Data Center Boom Continues Despite Backlash

Construction of data centers continues to boom despite the growing public backlash against artificial intelligence-linked construction in American communities.

Data center construction rose by 57%, comparing July ’26 to July ’25, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a frenzied pace despite strong opposition.

Rising energy costs, increased local opposition and heightened state scrutiny of data center construction may start slowing data center construction, Yelena Malyev, a KPMG senior economist, wrote.

Data center construction spending grew by more than $75 billion in July, although it only covered the construction costs for the warehouse-style structures, commonly referred to as shells, per the U.S. Census Bureau. AI labs then fill the shells with servers, processing chips and fiber-optic cables to power AI models. However, data center construction amounts to only 20% of the total cost of a data center, Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm, said.

Americans dislike building data centers in their backyards. Forty-one percent of adults oppose building a data center within three miles of where they live, which grew from 28% compared to January, one Politico poll found. Seventy-five percent of U.S. registered voters either strongly or somewhat disapprove of data centers in their communities, whereas only 15 percent strongly or somewhat approve them, per a Heatmap survey released in August.

President Donald Trump continues to advocate for data centers despite the anti-data center headwinds.

“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in late August. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!”

The president believes his administration needs to make the case for them, a senior Trump administration official told Politico.

“He looks at the polling. He looks at what people are saying. Polling isn’t necessarily great on data centers, but it’s incumbent upon us to explain our position. I think that’s part of what he was trying to do,” the senior White House official said.