Partners' Capital, Equity and Incentive Compensation Plans (Narrative) (Details)					1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Feb. 27, 2017 $ / shares	Feb. 17, 2017	Jan. 05, 2017 $ / shares	Apr. 01, 2016 $ / shares shares	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) item $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2016 $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2016 $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2016 $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2015 $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2015 $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2015 $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2015 $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) item $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2015 $ / shares	Jun. 17, 2015 shares	May 31, 2015 shares
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Number of votes per share | item						50								50
Equity based compensation expense unrecognized | $						$ 16,200,000								$ 16,200,000
Equity based compensation expense vesting period														4 years
Equity based compensation awards intrinsic value | $						$ 66,900,000								$ 66,900,000
Dividend paid to common stockholders | $ / shares						$ 0.36	$ 0.36	$ 0.36	$ 0.32	$ 0.32	$ 0.32	$ 0.32	$ 0.29	$ 1.40	$ 1.25
Dividends payable, date payable							Jul. 06, 2016	Apr. 05, 2016	Jan. 06, 2016	Oct. 06, 2015	Jul. 08, 2015	Apr. 07, 2015	Jan. 07, 2015	Oct. 05, 2016
QTS Realty Trust, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Shares reserved for purchase under plan						250,000								250,000		250,000
Subsequent Event [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Dividend paid to common stockholders | $ / shares			$ 0.36
Dividends payable, date payable	Apr. 05, 2017		Jan. 05, 2017
Dividends payable, date declared		Feb. 17, 2017
Cash dividend payable per common share | $ / shares	$ 0.39
Class O Units [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Nonvested awards outstanding						100,000								100,000
Common Class A [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Shares issued				6,325,000
Shares issued, price per share | $ / shares				$ 45.50
Net proceeds from issuance of shares | $					$ 276,000,000
Common Class A [Member] | Underwriters [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Shares issued					825,000
Chief Executive Officer [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Percentage of operating partnership unit exchanged														2.00%
Minimum [Member] | QTS Realty Trust, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Monthly deduction from eligible employees for plan | $														$ 40
Maximum [Member] | QTS Realty Trust, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Monthly deduction from eligible employees for plan | $														$ 2,000
Restricted Class A Common Stock [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Nonvested awards outstanding						400,000								400,000
Options to purchase Class A common stock [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Nonvested awards outstanding						400,000								400,000
2013 Equity Incentive Plan [Member]
Partners Capital And Distributions [Line Items]
Authorized shares to be issued under the plan						1,750,000								1,750,000			4,750,000