Where in the World Is the Largest Data Center Hub?

By our 2023 estimates, the Washington metropolitan area—or more specifically Northern Virginia (NoVA)—dominates as the world's largest data center market.

With more than 22 million square feet of operational capacity, NoVA is 30% larger than the next-biggest data center hub, Tokyo.

What else does the most recent update to our Data Center Research Service tell us?

Asian and U.S. metro areas account for eight of the 10 largest data center markets. In Europe, only London and Frankfurt make the list of largest markets.

Digital Realty and Equinix have much greater scale and geographical diversity than all of their competitors. Each of these two operators controls at least 30 million square feet of operational data center capacity. And both of them have significant footprints across every global region. NTT has a footprint about 30% smaller than that of Equinix but nearly twice as big as the next-largest provider.

More than 50 commercial data center providers control over 1 million square feet of operational capacity—each.

More than 50 commercial data center providers control over 1 million square feet of operational capacity—each. While few are nearly as large as the behemoths on top of this list, many are growing rapidly, are flush with new investment, and are immensely critical players in the development of the global interconnection market.

Looking at sizable markets with at least 1 million square feet of operational capacity, least 20 of these are growing at 10% CAGR or more. If we include smaller, dynamic markets in that mix, the number reaching that level at least doubles.

Our Data Center Research Service is a comprehensive guide for understanding data centers, network storage, and the nature of interconnection.