Data center expansion drives significant local economic growth.

Data center expansion drives significant local economic growth. New research analyzing U.S. counties reveals that data center development increases total employment, construction jobs, and specialized data-processing roles. The facilities boost local tax revenue, wages, and adjusted gross income while raising property values. However, the expansion creates measurable tradeoffs. Data centers intensify demand for electricity and grid capacity, pushing up local power prices. As artificial intelligence accelerates compute demand, communities face a critical policy choice between capturing investment and employment benefits against managing environmental and infrastructure pressures. The economic gains appear substantial and measurable across multiple metrics.