For many Texas Hill Country residents, the region’s rolling hills, sweeping views and remote ranch lands are central to its identity – and a heritage they want to preserve.<\/p>\n
But in recent years, tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon have increasingly challenged that vision, building more than 100 water-reliant data centers between Austin and San Antonio alone. The projects collectively receive more than $1 billion in tax breaks<\/a> each year and have sparked community backlash<\/a>.<\/p>\n How many data centers are in the Texas Hill Country?<\/p>\n According to DataCenterMap<\/a>, a site that has tracked facilities since 2007, there are 444 registered data centers across Texas, with major clusters in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.<\/p>\n In the Hill Country corridor between Austin and San Antonio, the concentration is especially high.<\/p>\n 62 data centers in the San Antonio metro<\/p>\n 62 data centers in the Austin area<\/p>\n 124 total facilities across the region<\/p>\n A recent\u00a0industry report<\/a> suggests\u00a0that Texas is set to become the largest data center market<\/a> in the world by 2030.<\/p>\n Where are data centers located between Austin and San Antonio?<\/p>\n Per the map, there are 62 data centers in the San Antonio metro and another 62 in the Austin area. A total of 124 facilities flanked across the rapidly expanding region, heavily reliant on natural resources.<\/p>\n In San Antonio, many data centers are clustered on to the west of the city in Medina County, particularly near Castroville.<\/p>\n In the Austin metro, data centers line the Interstate 35 corridor.<\/p>\n Sites stretch from San Marcos to Bastrop<\/p>\n Lumen and CyrusOne have built clusters near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport<\/p>\n Some Central Texas communities have pushed back on new projects, but development across the region continues to expand.<\/p>\n Why do data centers use so much water in Texas?<\/p>\n Data centers require massive amounts of water to keep servers cool, especially in hot climates like Texas.<\/p>\n A January 2026 study from the Houston Advanced Research Center estimates the state’s data center boom could soak up to 161 billion gallons of water annually by 2030.<\/p>\n The report called data centers the”physical backbone of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and modern commerce,” while also calling them one of the “world’s most resource-intensive industries.”<\/p>\n Though, there may be some conflicting numbers, the Texas Comptroller’s Office shows<\/a> there are just over 100 overall “qualifying” data center projects in Texas. That number may not include the numerous data center cell sites inside of individual data parks.<\/p>\n