- Giants
- Pew Research Center
- US data centers by state
US data centers by state
Pew Research Center's choropleth map drew 127.8K views on X: 8.6x its typical post and #11 of 53 Pew Research Center charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
38% of Americans live within 5 miles of at least one operational #data center.
Why it spread
This post from @pewresearch on 2026-05-18 spread because it paired a striking society statistic, that 38% of Americans live within 5 miles of at least one operational data center, with a hot topic that week, drawing 127,756 views, 339 likes, 110 reposts, 39 quotes, and 87 saves.
What worked
- The headline number is concrete and personal: 38% of Americans live within 5 miles of at least one operational data center, which makes an abstract infrastructure story feel local.
- The topic landed during a hot news week, and the quote rate sat in the top quarter, so people used the chart as a talking point rather than just a like.
- The source reach was in the top quarter, meaning the post traveled beyond the account's usual audience while still collecting 87 saves.
What to borrow
We could take one of our own datasets and lead with a single share of the population tied to a distance or threshold, then publish it the week the topic is already in the news so people quote it to argue.
Careful
Do not read the 339 likes, 110 reposts, 39 quotes, or 87 saves as proof the design caused the spread, since the hot topic that week and the top quarter source reach likely did much of the work.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Pew Research Center.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this table chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "Virginia leads the U.S. in number of data centers" by Pew Research Center. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
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API · Max
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On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 2a53c03116bb.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/2a53c03116bb | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/2a53c03116bb/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/2a53c03116bb/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/2a53c03116bb/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Pew Research Center
All 53
Other giants using a choropleth map
All 20
Questions people ask
How far did Pew Research Center's "US data centers by state" chart travel?
127,756 views, 339 likes, 110 reposts and 87 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @pewresearch gets about 14.9K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A choropleth map. Virginia leads the U.S. in number of data centers.
Can I use Pew Research Center's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Pew Research Center. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.