A residential street backs up to data center campuses in eastern Loudoun County, where housing and server farms now sit side by side.
DATA CENTER ALLEY
In a single Virginia county, the industry that powers the AI economy has become the largest taxpayer, the newest neighbor, and the heaviest draw on the regional grid.
BY THE AS IT TURNS OUT RESEARCH DESK revenue, money that has gone toward schools, roads and other public services without, officials say, raising residential tax rates at the same pace as neighboring jurisdictions.
oudoun County did not set out to become the world's densest concentration of data centers. It became one anyway, as fiber routes, available land and proximity to Washington, D.C. drew server farms to what was once dairy and horse country. County officials have reported that data centers now generate a substantial share of local tax