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Datacenter Sites in North Carolina

North Carolina has 2,778 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 55.1/100 DC Readiness. Substation-Adjacent parcels lead the inventory (1,087 sites). Most sites interconnect through SERC. The state's candidate sites carry a catalogued aggregate of 186.5k MW and average a 5.3 yrs interconnection-queue wait.

At a glance

North Carolina has 2,778 scored datacenter candidate sites, the 22nd-most of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, averaging 55.1/100 DC Readiness against a national average of 53.0. Its average score ranks 17th among states. The state also has 41 operating datacenters and 31 internet exchange facilities on record.

2,778
Candidate sites
55.1/100
Avg DC Readiness
186.5k MW
Catalogued capacity
theoretical aggregate
5.3 yrs
Avg queue wait
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≥ 7560–7540–60≤ 40
Top 25 in North Carolina

How does North Carolina compare with other states for datacenter sites?

By number of scored candidate sites, North Carolina ranks 22nd of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico (2,778 of 147,272 nationally, 1.9%). Its average DC Readiness of 55.1/100 ranks 17th and is roughly in line with the national average of 53.0. The average interconnection-queue wait at its sites, 5.3-year, is the 50th-shortest of the group (national 4.2-year).

Across the five headline sub-scores, North Carolina is strongest relative to the nation on water (83.2 vs 72.3 nationally) and weakest on natural hazard (56.9 vs 66.8). Power and speed to power carry 20% of the score each, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.

Which counties in North Carolina have the most datacenter sites?

Cumberland County (264 sites, average 52.4), Durham County (122 sites, average 58.6), and Mecklenburg County (109 sites, average 60.0) hold the largest inventories. Together the top 3 account for 18% of the state's scored sites. Wake County has the highest average score among counties with at least 10 sites (63.9/100). 88 counties have five or more scored sites and their own county page.

What kinds of sites and grid regions are in North Carolina?

Substation-Adjacent parcels are the largest category (1,087, 39%), followed by industrial (965) and greenfield (518). Sites span 2 grid regions; SERC covers 95% of them.

By site type

By grid region

Average sub-score profile

How North Carolina's candidate sites score on each DC Readiness dimension (0–100 average).

Power availability
42.2
Speed-to-power
54.0
Fiber
69.7
Water
83.2
Hazard resilience
56.9

Top 25 datacenter sites in North Carolina

Ranked by DC Readiness.

Top datacenter sites in North Carolina
SiteTypeCountyVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
UNKNOWN111316Substation-AdjacentCleveland County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs71.0
UNKNOWN114541Substation-AdjacentDurham County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs70.8
WAKESubstation-AdjacentWake County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs70.2
DURHAMSubstation-AdjacentDurham County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs70.1
ALLENSubstation-AdjacentMecklenburg County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs69.9
MCGUIRESubstation-AdjacentMecklenburg County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs69.8
UNKNOWN112337Substation-AdjacentMecklenburg County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs69.2
UNKNOWN109907Substation-AdjacentBuncombe County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs68.8
WOODLEAF SWITCHING STATIONSubstation-AdjacentRowan County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs68.6
UNKNOWN133860Substation-AdjacentCherokee County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs68.0
UNKNOWN160766Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.4
UNKNOWN115164Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.4
UNKNOWN111199Substation-AdjacentCleveland County500 kV1,000 MW5.3 yrs67.4
TAP147409Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.4
TAP160803Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
WOODLAWNSubstation-AdjacentMecklenburg County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
UNKNOWN115453Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
UNKNOWN115457Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
TAP147382Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
TAP147176Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
UNKNOWN115163Substation-AdjacentDurham County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
UNKNOWN114635Substation-AdjacentMecklenburg County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.3
UNKNOWN115168Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.2
TAP147413Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.2
UNKNOWN115161Substation-AdjacentWake County230 kV300 MW5.3 yrs67.2

Counties in North Carolina

88 counties with five or more scored sites.

Cumberland County264 · 52.4Durham County122 · 58.6Mecklenburg County109 · 60.0Guilford County86 · 53.8Wake County81 · 63.9Lee County76 · 52.3Buncombe County74 · 58.0Forsyth County72 · 54.9Catawba68 · 55.4New Hanover County64 · 54.0Rowan County63 · 56.6Robeson County58 · 53.1Wayne County50 · 54.7Rockingham County48 · 54.4Wilson County47 · 55.9Edgecombe County46 · 53.2Gaston43 · 58.9Pitt County41 · 52.3Cabarrus County40 · 57.1Davidson County40 · 54.5Craven County39 · 53.1Chatham38 · 56.0Cleveland County37 · 58.3Johnston County37 · 55.5Columbus County33 · 54.0Anson County32 · 51.9Nash County32 · 53.5Harnett County31 · 55.4Lenoir County29 · 53.1Orange County28 · 59.9Person28 · 57.9Richmond County28 · 54.0Rutherford County27 · 56.8McDowell County26 · 53.4Bladen County24 · 56.1Burke24 · 55.3Henderson County22 · 56.2Carteret21 · 52.7Dare21 · 48.8Martin County21 · 47.6Union County21 · 58.1Halifax County20 · 50.0Beaufort County19 · 51.7Moore County19 · 52.2Caldwell County18 · 57.7Montgomery County18 · 56.1Randolph County18 · 55.0Wilkes County18 · 56.2Brunswick County17 · 54.8Duplin County17 · 54.0Iredell17 · 58.0Onslow County17 · 56.0Stokes County17 · 53.7Haywood County16 · 57.7Alamance County15 · 56.5Franklin County15 · 58.1Mitchell County15 · 52.9Northampton County15 · 51.9Hoke County14 · 55.2Scotland County14 · 53.9Surry14 · 53.7Yancey County14 · 55.5Jackson County13 · 59.3Stanly County13 · 55.9Chowan12 · 49.6Lincoln County12 · 56.8Macon County12 · 56.6Pender County11 · 53.9Sampson County11 · 57.8Avery County10 · 54.8Cherokee County10 · 55.1Yadkin County10 · 56.0Davie County9 · 55.7Warren County9 · 56.8Bertie County8 · 52.5Madison County8 · 59.0Swain8 · 59.8Vance County8 · 58.4Graham County7 · 56.1Granville County7 · 59.1Greene County7 · 57.7Polk County7 · 57.0Alexander County6 · 54.9Transylvania County6 · 57.8Washington County6 · 54.9Currituck County5 · 48.4Hertford County5 · 53.3Pasquotank County5 · 54.5

Sites in North Carolina counties with fewer than five sites

33 scored sites sit in counties too small for a county page of their own.

Operating datacenters in North Carolina

41 operating datacenter facilities in North Carolina are on record, the 17th-most of any state. Charlotte has the largest cluster (8 facilities). The operators with the most facilities here are Meta (4), Flexential (3), Digital Realty (2). Footprints are recorded for 18 of them, totalling about 12.1 million square feet.

Charlotte (8)

Raleigh (5)

Asheville (2)

Lenoir (2)

Kannapolis (1)

Kings Mountain (1)

Maiden (1)

Mill Spring (1)

Morrisville (1)

Sylva (1)

Internet exchange and peering facilities in North Carolina

31 peering and colocation facilities in North Carolina are listed in PeeringDB. Charlotte has the most (16). The best-connected facility hosts 13 networks; the median facility in the state hosts 2 networks.

Asheville (3)

Durham (3)

Raleigh (3)

Kannapolis (1)

Kings Mountain (1)

Lenoir (1)

Mill Spring (1)

Morrisville (1)

Sylva (1)

North Carolina datacenter site selection FAQ

How many datacenter sites are in North Carolina?

GridCensus catalogs 2,778 scored datacenter candidate sites in North Carolina, with an average DC Readiness score of 55.1/100. That is the 22nd-largest inventory of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

How many operating datacenters are in North Carolina?

41 operating datacenter facilities in North Carolina are on record, the 17th-most of any state. Charlotte has the most (8). Meta operates the most facilities in the state (4).

What is the average interconnection-queue wait in North Carolina?

Candidate sites in North Carolina average a 5.3-year interconnection-queue wait, with an average queue depth of 168 projects. The national average across all scored sites is 4.2-year, and North Carolina has the 50th-shortest average wait of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

Which county in North Carolina has the most datacenter sites?

Cumberland County has the most scored candidate sites in North Carolina (264), followed by Durham County (122) and Mecklenburg County (109). Among counties with at least 10 sites, Wake County has the highest average DC Readiness (63.9/100).

What kind of datacenter sites are most common in North Carolina?

Substation-Adjacent sites are the most common category in North Carolina (1,087 sites, 39% of the inventory), and most sites fall within the SERC grid region.

How many internet exchange facilities are in North Carolina?

31 peering and colocation facilities listed in PeeringDB are in North Carolina. Charlotte has the most (16). The best-connected one hosts 13 networks.

Looking for a specific record? The directory lists every scored datacenter site in North Carolina, A to Z.

More North Carolina infrastructure

About this data

Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published November 12, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: GridCensus, “Datacenter candidate sites in North Carolina”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/north-carolina (data as of November 12, 2026).

Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Go deeper than the public screen

Every site and score for North Carolina is free to browse. Pro adds Watchtower on 25 sites, alerts when new candidate sites, datacenters or interconnection-queue requests appear in your markets, score and capacity history, and CSV export. Enterprise adds team seats, weekly data files for all 147,272 sites, the REST API and an MCP server for AI tools.

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