Most people probably don't consider proximity to a data center when deciding where to live. But as these massive facilities spread across the country, more homeowners are finding that a data center is moving into their community rather than the other way around.
A new Realtor.com report found that the share of U.S. home sales occurring within five miles of a large data center has more than doubled since 2018. And with hundreds of additional facilities opening or under construction, even more residential communities could soon find themselves sharing their neighborhood with one.
The change has happened surprisingly quickly. In 2018, just 0.67% of U.S. home sales occurred within five miles of a large data center. By 2026, that figure had more than doubled to roughly 1.5%.
During that same period, the number of large operating data centers jumped from 49 to 347. Based on facilities already in the construction pipeline, Realtor.com projects that nearly 2.3% of U.S. home sales could take place within five miles of one by 2027.
The interesting part is that Americans aren't suddenly choosing neighborhoods because they're close to data centers.
Realtor.com's analysis found that the increase is being driven by new facilities opening in new communities. In other words, people aren't moving toward data centers. Data centers are moving toward them.
Data centers were once concentrated in a relatively small number of areas. In 2015, only 12 ZIP codes nationwide contained a large data center. By June 2026, that number had climbed to 108 and was on track to reach 125 by the end of the year.
And the next wave is pushing farther outside major cities.
From 2019 through 2025, the typical new large data center was located about 23 miles from the nearest major city center. That increased to roughly 27 miles in 2026, while facilities expected to open in 2027 are located about 34 miles away.
They're also appearing in less densely populated communities. In 2017, the typical new facility was surrounded by about 116 homes per square mile. By 2026, that had fallen to just 32.
A data center opening in a community may not be the end of the story. Once the zoning, power infrastructure, and other requirements are in place, the area can become more attractive for additional data center projects.
Northern Virginia shows how this can happen. Individual projects eventually grew into one of the country's largest concentrations of data centers, meaning some communities ended up surrounded by far more facilities than they originally had.
And the nationwide expansion is far from finished. Based on facilities already in the construction pipeline through 2027, Realtor.com estimates that roughly 2.3% of U.S. home sales could eventually occur within five miles of a large data center.
That may sound like a small share of the overall housing market, but it's growing quickly. As new facilities spread into smaller, less densely populated communities farther from major cities, more homeowners could find themselves living near a data center that wasn't there when they originally bought their home.
That's really the takeaway: you don't necessarily have to move near a data center to end up with one as a neighbor. Increasingly, the data centers are coming to communities where people already live.