‘We’ve been screwed’: A wealthy county is overrun with data centers

'We've been screwed': A wealthy county is overrun with data centers Loudoun County, Virginia, became the world's data center capital and became flush with tax dollars that supported cut residents' taxes and improved schools.

Key points

• Most data centers in Loudoun County were built between 2019 and 2024.
• When Greg Pirio moved to Loudoun County in 2010, he enjoyed long walks through the woods near his townhome.
• In fiscal year 2026, data centers produced $1.2 billion in property tax dollars, almost 40% of the county's overall budget.
• "Our residents have had enough, " remarked Juli Briskman, a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors who has called on a moratorium on the computer warehouses.
• "The growth there has been staggering, " remarked Terry Clower, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

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ALDIE, VA – On an overcast morning in late September, two dozen women gathered for their weekly pickleball game at a $91 million recreation complex in this leafy suburb outside the nation's capital.

Wearing fitness watches and moisture-wicking skirts, they laughed and cheered over the sound of paddles and wiffle balls. Nearby, children scrambled up a shiny rock wall and ran through a colorful splashpad while parents watched from shaded benches.

Authorities say the sprawling park, with its athletic fields, pavilions and tennis courts, is among the numerous projects built with the support of tax revenue from an industry that has transformed Loudoun County over the past decade: data centers.

Just beyond the park's borders, evidence of that transformation is everywhere. A forest of transmission lines towers over nearby homes, and a number of hyperscale data centers are under construction.

More: Throughout the US, local revolts grow as AI data center boom expands.

No place has embraced the digital economy more than Loudoun County, long-known as the wealthiest county in the United States thanks to its proximity to Washington, DC and major administration contractors.

For context, the region is home to more than 230 data center buildings, what the county describes as the largest concentration of computing hubs on the planet. Together, the facilities occupy more land than New York City's Central Park and consume enough electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes.

In practice, the county steadily became a leader in the global data center boom over the past decade as firms flocked to the area for its extensive fiber network and fast-track approval process.

In turn, the local administration has collected billions of dollars in tax revenue from facilities backed by businesses including Amazon and Microsoft. The windfall has supported fund new parks, schools and other public services while allowing office-holders to substantially reduce property tax rates.

Yet, the same industry that funded those amenities is drawing increasing backlash from plenty of Loudoun residents who are troubled at the rate of construction and worry the county is too reliant on the capital they bring in. Some additionally raise worries regarding noise, pollution and their property values.

"I don't think we need any more data centers, " remarked Sam Lechman, 35. This person brings his three young children to the substantial recreation center in Aldie. "There are other ways to pay for these nice things."

Meanwhile, the opposition, which mirrors a broader national backlash against data centers, lately led Loudoun's Board of Supervisors to backing a one-year pause on new project applications, a remarkable shift for a county long regarded a nonstop green light for data center development.

"Our residents have had enough, " remarked Juli Briskman, a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors who has called on a moratorium on the computer warehouses. "It's gone too far."

How did Loudoun County become the data center capital of the world?

Loudoun's rise was the result of both geography and policy, local authorities say.

For context, the county sat atop some of the nation's most significant internet infrastructure. Local authorities then spent years making it easier for technology businesses to build there than almost anywhere else in the country.

In the mid-1990s, America Online (AOL) and UUNet, one of the world's largest internet providers, established their global headquarters in Loudoun, spurring a wave of development in the early days of the internet boom. Within a few years, half the world's web traffic moved through Loudoun County, estimates suggest.

But after the dot-com bubble burst, warehouses once planned to be data centers sat empty. A few years afterwards, the county's balance sheet took a major hit during the housing crash and office-holders scrambled to fill the gap.

Buddy Rizer, a former DJ turned head of the county's economic development agency, saw an opportunity in data centers. He flew back and forth to Silicon Valley and Seattle, courting the likes of Amazon and Google.

Notably, the plan worked, and over the next 10 years the county saw the world's largest surge in data center development. "It really got momentum pretty quickly and we had a lot of success, " remarked Rizer, who's referred to in industry circles as the "king of data centers."

To quicken the pace of development, authorities backed a move to centralize a number of permitting processes in Rizer's office. Firms additionally seized on the area's zoning rules. It allowed them to build data centers "by right" wherever office buildings were permitted, even if they were close to residential neighborhoods. The rules additionally allowed developers to skirt approvals from the board of supervisors.

"There were no shortcuts when it came to permitting, " Rizer remarked, "but we did have a fast-track program that allowed us to do quicker reviews and to get businesses to market as fast as possible, which was good for both them and good for the county."

Over recent years, construction exploded against the backdrop of climbed demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Most data centers in Loudoun County were built between 2019 and 2024. In 2025 alone, the county issued building permits for over 10 million square feet of data center space, the highest one-year number in the county's history. Together, Loudoun's data centers occupy 3% of the total land in the county, Rizer remarked. 'It's a love-hate relationship'.

As some of the world's wealthiest firms built substantial hubs in Loudoun, the county raked in massive sums of funds.

In fiscal year 2026, data centers produced $1.2 billion in property tax dollars, almost 40% of the county's overall budget. A decade ago, the industry brought in $150 million.

In practice, the wealth has allowed authorities to lower property taxes every year over the last 10 years. Tax rates on vehicles were additionally slashed.

Meanwhile, the county built a pair of new schools over the last two years, and another is under construction. A new recreation center fitted with a spa and an Olympic swimming pool opened last year in Ashburn. A $261 million recreation center on the other side of the county is at present in the planning stage.

Joan Cost, a longtime Loudoun County resident, stated the biggest benefit is the lower property tax rate.

"That is the good side of it, " she remarked, adding that she finds data centers unsightly and has worries regarding their potential health impacts. "It's a love-hate relationship."

Lechman, who has lived in Loudoun County for over a decade, remarked there's "pros and cons" to the area's embrace of data centers. He remarked he enjoys amenities like parks and new schools, including one his daughter attends, but he believes the construction has happened too swiftly.

"I think they need to slow down and see what the repercussions are going to be, " he remarked. Like Cost, most of his worries are visual.

"If they hid them, like put them behind trees, I'd probably be fine with it, " he continued. "I just don't like how it's popping up so rapidly. It just looks bad."

For some living close to the data centers, the projects have upended their lives.

When Greg Pirio moved to Loudoun County in 2010, he enjoyed long walks through the woods near his townhome. Most mornings, he would lead his dog to a nearby pond and pick wild berries. "It was lovely, rural nature, " he remarked.

When a massive data center a block from his home came online, but that all changed in 2025.

He notes he struggles to ignore the mechanical whirring of turbines and generators. He can sometimes feel the emissions from the building's gas power plant in his chest and throat.

In short, we've been screwed: A wealthy county is overrun with data centers is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.