The financial website InvestorsObserver has published a report on U.S. data centers and the impact they’ve had on electricity bills in each state.
Over the 2020-25 period tracked by InvestorsObserver, New Jersey’s electric bills climbed 55%, the sixth-highest rate among the 50 states. Over that period, the state’s data center total reached 82, well below national leader Virginia, with 663 data facilities. Over the 2020-25 period, Virginia’s electric bill rose 31%.
States with the worst acceleration in 2024–2025 were Maine (30%), New Jersey (27%), Missouri (22%), New York (21%) and Illinois (21%). This was part of a longer trend following policy shifts, fuel supply and exploding tech demand.
InvestorsObserver said the expansion of data centers – powering the streaming, cloud services, and the digital world Americans use every day – is just one cause behind the surge in customers’ electric bills. The other issues include inflation, climate or utility politics.
Among the report’s key findings are:
- U.S. increase from 2020 to August 2025: 34% – fastest five-year surge in recent history.
- States with the biggest number of data centers (Virginia, Texas, California) saw both high infrastructure growth and steep price increases, but the correlation isn’t simple – Virginia’s prices rose only 31% from 2020 to 2025, while California jumped 64%.
- Maine, with just eight data centers, had the fastest price rise (2020–2025), up 94.6%.
- Besides New Jersey and Maine, eastern states whose prices climbed more than 50% from 2020 to 2025 were New York (63%), Massachusetts and Connecticut (59%) and Pennsylvania (52%).
The Northeast’s electricity travails stem from constrained natural gas pipelines, renewable transition costs and aging infrastructure – not server farms. The South’s relative affordability reflects abundant gas, newer infrastructure and pro-business climates. The 2020s have proved that digital infrastructure is one factor among many driving America’s electricity crisis, which is worsening.
The 2020s have been difficult for American electricity customers. Through the first five years (2020-2024), the national average jumped 24.4%, and by August 2025 the cumulative increase since 2020 reached 34%. Prices went from $10.96 in 2020 to $13.82 in 2024 to $14.87 by mid-2025.
Virginia leads data-center growth with 663, Texas has 405, and California 320. But while data concentration brings higher local energy demand (and sometimes higher bills), the relationship isn’t simple. Virginia’s prices are much lower than California’s and even lower than some low-data center states (like Maine, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire).
In fact, some states with relatively modest data center footprints – Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri – had some of the fastest power price hikes. The costliest, Maine, only houses eight centers.
InvestorsObserver says the difference in electricity bill costs depends on the state’s energy policy. For example, California’s bills reflect not just tech demand, but renewables policy, grid bottlenecks and higher regulatory costs. Maine’s price spiral is tied to regional supply shortages and fuel costs than to the handful of server farms. Virginia’s energy cost is lowered by abundant supply and massive utility-scale investment, even as demand soars.
