Main Street Megawatt · America's AI buildout

The AI boom wears a hard hat.

Electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, linemen and other skilled trades are building the infrastructure behind AI. Follow the jobs, the local costs and the officials where you live.

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3,827
data center projects tracked
Operating, under construction or announced. Not every site serves AI.
Verified
$422 billion$422B
announced at 107 sites, not spent
Reported
1.09 points
of 3.4% annualized U.S. GDP growth in Q3 2026, from broader IT investment
BEA advance estimate. Broader IT is not AI or data centers alone.
Verified

Cancelled projects are excluded. $422 billion is announced, not spent. The 1.09 points come from broader IT investment. Methods and confidence labels · BEA source

Good jobs. But who pays the local bill? →

One project. One Louisiana parish.

In Richland Parish, a planned construction crew would stand beside the parish population. A much smaller permanent staff is what Meta says would remain after the build.

One project · Richland Parish, Louisiana

A construction crew on a parish-sized scale.

Census population next to Meta’s two forecasts: a peak construction crew and the permanent jobs planned after construction.

19,643
parish residents, 2024 Verified
more than 7,500
construction workers at peak Planned
1,000
permanent jobs Planned

Sources: Census Bureau, July 2024 population estimate.1 Meta, July 2026 workforce forecast.2 Many workers travel in. This is a scale comparison, not a local-hire count. Peak construction and permanent jobs are never added together. The construction bar uses 7,500 as a lower bound.

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The AI buildout, state by state

Each state shaded by the measure you pick. Darker means more. Tap, hover or tab to a state for its figure. Press Enter or click to open the state page. The table below the key has the same data. Only sourced figures are counted.

Each state shows the largest sourced peak construction crew forecast for ONE project, not total state jobs. Projects peak in different years. Do not add figures across states or years.

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The people and pay

National trade wages, education and apprenticeship pathways. Not a count of data center workers.

Meet the trades →

Find the work

Employer careers pages, union halls and apprenticeship resources. We link out rather than host job listings.

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Economic Benefit

Construction spending, announced investment and broader IT’s contribution to growth, kept distinct.

See the economic picture →

Good jobs should not come with someone else's bill.

Power bills, water, housing and taxes. See the documented figures, the gaps in our sources and the questions residents can ask.

Who pays the local costs? →

What is actually on hold?

Moratoriums and restrictions, with executive actions separated from proposals and local decisions.

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Explore sites tracked per state · Search every tracked site · Officials and their own words

Every figure links to evidence. Read the methods · Browse sources

Find your officials

Pick your state to see your governor, senators and House members, the data center sites they represent and how to reach them. Party shown as a letter. Rosters from the House Clerk3, the Senate4 and the National Governors Association5. Districts from the Census geocoder at each site point6.

Record types: Quote their own words · Paraphrase a summary by a named outlet · Vote recorded a recorded vote.

Open the full officials directory