03/18/2026
Columbus Will Become Second-Largest Data Center Hub in the Great Lakes Region
Source: WOSU NPR News, January 19, 2026
About 20% of all the data centers in the U.S. are located in eight states around the Great Lakes.
As of 2024, the region had 525 data centers — with another 224 planned by 2030, according to data compiled by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
Ohio has more than 100 operational data centers. The state is slated to get another 77 by 2030. That will propel Columbus past New York City to become the second-largest data center hub in the region, after Chicago.
The new data centers are also expected to more than double the industry's share of the state's energy consumption in the next four years, from 5.3% to 10.9%.
João Ferreira, acting director of the University of Virginia's Center for Economic and Policy Studies, said new hyperscale data centers use on average 30% more electricity than older, smaller data centers.
"These are large-sale facilities — the size of probably five, six, seven Walmarts," Ferreria said.