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BY The Conversation

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Data centers require enormous investments: land, buildings, computer equipment, and power infrastructure. Yet, once they’re up and running, they tend to employ no more than a few dozen people in occupations such as IT technicians, engineers, and security guards. With billions of dollars flowing into new data centers across the United States, communities are asking what they will get in return.

Skepticism about the local benefits of data centers is contributing to growing opposition to their construction, from Ohio to Texas. That pushback contributed to delays or cancellations of $156 billion in proposed data center projects in 2025 alone.

We are professors who study real estate and urban economics, including how large place-based investments shape local economies.…