Ashburn, Virginia, is often dubbed "Data Center Alley" for its dense concentration of digital infrastructure—but there’s more to the story. While Ashburn has become synonymous with global internet traffic, rural areas throughout Virginia are beginning to play an equally vital, though quieter, role in powering the internet.
From repurposed farmland in Prince Edward County to the rolling hills of southwest Virginia, data center developers are planting roots beyond the Beltway. These rural areas are helping hyperscalers, colocation providers, and enterprise operators tap into more land, more power, and lower costs—without sacrificing proximity to the densely networked corridors of Northern Virginia.
Why Rural Virginia?
1. Proximity to Ashburn’s Fiber Core
Rural Virginia’s close proximity to the world’s busiest internet hub allows new data centers to interconnect with Ashburn's rich fiber ecosystem while benefiting from lower real estate and operating costs.
2. Plentiful, Affordable Land
As land prices in Ashburn and surrounding areas continue to rise, developers are turning to rural counties where expansive parcels are more readily available and significantly more affordable.
3. Reliable and Growing Power Supply
Rural regions offer opportunities to build near substations and transmission lines with fewer permitting roadblocks. Additionally, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power are expanding renewable energy options tailored for data centers.
4. Favorable Tax Incentives
Virginia offers tax exemptions for data center equipment, and many counties sweeten the deal with local incentives for job creation, investment, and energy efficiency.
5. Resilient Climate and Low Disaster Risk
Much of rural Virginia is safe from earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes, making it ideal for mission-critical infrastructure.
The New Data Center Frontier: Key Regions
1. Prince William and Fauquier Counties
Just west of Ashburn, these counties offer more space and slightly lower land prices while remaining well-connected to Northern Virginia's fiber infrastructure. Hyperscalers are actively seeking land here to support spillover from Loudoun County.
2. Prince Edward County
Once reliant on tobacco farming, this central Virginia county is redefining itself with tech-driven investment. It offers affordable land and existing infrastructure suitable for mid-size data center developments.
3. Southern Virginia (Danville, Martinsville, and Pittsylvania County)
Southern Virginia is leveraging its history of manufacturing and textile industries to pivot toward digital infrastructure. With access to workforce training programs and strong electrical grids, this region is ripe for transformation.
4. Southwest Virginia
Appalachian counties are embracing tech with support from public-private partnerships. Fiber upgrades and federal broadband funding are enhancing the region’s attractiveness to edge and modular data center providers.
Infrastructure Investments Driving Growth
Broadband Expansion
State-backed and federally funded programs like the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) are bringing fiber to unserved rural areas, making remote data center locations more viable.
Renewable Energy Projects
Solar and wind projects are expanding in rural counties to meet growing demand for clean power. Companies are signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to ensure data centers are environmentally responsible.
Transportation Access
While rural, many of these areas are strategically located near highways and railroads, enabling the efficient transport of construction materials and equipment.
Use Cases and Benefits of Rural Deployment
1. Edge Computing Enablement
Rural data centers bring compute power closer to end users, reducing latency for applications such as IoT, AR/VR, and autonomous systems. This is especially important in agricultural, logistics, and healthcare sectors.
2. Secondary Site Redundancy
Operators in Ashburn are building redundant sites in rural Virginia to improve disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
3. Cost Optimization
Lower land, labor, and energy costs help businesses scale more affordably. Rural counties also offer less competition for land and permitting, speeding up project timelines.
4. Community Development
Data center projects are creating new jobs, improving infrastructure, and increasing tax revenues for historically underfunded counties.
Notable Projects
Microsoft in Mecklenburg County
Microsoft has invested over $1 billion in its Boydton campus, including multiple data center buildings and green energy initiatives. It’s one of the largest rural data center investments in the U.S.
QTS
These major colocation providers are exploring land acquisition and partnerships in central and southern Virginia to diversify their portfolios.
County Tech Parks and Innovation Zones
Counties like Halifax and Pittsylvania are launching tech parks with pre-zoned land and ready-to-deploy infrastructure to attract future data center tenants.
Challenges and Considerations
1. Workforce Development
Rural regions often have smaller labor pools. Investment in training and partnerships with local colleges is key to meeting operational needs.
2. Public Perception and Zoning
Community concerns about land use, noise, and environmental impact can stall projects. Transparent engagement and community benefit programs help mitigate resistance.
3. Fiber Backhaul Limitations
While progress is being made, some rural areas still require fiber buildouts to support high-capacity traffic. Partnerships with telecoms are addressing these gaps.
Future Outlook
Rural Virginia is poised to play an even greater role in the state’s data center future. Key trends to watch include:
- Hybrid deployments combining Ashburn-based cores with rural edge sites
- Increased hyperscaler interest in secondary and tertiary markets
- Advances in AI-driven cooling and automation supporting remote operations
- More sustainability-linked investments as climate concerns drive design
With continued infrastructure improvements and strong government backing, rural Virginia is becoming not just a backup plan—but a strategic pillar of national IT infrastructure.
Beyond Ashburn, rural Virginia is quietly powering the internet’s next evolution. From central to southwest regions, the state’s lesser-known counties are attracting major investments, thanks to their affordability, reliability, and proximity to one of the most connected digital corridors on Earth.
For companies seeking scale, sustainability, and speed to market, rural Virginia offers an increasingly compelling value proposition. As hyperscale and edge strategies converge, the countryside may very well become the core of tomorrow’s internet infrastructure.
Stay tuned as we continue mapping out the growing landscape of rural innovation across the digital economy.
