Virginia
Virginia exhibits source-sink dynamics: 70%+ of global internet traffic through Ashburn data centers while defense contractors cluster near D.C.'s spending.
Virginia exemplifies source-sink dynamics with the federal government, extracting disproportionate economic benefit from proximity to Washington D.C. Northern Virginia has transformed into America's data center capital, hosting the largest concentration of cloud infrastructure globally—Amazon Web Services operates massive Ashburn facilities, and the region processes over 70% of global internet traffic through its fiber networks.
The defense and intelligence complex concentrates in Virginia rather than D.C. proper: the Pentagon sits in Arlington, CIA in Langley, and countless contractors cluster nearby. This creates an economy resilient to private-sector downturns—federal spending provides stability while tech investment adds growth. Amazon's HQ2 arrival in Crystal City exemplifies the crossover: a tech giant choosing to locate near power rather than near other tech companies.
Yet this proximity carries concentration risk. DOGE-era federal workforce cuts propagate through contractor networks, and any reorganization of intelligence agencies affects thousands of well-paid positions. Virginia's gambit has been successful for decades: state GDP ranks high nationally while quality of life exceeds D.C.'s. But the same dependency that created wealth makes the economy vulnerable to shifts in federal spending priorities that Virginians cannot influence through their own electoral choices.