Report: Prince William County has 44 data centers, 15 more on the way
- Think Big
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Report: Facilities generate nearly $300 million in taxes
Data centers continue to proliferate in Prince William County, where 59 are now in operation or under construction, according to the county’s latest annual data center report.
As data centers’ footprint continues to grow, they are also generating hundreds of millions in tax revenue for the county government and schools and using hundreds of megawatts of electrical power. Meanwhile, the value of land zoned for data centers continues to rise.
67 Walmart Supercenters of space — and growing
As of June 30, there were 44 data centers operating in Prince William County and an additional 15 under construction for a total of 59. That’s an addition of four operational data centers in the past year.
Data centers are now taking up about 12 million square feet of floor space in the county, or 275 acres — the equivalent of nearly 67 Walmart Supercenters. (Across the county, there are four actual Walmart Supercenters.)
The 15 data centers under construction will add more than 4 million more square feet. About 90,500 square feet were also added to existing data centers over the past year, according to the report.
Data centers now cover more than 4,000 acres in the county or about 6 square miles.
The facilities are now mostly clustered in a swath of Manassas dubbed the “data center opportunity zone overlay district” and in areas around Gainesville and Haymarket. But data centers have been approved in the mid-county area and are proposed in Dumfries, near Four Seasons.
Nearly $300 million in annual tax revenue
In 2024, data centers paid $293.7 million in local taxes, a 77% increase from 2023. They also made up about 92% of the overall real estate assessment growth over the past year.
Data centers paid about $144.2 million in real estate taxes and about $147 million in business tangible property taxes — including $123.9 million from a tax on computers and related equipment, called the “computer and peripherals tax.”
According to the report, a large portion of the increase in revenue from the computer tax was driven by an increase in the tax rate.
The supervisors raised the computer tax rate from $2.15 to $3.70 per $100 in assessed value in 2024, resulting in an additional $51.9 million in tax revenue last year.
The board once again increased that tax rate this year to $4.15. The change is estimated to generate about $18 million more in tax revenue over the coming year, according to Dave Sinclair, the county’s budget director.
Power use equal to nearly 650,000 homes
Operating data centers in Prince William County used 862 megawatts of electrical power in fiscal year 2024.
According to PJM, which operates the regional electrical grid, one megawatt is enough to power 750 homes. That means data centers operating in the county are gobbling up enough power to serve 646,500 homes. That’s about four times the actual number of households in Prince William County, which number about 155,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Data centers’ current power draw reflects an increase of 240 megawatts from what data centers in the county consumed in fiscal year 2023. Of that increase, 173 megawatts are being consumed by the four data centers that became operational in 2024, while the remaining 67 megawatts are being used by the expansion of existing data centers, according to the report.
Power consumption by data centers in Prince William County is expected to jump more than 76% when the 15 facilities under construction come online. Those data centers are expected to demand another 660 megawatts of power, enough to power another 495,000 homes.
Value of land zoned for data centers spikes 24%
Driven by a demand for data processing space spurred by artificial intelligence, the value of land zoned for data centers in Prince William County continues to rise.
Such parcels sold for as much as $3.8 million per acre in 2024, nearly $728,000 more than in 2023 — an increase of 24%.The value of residential properties increased about 7% over the last year.
The county assessed the value of data centers operating in Prince William at over $8.7 billion in fiscal year 2024. The 15 data centers under construction are assessed at over $1.2 billion.
Vacant land zoned for data center use was collectively assessed at nearly $2.9 billion.
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