Data centers drive AI growth and the economy but face strong backlash from Americans concerned about jobs, electricity prices, and their local impact.

Data Centers Power Economic Growth, But Americans Hate Them

Diccon Hyatt

Full Bio Diccon Hyatt is an experienced financial and economics reporter. He's written hundreds of articles breaking down complex financial topics in plain language, emphasizing the impact that economic currents would have on individuals' finances and the market. He has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Delaware.

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Published May 20, 2026

03:22 PM EDT

Group of people seated one holding a sign that says No Data Center with a crossed circle

A rally calling for a data center moratorium in St. Paul, Minnesota, in April. Michael Siluk / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Surveys show the public opposes data centers, especially when they're built nearby.
Worker displacement, rising electricity prices, and environmental concerns are among the factors driving opposition.

Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise.

The data centers powering the AI boom are propping up the country's economic expansion—and surveys show the public overwhelmingly disapproves of them.

A YouGov poll of 6,482 U.S. adults this week found that 47% said data centers had a negative effect on the country, compared with 22% who said they had a positive effect. The rest were undecided or considered the impact neutral.1 When Gallup asked about building AI data centers "in your area," the opposition was even stronger, with 71% against versus 27% in favor.

The backlash matters because AI investment has been a major driver of the U.S.'s recent economic growth. Morgan Stanley estimated in March that spending on AI software and the hardware that powers it will account for about a quarter of GDP this year, helping offset headwinds from geopolitical events.

What This Means For the Economy

The public's hatred of data centers could lead to political action and government restrictions on the technology. The political response is already underway, with lawmakers in at least 14 states, including New York, Virginia, Georgia, and Oklahoma, considering temporary moratoriums.2

"Any damage to economic growth from higher oil prices and the tariffs imposed last year has been offset by an investment boom driven by the AI buildout," forecaster Robert Fry said in a commentary this week. Fry also credited tax cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for helping keep the economy afloat.

Some economists are also counting on AI to make workers more productive, which could raise living standards and ease inflation.

But anger over data centers cuts across the political spectrum, with legislators from New York to Oklahoma looking at bans on their expansion. Across the country, criticisms cluster around several themes. Data centers' electricity needs have pushed up power prices. Residents also say the facilities siphon water from communities that don't have it to spare—about two-thirds of new U.S. data centers built since 2022 are in places already experiencing water stress, according to Bloomberg.3

Some data center builders have alleviated power grid issues by constructing on-site power generators, only to replace the electricity concerns with environmental ones. Residents near data centers say those powered by methane gas turbines are polluting homes and schools in the area, most notably around xAI's campuses in South Memphis and Southaven, Mississippi.4

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Then there's the broader economic fear—that the AI systems many data centers power will displace workers across the economy.

AI industry leaders are sending their own warnings. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland earlier this year, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model, predicted the technology could lead to "very high unemployment and very high inequality."5

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