Benefits Beyond Connectivity

The data center industry makes significant tax contributions at the federal, state, and local level that allow policymakers to fund important civic priorities. Between 2017 and 2024, Ohio’s data centers contributed more than $5.2 billion in state and local taxes, with approximately $1 billion generated in 2024 alone.

• With roughly $40 billion in total investment projected through 2030, data centers have become a cornerstone of Ohio’s economy, contributing $3.7 billion directly to the state’s GDP while employing approximately 17,300 people in permanent operations roles across nearly 180 facilities statewide.
• In central Ohio counties like Franklin and Licking—home to major facilities operated by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta—these tax revenues help fund schools, public safety, infrastructure, and community services without the population density or traffic congestion typically associated with comparable economic development.

Equally important, data centers require minimal local public services to support their operations and employees. In fact, data centers generate significant tax revenue without needing the community to pay for infrastructure improvements, allowing local leaders to increase funding for schools and teacher pay, among other civic priorities that benefit their communities without bringing increased population density, traffic, or infrastructure strain.

Ohio’s data center industry has become a major economic driver for the state. Since 2017, direct, indirect and induced tax revenue contributions total $5.2 billion, with investments expected to reach $40 billion by 2030. The industry currently employs about 17,300 people in full-time jobs and another 19,400 in construction work. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta have chosen Ohio—particularly central Ohio—as a hub for their operations, making the state the fourth-largest data center market in the world. These facilities don’t just create direct jobs and tax revenue; they also support local contractors, suppliers, and service businesses, creating a ripple effect that strengthens communities across the state.

The data center industry provides employment opportunities for individuals across a broad range of educational backgrounds. The range of job opportunities can be attractive to residents who wish to stay and work in their own community, which helps strengthen the talent pool in the local economy and form the foundation of a local “tech hub,” providing the expertise needed to support the growth of digital businesses in the local economy.

In Ohio, the industry supports approximately 17,300 permanent operations positions and creates another 19,400 temporary construction jobs, with thousands more employed indirectly through suppliers and service providers. During the construction phase alone, which typically takes 18 months to three years per facility, these projects inject significant wages into local communities, while the permanent technical positions offer competitive salaries that help retain skilled workers in Ohio rather than losing them to coastal tech centers.

Data centers are essential infrastructure for future technological and environmental advancements.

The U.S. is transitioning to advanced manufacturing and clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles, heating systems, and household appliances, all of which require the digital infrastructure offered by data centers.

Data centers support the digitization of our economy, widespread vehicle and building electrification, the onshoring of advanced manufacturing, growth in controlled environment agriculture, and other 21st century economic drivers.

Keeping data centers on American soil is critical to our national security. In addition to securing our sensitive information in the United States, data centers also provide the digital infrastructure that ensures U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence and other cutting edge technologies that are essential to our economic competitiveness and national security.

Data centers are highly energy-efficient facilities that help enable energy savings for homes and businesses. The industry prioritizes reducing energy use and increasing efficiency and facilities are designed to optimize efficiencies from day one.

In fact, while data center computing workloads increased nearly 550 percent between 2010 and 2018, electricity consumption grew only six percent, due to efficiencies from the cloud migration, improvements in cooling systems, and other operational and technological efficiency gains at modern data centers.

Data centers are some of the largest buyers of clean energy, contributing to our collective sustainability goals. The data center industry has accelerated the economy-wide transition to clean energy and has created demand for more clean energy in the regions where they operate.

Data centers accelerate the clean energy transition in the U.S. with commitments to purchase clean energy and by funding the development of new sources of clean energy. In fact, wind and solar capacity contracted to data center providers and customers represented two-thirds of the total U.S. corporate renewables market last year and four of the top five purchasers of renewable energy in the U.S. are companies that operate data centers. Many data center companies have committed to being carbon neutral and supporting their operations with 100% clean energy by 2030.

The benefits of data centers go beyond the buildings, providing services and opportunities for the communities where they are located.

Data center operators, their employees, and their tenants are committed to giving back to the communities where their teams live and work.

Many data center owners and operators have developed programs within their communities to support academic achievement, grow the data center workforce, and strengthen digital infrastructure. Companies that own, operate, and manage data centers also donate money, contribute time and talent, and engage in community service.

Data centers also benefit local schools and educational institutions in their communities by supporting STEM education in K-12 schools, funding internships and scholarships, and contributing to new fields of higher education.