As data centers continue to outbid home builders for land, their presence across the housing market is growing. Over the past several years, data centers have moved into rural, low-income communities, but that’s quickly shifting to impact homeowners across regions and across income levels.

In fact, since 2018, home sales taking place near large data centers have more than doubled to 1.5% of all home sales, according to a recent report from real estate marketing platform Realtor.com. In that same period, the number of data centers grew to 350 large facilities, and by 2027, it’s projected that more than 2% of all home sales will take place within five miles of an active large data center.

Who lives near large data centers?

Prior to 2020, data centers were concentrated in rural and low-income communities. In 2015, just 12 ZIP Codes nationwide contained a large data center, but by June 2026, that figure grew to 108 ZIP Codes, and by the end of the year that figure is expected to reach 125.

As data center construction picked up across the U.S., high-income suburbs also were targeted for expansion. From 2020 through 2023, ZIP Codes receiving new facilities consistently ran above the national median, peaking in 2023 at 24.7% above the median income. However, new large facilities opening in 2026 sit in ZIP Codes just below the national median income, and that trend is expected to continue into 2027.

Still, this expansion has had little impact on home sales

Interestingly, homes located near a large data center are still selling at comparable rates to homes that are not located near a large data center. The report analyzed 43 ZIP Codes that received a large data center between 2019 and 2025 and matched each one to a similar ZIP Code in the same metro area that did not receive a large data center. What they found is that there was no major difference in price or sales activity between the metros.