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Meta’s Altoona, Iowa, data center is the physical infrastructure behind services first associated with Facebook. A new Meta tour offers a look at compute servers and cooling systems; the site began operating in 2014 and has since expanded into a major campus. Here’s what the tour shows—and what the available information establishes about the facility’s history, scale, and resource use.
What does the Facebook data center in Iowa look like inside?
Meta’s June 2026 Inside One of Meta’s Data Centers tour identifies compute servers and sustainable cooling as subjects of its Altoona walkthrough. The tour provides a visual entry point into the equipment and systems that support data-center operations. Its accompanying text does not provide a shot-by-shot description, list current server models, or map every building on the campus, so those details should be taken from what the footage actually shows rather than inferred from the page.
The familiar Facebook service depends on physical infrastructure as well as software. In Facebook’s 2013 announcement of the Iowa project, infrastructure executive Jay Parikh wrote, “Our data centers are essential for making that happen.” The statement referred to the systems needed to support the service as it scaled.
Where is Meta’s Iowa data center, and when did it open?
The facility is in Altoona, in Polk County, Iowa. Facebook announced the project on April 23, 2013, saying construction was expected to begin that summer and user traffic was expected in 2014. On November 14, 2014, the company announced that the data center was online. The site is now referred to as Meta’s Altoona data center.
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At the time of opening, Facebook described the facility as using Open Compute Project equipment and 100% outside air for cooling. Those are descriptions of the original facility in the 2014 announcement, not a complete specification of every building or the current campus.
How big is the Altoona data center?
Meta’s December 2021 announcement said two additional buildings were planned and that the expansion would bring the campus to more than five million square feet. That was a planned campus size, not an independently verified measurement of the final as-built site. The same announcement reported 400,000 cubic yards of concrete, 26,000 tons of steel, and 8.7 million work hours on the project since 2013. These are Meta’s historical construction figures as of December 2021.
Meta’s current Altoona facility information sheet, accessed September 30, 2026, lists more than $2.5 billion invested in Iowa, 1,300 skilled trades workers at peak construction, and more than 400 operational jobs supported. These are company-reported figures; the fact sheet does not give a separate date range for the investment total.
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Facebook’s 2013 project announcement described outdoor-air cooling, and the 2014 opening report said the facility used 100% outside air. Meta’s 2026 tour page points viewers to cooling systems but does not identify current configurations by building. The original outside-air description is useful historical context, but it does not establish the exact cooling setup in every part of today’s expanded campus.
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- Easy equipment configuration: Fully adjustable mounting rails and numbered U positions, with square holes for easy equipment mounting with top and bottom punchout panels for easy cable access
- Durability: Made of high quality cold rolled steel holds up to 110lb (50kg) (Easy Assembly Required)
- PCI & HIPPA and EIA/ECA-310-E compliant
Meta’s current facility sheet says the site prioritizes water efficiency through cooling it describes as significantly more water-efficient than the industry standard. The company also describes repeated water reuse before wastewater discharge, rainwater capture and infiltration, native landscaping where possible, and water-saving fixtures. These are Meta’s descriptions; the sheet does not provide independently audited performance figures for comparison.
What has Meta said about energy, water, and construction impacts?
Electricity and renewable energy
Meta’s facility sheet says the company worked with MidAmerican Energy to plan for the data center’s power needs and pays the full cost of energy used by the facility so consumers are not negatively affected. It also says Meta matches the facility’s electricity use with clean and renewable energy. These statements describe Meta’s arrangements and claims; they are not a broad assessment of every local utility effect.
In its November 2014 opening report, Facebook said a nearby Wellsburg wind project added 140 megawatts of new renewable energy to Iowa’s grid. The company described renewable energy certificates as the way it matched Altoona’s use, and said the project’s generation exceeded what the data center would require “for the foreseeable future” at that time. That comparison was made in 2014 and should not be read as a current grid assessment.
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Water services and watershed work
Meta’s current fact sheet says the company worked with the City of Altoona to pay the full cost of water and wastewater service. It also describes work with partners on the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Polk County: the project is intended to capture and treat drainage from nearly 10,000 acres of agricultural land and benefit waterways. These are company-reported statements about the facility and project.
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Lower-emission construction equipment
Meta’s 2025 Sustainability Report names Altoona as a location where the company tested solar-hybrid lighting towers, temporary power generators with battery backup, and electric heaters. Meta said it and its partners were evaluating the equipment against performance criteria before considering broader scale-up. The report documents trials, not universal use across Altoona or other data centers.
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Meta’s facility sheet lists more than $5.6 million in direct funding to Polk County-area schools and nonprofits, along with more than 300 grants and sponsorships since 2015. These are current company-reported totals, rather than independently audited measures of the campus’s overall economic impact.
In 2021, Meta described its Hardhat in Hand workforce training program with Turner Construction and Des Moines Area Community College. The company reported that seven graduates were recognized in December 2021 and that the program combined classroom instruction with on-the-job training. Its 2021 announcement cited more than $2.6 million in community grants and sponsorships at that time; the later facility sheet publishes a higher cumulative total.
Quick Recap
Altoona’s milestones at a glance
| Date | Milestone | What the source establishes |
|---|---|---|
| April 23, 2013 | Facebook announced the Iowa site | The company planned to break ground that summer, expected user traffic in 2014, and described Open Compute Project designs and outdoor-air cooling. |
| November 14, 2014 | Facility reported online | Facebook described 100% outside-air cooling, Open Compute Project equipment, and renewable-energy certificates linked to a nearby wind project. |
| December 14, 2021 | Two more buildings announced | Meta projected a campus above five million square feet after expansion and reported construction totals accumulated since 2013. Its then-expected 2025 buildout date was a projection, not confirmation of completion. |
| June 2026 | Meta published an inside look | The tour page identifies compute servers and sustainable cooling as subjects, without providing a complete technical inventory. |
| Accessed September 30, 2026 | Current Altoona facility sheet | Meta lists Iowa investment, construction and operational jobs, community funding, and local grants and sponsorships. |
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