# Which states are building the most AI data center capacity? Texas leads

By Spezia. Published November 10, 2026. Updated November 10, 2026. Data as of November 9, 2026.
Canonical page: https://spezia.ai/blog/data-center-capacity-by-state

## The short answer

Texas leads on both measures: 41 projects and 57.0 GW of planned capacity, 20% of the U.S. pipeline. Utah and Wyoming follow on capacity with far fewer projects. The top five states hold 54% of the 285 GW tracked by Spezia as of November 9, 2026, and 33 of 41 states have at least 1 GW planned.

- Texas has 41 projects and 57.0 GW planned, the most of any state on both counts.
- Texas, Utah and Wyoming together hold 41% of the capacity. The top five hold 54%.
- 7 states have 10 GW or more planned, and 33 of 41 have at least 1 GW.
- Project count and capacity rank states differently: Virginia has 14 projects but ranks 19th on capacity, while Ohio has 7 projects and ranks 4th.
- Capacity is planned at full build-out and says nothing by itself about what is being built. Stage matters more than size.

## Which state has the most planned data center capacity?

Texas. Spezia tracks 41 projects there that are not yet operating and report a size. Together they plan 57.0 GW, which is 20% of the 285 GW pipeline across 294 projects in 41 states.

- **57.0 GW**: planned in Texas, the most of any state
- **41%**: of national capacity in the top three states
- **54%**: in the top five
- **33 of 41**: states with at least 1 GW planned

**Planned capacity, ten largest states**

| | Value | Note |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Texas | 57.0 GW | 41 projects |
| Utah | 31.6 GW | 12 projects |
| Wyoming | 27.6 GW | 15 projects |
| Ohio | 21.0 GW | 7 projects |
| West Virginia | 16.3 GW | 8 projects |
| Pennsylvania | 12.3 GW | 8 projects |
| New Mexico | 11.0 GW | 7 projects |
| Louisiana | 9.3 GW | 8 projects |
| Montana | 8.7 GW | 5 projects |
| Georgia | 8.6 GW | 8 projects |

*Planned full build-out of projects not yet operating, in gigawatts. Source: Spezia tracker, data read November 9, 2026.*

The pipeline is concentrated. Texas, Utah and Wyoming hold 41% of it. Adding Ohio and West Virginia brings the share to 54%. 7 states plan 10 GW or more. At the other end, 8 of the 41 states plan under 1 GW.

For the national picture these numbers add up to, see [the U.S. AI data center pipeline](https://spezia.ai/blog/us-ai-data-center-pipeline).

## Which states have the most projects?

Counting projects instead of gigawatts changes the order. Texas still leads with 41, but Wyoming and Virginia come next, and Virginia is third with 14 projects.

| State | Projects | Planned capacity | Share of capacity | Average project |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Texas | 41 | 57.0 GW | 20.0% | 1,391 MW |
| Wyoming | 15 | 27.6 GW | 9.7% | 1,838 MW |
| Virginia | 14 | 3.6 GW | 1.2% | 254 MW |
| Utah | 12 | 31.6 GW | 11.1% | 2,629 MW |
| Kentucky | 11 | 8.4 GW | 2.9% | 761 MW |
| Alabama | 10 | 4.5 GW | 1.6% | 447 MW |
| Arkansas | 9 | 5.7 GW | 2.0% | 629 MW |
| Mississippi | 9 | 5.4 GW | 1.9% | 595 MW |
| Nevada | 9 | 4.5 GW | 1.6% | 497 MW |
| West Virginia | 8 | 16.3 GW | 5.7% | 2,032 MW |

Ties on project count are listed by capacity. Capacity and count answer different questions. Count tells you how many separate jobs there are, which matters to a supplier or a contractor looking for work. Capacity tells you how big the jobs are, which matters to a utility planning for load.

## Why do a few states rank so high on capacity?

Because their projects are very large. Utah has 12 projects and 31.6 GW, an average of 2,629 MW each. Ohio has 7 projects and 21.0 GW, an average of 2,994 MW. Wyoming has 15 projects and 27.6 GW, an average of 1,838 MW.

Compare Virginia, which has 14 projects but only 3.6 GW in total, an average of 254 MW. It ranks 19th on capacity. Its projects are small on average.

Among states with at least five projects, the largest average project is in Ohio (2,994 MW), followed by Utah (2,629 MW) and West Virginia (2,032 MW). A state with a few giant projects is exposed to their fortunes. If one is delayed or cancelled, the state's total moves a lot.

## What is happening in the leading states?

One recent event from each of four states, taken from the news Spezia read in the past month. They are examples, not trends.

| State | What was reported | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Texas | The Taylor city council voted 5 to 0 on October 8 to approve an agreement for a campus near Austin that could reach 1 GW, planned with behind-the-meter gas power | [Baxtel](https://baxtel.com/news/taylor-approves-1gw-gas-fired-data-center-campus-for-big-watt-powerhouse) |
| Wyoming | Google said it could invest $17 billion in its first Wyoming data center, near Cheyenne | [WyoFile, via States Newsroom](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/google-commits-spending-17b-ai-data-centers-wyoming), [The Next Web](https://thenextweb.com/news/google-wyoming-data-centre-17b-fuel-cells-carbon-capture) |
| Utah | A proposed hyperscale campus in Hansel Valley is the subject of residents' lawsuits and referendums, with its water and power needs under scrutiny | [Deseret Magazine](https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2026/11/08/kevin-oleary-meets-resistance-on-data-center/) |
| Ohio | A township zoning commission voted unanimously for a proposed amendment that would bar data centers as a principal land use, in a fight over a reported $5 billion Amazon campus | [Cincinnati Enquirer](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2026/11/08/how-an-ohio-truck-driver-is-fighting-a-5b-amazon-data-center/92457977007/) |

Four states, four different kinds of news: an approval, an announcement, local resistance and a zoning amendment. For more on the last two kinds, see [data center opposition and delays](https://spezia.ai/blog/data-center-opposition-and-delays).

## How should you use state numbers?

Three cautions keep them honest.

1. **Capacity is not construction.** These are planned full build-outs. Look at the stage of the projects behind a state's number before treating it as a pipeline of work or load.
2. **State lines are not grid lines.** Power markets and grid operators cross state borders, so a project's real constraint may be a neighbor's transmission.
3. **Counts move with the research.** A state with a handful of projects can change rank with one addition. The date at the top of this post matters.

See every tracked project on the map by stage and size, and open a project file from the pin. [Open the data center map](https://spezia.ai/tools/data-center-map)

## Every state in the tracker

All 41 states with at least one tracked project, ranked by planned capacity.

| State | Projects | Planned capacity | Share of capacity | Average project |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Texas | 41 | 57,047 MW | 20.0% | 1,391 MW |
| Utah | 12 | 31,553 MW | 11.1% | 2,629 MW |
| Wyoming | 15 | 27,568 MW | 9.7% | 1,838 MW |
| Ohio | 7 | 20,959 MW | 7.4% | 2,994 MW |
| West Virginia | 8 | 16,256 MW | 5.7% | 2,032 MW |
| Pennsylvania | 8 | 12,250 MW | 4.3% | 1,531 MW |
| New Mexico | 7 | 11,000 MW | 3.9% | 1,571 MW |
| Louisiana | 8 | 9,313 MW | 3.3% | 1,164 MW |
| Montana | 5 | 8,685 MW | 3.0% | 1,737 MW |
| Georgia | 8 | 8,590 MW | 3.0% | 1,074 MW |
| Kentucky | 11 | 8,376 MW | 2.9% | 761 MW |
| Arizona | 5 | 7,038 MW | 2.5% | 1,408 MW |
| Indiana | 6 | 6,348 MW | 2.2% | 1,058 MW |
| Arkansas | 9 | 5,658 MW | 2.0% | 629 MW |
| Mississippi | 9 | 5,359 MW | 1.9% | 595 MW |
| Illinois | 8 | 5,162 MW | 1.8% | 645 MW |
| Alabama | 10 | 4,470 MW | 1.6% | 447 MW |
| Nevada | 9 | 4,470 MW | 1.6% | 497 MW |
| Virginia | 14 | 3,553 MW | 1.2% | 254 MW |
| Tennessee | 7 | 3,549 MW | 1.2% | 507 MW |
| Missouri | 7 | 3,233 MW | 1.1% | 462 MW |
| Michigan | 3 | 3,000 MW | 1.1% | 1,000 MW |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 2,492 MW | 0.9% | 498 MW |
| Oregon | 7 | 1,822 MW | 0.6% | 260 MW |
| Minnesota | 5 | 1,791 MW | 0.6% | 358 MW |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 1,742 MW | 0.6% | 348 MW |
| Iowa | 3 | 1,600 MW | 0.6% | 533 MW |
| Florida | 2 | 1,600 MW | 0.6% | 800 MW |
| North Carolina | 4 | 1,490 MW | 0.5% | 373 MW |
| South Carolina | 3 | 1,469 MW | 0.5% | 490 MW |
| Colorado | 7 | 1,349 MW | 0.5% | 193 MW |
| New Jersey | 5 | 1,325 MW | 0.5% | 265 MW |
| North Dakota | 5 | 1,210 MW | 0.4% | 242 MW |
| South Dakota | 4 | 995 MW | 0.3% | 249 MW |
| New York | 4 | 614 MW | 0.2% | 154 MW |
| Maryland | 4 | 573 MW | 0.2% | 143 MW |
| Idaho | 2 | 410 MW | 0.1% | 205 MW |
| Kansas | 1 | 400 MW | 0.1% | 400 MW |
| Washington | 5 | 396 MW | 0.1% | 79 MW |
| California | 5 | 204 MW | under 0.1% | 41 MW |
| Nebraska | 1 | 80 MW | under 0.1% | 80 MW |

## How this was made

Spezia's project tracker reads public filings, permits and reporting, and keeps every fact with the sentence it was read from. This analysis covers U.S. data center projects that are not yet operating and report a capacity, with records of the same project merged (same state, capacity within 5%, no conflicting city). Capacity is the planned full build-out. A project's main constraint is Spezia's model reading its sources, and it is shown only for groups of 25 projects or more. A project is counted in the state where it is filed. The examples of recent events are single stories from the past month, chosen to illustrate a state, and are not trends.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which state has the most data center capacity planned?

Texas. As of November 9, 2026, Spezia tracks 41 projects there that are not yet operating, planning 57.0 GW, 20% of the national total. Utah is second at 31.6 GW and Wyoming third at 27.6 GW.

### How many data center projects are planned in Texas?

41 that are not yet operating and report a size, planning 57.0 GW in total. That is an average of 1,391 MW per project. It counts projects, not buildings, and many are campuses with several halls.

### Why do Utah and Wyoming rank so high with so few projects?

Their projects are large. Utah averages 2,629 MW per project and Wyoming averages 1,838 MW, against 400 MW for the typical project nationally. A few very large plans carry their totals.

### Does planned capacity mean the data centers are being built?

No. Capacity is the size developers plan at full build-out, whatever the stage. A project may be under construction, approved, or only announced. The national pipeline is only 31% under construction by capacity, so check the stage before reading a state's number as work underway.

### Which states have the most data center projects?

Texas has the most with 41, then Wyoming with 15 and Virginia with 14. Ranking by project count differs from ranking by capacity because project sizes vary widely.

## Sources

1. [Spezia U.S. data center project tracker, research run of November 9, 2026](https://spezia.ai/tools/buildout), Spezia
2. [Taylor approves 1GW gas-fired data center campus for Big Watt Powerhouse](https://baxtel.com/news/taylor-approves-1gw-gas-fired-data-center-campus-for-big-watt-powerhouse), Baxtel
3. [Google commits to spending $17B on AI data centers in Wyoming](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/google-commits-spending-17b-ai-data-centers-wyoming), WyoFile, via States Newsroom
4. [Google's first Wyoming data centre will run on gas with carbon capture](https://thenextweb.com/news/google-wyoming-data-centre-17b-fuel-cells-carbon-capture), The Next Web
5. [The loudest data center fight in America, as seen from next door](https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2026/11/08/kevin-oleary-meets-resistance-on-data-center/), Deseret Magazine
6. [How an Ohio truck driver is fighting a $5B Amazon data center](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2026/11/08/how-an-ohio-truck-driver-is-fighting-a-5b-amazon-data-center/92457977007/), Cincinnati Enquirer

## Cite this

Spezia. "Which states are building the most AI data center capacity? Texas leads" Spezia, November 10, 2026. https://spezia.ai/blog/data-center-capacity-by-state