Arizona is a major player in the data center boom, and the biggest projects are still to come
Arizona has 182 data centers, with 53 more planned and 16 under construction. The largest upcoming campuses are in Buckeye and could each require more than a gigawatt of power, raising questions about whether the economic benefits outweigh the strain on the state's electricity supply.
Arizona is among the leading U.S. destinations for data centers, with 182 facilities statewide, according to US Data Center Map. Most existing sites are concentrated around the Phoenix metro area, including campuses operated by Meta, NTT, Apple, EdgeConneX, CyrusOne, Microsoft and Stream Data Centers.
The largest developments are still ahead in Buckeye, where two planned campuses are each projected to exceed one gigawatt. Planned and under-construction facilities could add about 9 gigawatts of demand to Arizona's power system, roughly matching the state's current total usage. The industry has also generated an estimated 108,000 jobs and $11 billion in economic output over the past decade, intensifying debate over its economic value versus its energy needs.