process digital information. AI data centers require advanced servers with more powerful chips, which consume significantly more energy than traditional servers.

Future projections

U.S. data centers used a record 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024. That figure is projected to reach 426 TWh by 2030, which will almost certainly translate into significantly higher electricity bills for homes and businesses across the country.