Data Centers & Crypto Mining in North Carolina (2026)
9 rules on the books across North Carolina, 5 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Data Center Zoning & Siting
Where data centers may be built, including the zoning districts that allow them, conditional-use-permit requirements, residential setback and buffer distances, and lot-size or acreage minimums.
Pitt County
Significant RestrictionsPitt County only allows a large-scale data processing facility in the RA, GC, HC, LI and GI districts, and every one of…
Read full rule →Buncombe County
Some RestrictionsData centers of 5,000 square feet or more need a pre-construction sound study and can't exceed 55 dBA at the property…
Read full rule →Cleveland County
Some RestrictionsCleveland County's Table of Permitted Uses puts data centers (NAICS 518210) by right in only two of ten zoning…
Read full rule →Onslow County
Some RestrictionsOnslow County's Permitted Use Table allows a data center by right in four zoning districts: O-I, HB, L-IN, and H-IN. It…
Read full rule →Data Center Noise Limits
Decibel caps on data-center cooling and backup-generator noise at the property line, how and when noise is measured, tighter nighttime limits, and how communities enforce them against continuous hum.
Buncombe County
Some RestrictionsNon-crypto-currency data centers in unincorporated Buncombe County cannot exceed 55 dBA at the property line at any…
Read full rule →Pitt County
Some RestrictionsA large-scale data processing facility in Pitt County must keep its noise within the county's separate Noise Ordinance…
Read full rule →Rockingham County
Some RestrictionsRockingham County has no decibel rule for data centers specifically: its general noise ordinance bars unreasonably loud…
Read full rule →Crypto Mining Rules
Local ordinances aimed at cryptocurrency-mining operations, focused on noise nuisance, setbacks, and permitting, a fast-growing fight in rural counties near cheap power.
Buncombe County
Heavy RestrictionsBuncombe County's zoning ordinance flatly bans crypto-currency mining operations anywhere in the county. Sec. 78-581…
Read full rule →Pitt County
Significant RestrictionsPitt County zoning treats cryptocurrency mining as a "Data Processing Facility (Large Scale)" under Zoning Ordinance…
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