Majority of US Adults Oppose Local Data Center Development

Researchers Neha Gour, John Kotcher and Teresa Myers found that 56% of US adults oppose building a data center in their local area. The researchers found that only 15% support local data center development. The findings come from the Spring 2026 Climate Change in the American Mind survey, a nationally representative survey of US adults. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication conducted the survey. The April 2026 survey included 1,068 adults, including 930 registered voters. The researchers worked with research colleagues Jennifer Carman, Seth Rosenthal, Anthony Leiserowitz and Edward Maibach on the questions about local data centers.

The survey found majority opposition in most groups across the political continuum, although the extent of opposition varied. Among registered voters, about three-quarters of liberal Democrats and about half of conservative Republicans opposed a data center in their local area. The researchers also examined responses using six groups of views on global warming and climate action, called the Six Americas. Opposition was highest among the Alarmed, the group most worried about climate change, with 71% opposing local data centers. Opposition was also very strong among the Dismissive, who reject the idea that global warming is happening and human-caused. The researchers conclude that Americans with very different political views and beliefs about global warming can share similar views on data center development.

The survey found that 59% of Americans expect electricity bills to increase if a data center opens locally. Only 5% expected bills to decrease. Another 25% said they did not know. The remaining 12% expected no effect on electricity bills. Among registered voters, majorities of every political group expected electricity bills to increase. The Disengaged were the only climate-view group without a majority expecting higher bills, with 43% expecting an increase. Another 42% of the Disengaged said they did not know what would happen to electricity bills. The Disengaged pay little attention to climate change or hear about climate change infrequently.

Rewiring America has proposed requiring data center developers to install rooftop solar and help weatherize and insulate nearby homes whose owners want these improvements. The proposal offers an alternative to building new power plants by generating electricity and saving energy to help supply data centers. Survey respondents strongly supported making the proposal a state or local requirement. Support extended across the political spectrum and the Six Americas groups. However, fewer than half of the Dismissive supported the proposed requirements, despite majorities opposing nearby data centers and expecting higher electricity bills. The researchers describe that result as consistent with the Dismissive group's broader tendency to oppose renewable energy development.

Data centers are being built rapidly across the United States to store and process digital information, increasingly for artificial intelligence applications. Data centers can bring investment and jobs. However, supplying data centers with electricity can harm public health and pollute the air, while data centers can also consume water, create noise and raise energy costs. Local opposition to proposed projects is influencing zoning and permitting decisions and increasingly reaching state lawmakers. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued an executive order in early September barring state agencies from permitting data centers unless the projects already have municipal approval. Vermont Governor Phil Scott vetoed a bill that would have imposed strict regulations on data centers. Local governments in Vermont are banning data centers in their towns.

Electricity costs are a major public concern amid broader worries about the cost of living. Agreements between power companies and data center owners do not always clarify who will pay for the electricity required. Determining whether those costs are shared fairly may be functionally impossible. Some state regulators and utility companies are considering electricity-rate structures to prevent data center costs from being passed to other customers. Companies leading the artificial intelligence expansion are seeking public support alongside servers, electricity and land. The researchers argue that understanding agreements and differences among public groups can help policymakers, developers and community leaders better serve the public interest.