Stafford County, Virginia

County ranked by announced AI data-center load

Undisclosed Announced AI load

Campuses

Lead operator

AWS

Resi rate Δ (Dominion Energy Virginia)

+7.2%

Home price Δ (3y)

+5.5%

Property tax Δ (3y)

+7.4%

Population (2024 ACS)

163K

Median HH income (2024 ACS)

$137,807

Key takeaways

Stafford County has 160,520 residents and is the fastest-growing of the Northern Virginia data-center counties, projected at 170,803 by 2025. Marine Corps Base Quantico, the FBI Academy, the FBI National Laboratory and NCIS HQ all sit on the Stafford side of the county line.Source: Census ACS 2023 B01003 + sources[0] (Wikipedia: Stafford County, Virginia)
Median household income in Stafford County is $133,792, the second-highest in this batch behind Loudoun. The county was ranked the 11th highest-income county in the US by Forbes in 2009 and 43.3% of residents over 25 hold a bachelor's degree.Source: Census ACS 2023 B19013, B15003 (FIPS 51179) + sources[0] (Wikipedia: Stafford County, Virginia)
Dominion Energy Virginia residential rates rose 7.2% from 2021 to 2023 and Stafford property tax assessments rose 7.4% over three years, almost the same rate. The AWS Stafford campus is the southernmost AWS footprint in this batch and competes for grid capacity with both the federal facilities and the bedroom subdivisions.Source: data/cache/utility_rate_yoy.csv (Virginia Electric & Power Co, VA) + data/cache/property_tax_yoy.csv (FIPS 51179)
Home prices rose 5.5% over three years against a $458,800 median home value. The federal-employee homeowner base means the housing market is anchored to federal-pay scales, not the data-center wage premium that drives Loudoun and Prince William.Source: data/cache/realestate_yoy.csv (FIPS 51179) + Census ACS 2023 B25077

17.5% of Stafford adults are veterans, the highest veteran share of any county in this batch and more than triple the national 5.5%. Quantico, the FBI Academy, and NCIS HQ together produce a security-cleared talent base that competes directly with AWS for the same workers.Source: Census ACS 2023 B21001 (FIPS 51179)
80.8% of occupied Stafford homes are owner-occupied, the highest in any Virginia data-center county in this batch. Only 5.1% live below the poverty line, the lowest poverty rate in this batch behind Loudoun.Source: Census ACS 2023 B25003, B17001 (FIPS 51179)
Median gross rent is $1,925 per month and only 3.7% of the workforce is unemployed. Manufacturing employs just 2.6% of workers, the smallest manufacturing share of any county in this batch as the federal-services economy crowds out anything else.Source: Census ACS 2023 B25064, B23025, C24050 (FIPS 51179)
Stafford is 19.3% Black, 15.9% Hispanic, and 3.8% Asian against a 57.2% white share. 96.4% of households have a home broadband subscription, statistically tied with Loudoun and Prince William.Source: Census ACS 2023 B02001, B03003, B28002 (FIPS 51179)