Why better-off cities and towns see more benefits from data centers than rural regions

Amid growing political pushback against data center development, more evidence is emerging of their impact on local economies.

By: Daniel Yue, Georgia Institute of Technology and Yiyang Zeng, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: July 10, 2026

Words: 1,195

Last Updated: 1 week, 5 days ago

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By Daniel Yue, Georgia Institute of Technology and Yiyang Zeng, Georgia Institute of Technology

The fierce backlash against data centers shows no sign of easing up.

Since early 2024, more than 1,200 public actions – including zoning fights, public campaigns and temporary moratoriums – have been logged by the Data Center Tracker, a public U.S. database of community responses to data center site selection. Among the concerns, grid capacity, water use and transparency around …

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