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Data centers may lower nearby home values, but the evidence does not support a universal answer for every neighborhood or house. A September 2026 working paper estimates price declines near large data-center announcements; a separate 2026 analysis found no meaningful price-growth difference in its sample during the first two years after facilities opened. For a buyer, the practical answer is to investigate the specific site, its construction and operating impacts, local rules, and comparable sales—not apply a national percentage to one property.
Will living near a data center hurt my home’s value?
It could, but the best available 2026 studies reach different findings because they examine different events, samples and time periods. Neither establishes what a particular home is worth. Treat the estimates as evidence that proximity can matter in some settings—not as a guaranteed discount or a prediction for your purchase.
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A September 2026 working paper by Garrison Schlauch and Simon Greenhill estimates that large data-center announcements were followed by an average 3% reduction in home values within three miles over five years, and an average 7.2% reduction within one mile. The authors report larger effects for hyperscale and high-capacity facilities, in urban locations, and where a facility was the first large data center in an area. These are study estimates based on U.S. transaction data from January 1998 through May 2024, not an appraisal formula. The paper is a working paper, and its findings describe averages across the study’s sample, not the value of any one house. Read the working paper and its methods.
A different analysis from Realtor.com Economic Research matched 43 ZIP codes that received a large data center between 2019 and 2025 with similar locations. It found no statistically meaningful sale-price effect through the first two years after opening. That result does not rule out longer-term effects: the study’s post-opening window is two years, and it excludes Texas and 11 other states where sale prices are not publicly disclosed. See the Realtor.com analysis and its limitations.
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The findings are not a simple head-to-head contradiction. The working paper focuses on announcements and follows outcomes over five years; the Realtor.com analysis focuses on openings and follows prices for two years in a different set of markets. The first paper also finds that timing can vary: for more recently announced facilities, effects were capitalized mostly at announcement, while earlier facilities saw responses primarily when they became operational. A buyer should therefore find out not only whether a facility is running, but when it was announced, approved, built and expanded.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) adds useful context but not a home-specific estimate. Its 2026 analysis found that counties with many data centers tended to have stronger housing markets, but that does not show the facilities caused the strength; those counties may already have been affluent technology hubs. NAR’s agent survey recorded varied perceptions: 25% of surveyed REALTORS® perceived a positive nearby residential-value effect and 22% perceived a negative one. Those responses are opinions, not measured causal price effects. As NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun put it, “There is no single data center effect.” Read NAR’s report summary.
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There is no evidence-based distance cutoff that reliably separates safe purchases from risky ones. The working paper’s one- and three-mile estimates describe averages in its sample; they do not mean every home inside those radii loses value, or that a home just beyond them is unaffected.
Measure the distance to the parts of the project that could affect the property, not just to a site boundary or a map pin. Where information is available, distinguish the data-center buildings from cooling equipment, generator yards, substations and planned transmission routes. A home with direct line of sight to mechanical equipment may face a different experience from one at the same distance with substantial screening, intervening buildings or topography.
Also check what is planned around the first site. A project may have later phases, a neighboring campus or associated utility work in the pipeline. An existing facility with no known expansion is not the same buying situation as a proposed campus whose land use, infrastructure and construction schedule are still under review. Verify what is operating, approved, proposed or under construction with the local planning and zoning authority; do not infer future development from the first building alone.
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When comparing two homes, write down the actual exposure for each: distance and line of sight; nearby equipment and roads; project stage and approved expansion; screening and topography; and the relevant zoning conditions. “Near” and “far” are too blunt to capture those differences.
Are data centers noisy at night?
Some nearby residents have raised noise concerns, but the sound experienced at a home depends on the facility’s design, cooling system, operating equipment, geography and distance. Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) reviewed complaints and found that sound transmission depends on design, cooling system and local geography. It also reported 40–59 dBA measurements at selected sites associated with resident complaints. That range is not representative of all data centers, and the measurements include total sound rather than isolating the facility’s contribution. See JLARC’s discussion of local residential impacts.
A noise check can be useful during a property visit, but it has limits:
- Visit at more than one time, including an evening or overnight period if that is when you expect to be home. A single quiet visit does not establish what conditions are like at other times.
- Stand in the places where sound would matter to you, such as the yard, a bedroom or a patio. Note what you hear and whether the conditions seem different across locations or visits.
- A consumer sound level meter can record ambient readings at the property. It cannot identify the sound’s source, certify compliance with a noise limit or forecast resale value. Measurements may also reflect traffic and other background sound.
- If noise is a material concern, consider an independent acoustical consultant who can assess the site and interpret measurements. Do not treat an informal reading as a substitute for a professional assessment or a local code review.
Ask the locality whether there have been noise complaints, what measurements were made, where and when they were taken, and whether the facility’s sound was separated from other sources. If the answer is only a decibel figure, ask what that figure represents and how it was collected.
What should I ask before buying a house near a data center?
Make the investigation address-specific. A useful set of questions covers the project’s status, construction, operating conditions, local rules and comparable sales—not just the distance to the nearest campus.
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- What is there now, and what could be built next? Ask local planning staff for operating, approved, proposed and under-construction facilities nearby, including phases or neighboring campuses in the pipeline. Search public applications and hearing materials for the relevant parcel and nearby sites.
- What is the project’s legal status? Check the zoning map and the application record. Does the project fit the current zoning by right, or does it need a rezoning, special exception or public hearing? Read the staff report, approval conditions and hearing record rather than relying only on a project summary.
- Which physical features are closest to the home? Map the buildings, cooling equipment, generator yards, substations, access roads and planned transmission routes where records allow. Ask about screening, setbacks, building height, lighting and enforceable operating conditions.
- What will construction involve? Ask about construction traffic, access routes, work schedules, lighting, landscaping and the duration or sequencing of approved phases. A construction-related disruption is different from ongoing operation, so consider both the project timeline and the permanent site plan.
- What cooling system and water source are proposed or in use? Check local water utility information and permit documents for the water source and permitted or expected withdrawals, particularly during hot or dry periods. The information may not be public or may be reported only in aggregate; identify what is known and what remains unclear.
- How are electricity and grid-upgrade costs allocated? Ask the utility and the relevant public utility commission about the applicable tariffs, regulator decisions and planned grid work. Find out which costs could reach residential customers and on what schedule. Do not assume that a national description, a neighboring county’s rules or an agent’s general impression applies to the property’s utility territory.
- What has happened to comparable homes? Ask a local appraiser or other qualified local professional to identify relevant sales near similar facilities in the same market and account for other neighborhood changes. A national average, county trend or agent survey cannot price one house.
Keep the answers and source documents together. If a key fact remains uncertain—such as whether a nearby expansion is permitted, or which utility upgrades are planned—treat that as an open question to resolve before relying on a reassuring or alarming estimate.
Can a data center raise my electricity bill?
That depends on the specific utility territory, rate design and regulator decisions; the answer should not be generalized from another locality. Fairfax County, Virginia, says its residents do not directly pay for electricity consumed by data centers, but may pay a portion of infrastructure-improvement costs through utility rates. The county also describes Virginia-specific rate review and cost-allocation rules. This is a local example, not a rule for other counties or states. Review Fairfax County’s data-center guidance.
To investigate a home you are considering, identify its electric utility first. Then look for current tariffs, public utility commission decisions and filings or plans about transmission and other grid improvements. Ask whether costs are assigned to the data-center customer, spread among ratepayers or handled through another mechanism, and when any approved costs could affect rates. If those documents do not answer the question, ask the utility or regulator directly. “The facility uses a lot of power” does not by itself establish what a household will pay.
How do local zoning and approval rules affect the decision?
Local rules determine whether a project can proceed, what public process applies and which conditions can be enforced. They vary by jurisdiction, so a process in one county is not a reliable guide to a property elsewhere.
Fairfax County offers one illustration: under its rules, some data centers in the heaviest industrial districts may proceed without a public hearing if they meet standards, while certain exceptions and large facilities require hearings. The relevant zoning district, project characteristics and applicable rules matter. Fairfax County’s guidance explains its local process.
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For any locality, find out whether the project has final approval or is still subject to review. Read the conditions attached to approval, especially those addressing setbacks, height, screening, noise, generators, operating hours and construction. A mitigation measure matters to a buyer only if it is specific enough to understand and enforce. If a proposal is pending, review the public hearing record and ask the planning department how to track later amendments or phases.
How should I compare two properties near data centers?
Compare the particular exposures and local market evidence, not a simple “near versus far” label. A structured side-by-side review can expose differences that a radius alone misses.
| Factor | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Distance and visibility | Distance to buildings and mechanical equipment; line of sight; intervening structures, vegetation and topography. |
| Project status | Proposed, under construction or operating; approved phases; nearby projects in the planning pipeline. |
| Noise and site activity | Conditions at relevant times; complaint and measurement records; construction traffic, access roads and lighting. |
| Planning protections | Zoning status; required hearings; setbacks, screening and other conditions; whether mitigation is enforceable. |
| Utilities and water | Utility territory and relevant rate decisions; planned grid work; water source, permits and disclosure quality. |
| Market evidence | Comparable sales near similar facilities in the same local market, considered alongside broader neighborhood changes. |
Ask a local appraiser to address the individual property and competing influences, especially if the project is unusually large or close to the home. The 3% and 7.2% figures from the working paper may help frame a question, but they should not be applied mechanically as a discount. Conversely, a short-term study that found no meaningful effect in its sample does not guarantee that your location is unaffected or that conditions will remain unchanged.
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What evidence should I trust when estimates disagree?
Start by asking what each source actually measured. A transaction-based event study, a county-level housing comparison, a survey of agents and a report of noise complaints answer different questions. Their figures should not be blended into one “data-center effect.”
- Study design and event date: Was the event an announcement, approval, construction start or opening? Prices may respond at different stages.
- Time horizon: Does the analysis follow the market for two years or five? A short window may miss a later response; a longer one still does not identify what will happen at a specific address.
- Geographic coverage: Which states, ZIP codes or properties are represented? Realtor.com’s 2026 study excludes Texas and 11 other non-disclosure states.
- Outcome and comparison: Is the result based on actual transaction prices, broader county values, survey perceptions or selected complaints? A perception is not a sale-price estimate, and complaint-linked sound readings are not representative of all facilities.
- Local confounders: Are other market changes considered? Counties with many data centers may also be technology hubs with strong housing demand, so an association does not prove causation.
JLARC’s 2024 report is useful for understanding Virginia siting and residential concerns, but its property-value discussion predates the two 2026 quantitative studies. JLARC reported that most people it interviewed did not observe declining home values or slower sales, while also noting that an effect was possible and not established in the evidence it reviewed at the time. That interview-based finding is not a definitive econometric test and should not be presented as if it settled the later research.
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Likewise, NAR’s 25% positive and 22% negative survey responses show that REALTORS® perceived different local outcomes. They do not mean that home values rose for 25% of homes and fell for 22%, nor do they quantify the effect of a facility. Keep that distinction clear when using the survey to frame questions about a neighborhood.
What is a practical due-diligence checklist?
Before making a decision, gather enough local evidence to explain what the home is exposed to and what is still uncertain.
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- Locate nearby facilities and identify their status, planned phases and approval records.
- Map the home relative to buildings, cooling equipment, generator yards, substations, roads and transmission routes where information is available.
- Review zoning, application materials, staff reports, hearing records and enforceable project conditions.
- Visit at different times if noise or lighting is a concern; record observations and treat consumer meter readings as ambient data, not source attribution.
- Ask about cooling, water permits and the local utility’s rate and grid-upgrade rules.
- Request relevant local comparable sales and a property-specific view from a qualified appraiser when the possible effect is material to the decision.
- Write down unresolved questions and the agency or utility that can answer each one.
A buyer does not need certainty about every future development to make a reasoned decision. The aim is to distinguish documented conditions from assumptions, understand what could change, and decide whether the remaining uncertainty fits your budget, time horizon and tolerance for risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do data centers affect rent as well as home sale prices?
The cited 2026 findings address housing values or sale prices, not a reliable estimate of rent changes. Do not use the purchase-price results as a rental forecast; ask for local rental-market evidence if you are evaluating an investment property.
Does a home near a data center take longer to sell?
The cited studies do not establish a general effect on time to sell for an individual home. JLARC’s 2024 interviews in Virginia mostly did not identify slower sales, but that evidence was not a definitive market-wide transaction analysis.
Can I rely on a real-estate agent’s opinion about the effect?
An agent can offer local context and help locate comparable sales, but a broad impression is not a causal estimate. NAR’s 2026 survey found perceptions split between positive and negative effects, so ask what specific sales or records support an opinion.
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No. It is an average estimate within one mile in a particular working-paper study of large data-center announcements, not a guaranteed loss for each property. Site design, timing, local market conditions and the specific home all matter.
