Who builds the AI boom?
Electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, linemen and thousands of other skilled workers. Featured site: Meta Hyperion in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Both numbers are company forecasts.
Featured site. Hyperion has the largest peak construction crew forecast of any project we track with a sourced figure. We publish this kind of detail site by site across the country.
- Construction workers at peak, forecast
- Permanent jobs once complete, forecast
Meta says both figures. Peak and permanent jobs are never added together. See the Hyperion site page
What three of the trades pay
| Trade | Median pay, 2025 | No four-year degree |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | $63,190 | 90.8% |
| Pipefitters and plumbers | $63,800 | 93.3% |
| Power line installers (linemen) | $95,320 | 92.7% |
National figures for each trade across all employers, not pay or staffing at this project.
Crew vs town
- Peak construction crew, forecast
- County residents, 2024
- Meta HyperionRichland Parish, Louisianamore than 7,500 workers at peak Planned19,643 residents
- QTS-Lancium Hall County Data Center CampusHall County, Texas6,000 to 7,000 workers at peak Planned2,828 residents
- Microsoft Pecos Data Center CampusReeves County, Texasmore than 6,000 workers at peak Planned11,956 residents
- Prometheus Hyperscale WY-1Uinta County, Wyomingup to 3,800 workers at peak Planned20,621 residents
Many workers travel in, so this compares size, not who lives there. Crew figures are company forecasts; population is the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate.
The 13 trades behind the buildout
These are nationwide occupational figures from BLS for each trade as a whole, not pay at data centers only.
The AI buildout runs on electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, laborers and operators. In 11 of these 13 trades, the typical worker earns more than the U.S. median for all jobs. Most of these trades need only a high school diploma to start and many train through apprenticeships instead of college. Construction trades also carry a higher union rate than the workforce as a whole.
7.2 million workers in 13 trades
National occupational employment across all industries, not a count of data-center jobs.
7,206,100 people worked in these 13 trades in 2025, across all employers, not only data centers. Bar length shows how many people work in each trade.
- Median pay above the U.S. median for all jobs ($50,980)
- Median pay below the U.S. median
- Maintenance and repair workers1,621,800 employed$49,590 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (below the U.S. median)
- Construction laborers1,489,300 employed$47,120 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (below the U.S. median)
- Carpenters889,700 employed$60,580 median pay · 92% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Electricians821,000 employed$63,190 median pay · 91% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters510,600 employed$63,800 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Operating engineers and equipment operators489,500 employed$59,850 median pay · 96% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- HVAC mechanics and installers440,900 employed$61,010 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers437,700 employed$53,750 median pay · 96% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- Telecom equipment installers143,100 employed$63,890 median pay · 82% no 4-year degree* (above the U.S. median)
- Power line installers (linemen)131,900 employed$95,320 median pay · 93% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Sheet metal workers131,100 employed$61,800 median pay · 94% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Ironworkers (structural iron and steel)68,300 employed$62,780 median pay · 95% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
- Stationary engineers (facility plant operators)31,200 employed$78,620 median pay · 80% no 4-year degree (above the U.S. median)
Show the table for all 13 trades
| Occupation | Median pay, 2025 | No 4-year degree, 2023 to 24 | Typical entry education | Job growth, 2025 to 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | $63,190 | 90.8% | High school diploma or equivalent | 9.2% |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | $63,800 | 93.3% | High school diploma or equivalent | 6.8% |
| HVAC mechanics and installers | $61,010 | 92.8% | Postsecondary nondegree award | 10.9% |
| Construction laborers | $47,120 | 92.5% | No formal educational credential | 7.3% |
| Ironworkers (structural iron and steel) | $62,780 | 94.6% | High school diploma or equivalent | 3.1% |
| Operating engineers and equipment operators * | $59,850 | 95.5% | High school diploma or equivalent | 4.6% |
| Power line installers (linemen) | $95,320 | 92.7% | High school diploma or equivalent | 10.3% |
| Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers * | $53,750 | 96.3% | High school diploma or equivalent | 2.4% |
| All occupations (U.S.) | $50,980 | 57.4% | n/a | 3.5% |
National figures for each occupation as a whole, not only data center workers. Years differ by table and are labeled. Union rates cover the broad occupation group.
Good jobs should not come with someone else's bill.
Four local costs residents ask about. For each one: what is documented, what is still unknown and who can answer.
Will my electric bill rise?
Modeled estimate, not a measured bill: $14 to $37 a month more by 2040 for a typical Dominion Energy household in Virginia.
- In writing
- JLARC, the state legislature's audit agency, modeled this rise in generation and transmission costs, mostly from data center demand. Most states have no published estimate.
- What remains unknown
- The effect on household bills in most states.
- Who can answer
- Your state utility commission and your utility's rate cases.
- Ask
- Will data centers pay the full cost of the power lines and plants built for them? Where is that written in a rate order?
How much water will it use?
Google Lea County Data Center: About 42,000 gallons a day in operation after a one-time 9.6 million gallon fill (developer estimate).
- In writing
- Only 1 tracked project has a published water figure in our sources.
- What remains unknown
- Water use for nearly every other project.
- Who can answer
- Your local water utility and county commission.
- Ask
- How much water will this project use each day? Where will it come from?
Will housing get more expensive?
No sourced figure yet.
- In writing
- No public body we found tracks data center effects on local rents or land prices.
- What remains unknown
- Effects on local land prices, rents and housing.
- Who can answer
- Local land records and planning commission minutes.
- Ask
- Has anyone studied what this project will do to local rents and home prices?
What are taxpayers giving up?
21 Ohio data center sales tax exemption approvals since 2014, with $39.2 billion committed investment and $2.38 billion in estimated exemption value (state summary, Jun 10, 2026) (statewide).
- In writing
- 58 sourced tax incentive records from state and local filings. See the records
- What remains unknown
- The full public cost and the net tax revenue for most projects.
- Who can answer
- Your state economic development agency and county commission.
- Ask
- What tax breaks does this project get? What must it deliver in return?
What the agreements say
- Statewide: 21 Ohio data center sales tax exemption approvals since 2014, with $39.2 billion committed investment and $2.38 billion in estimated exemption value (state summary, Jun 10, 2026).
- Statewide: 34 Illinois data center incentive agreements through 2025: $10.67 billion committed investment, $666.6 million estimated tax benefits and 731 committed new jobs (state report).
- Statewide: Ohio's data center equipment sales tax exemption: $141.8 million forgone in FY 2026 and $148.0 million in FY 2027 (state estimate).
From 58 signed or approved incentive records in our sources. Terms are as published; we have not audited whether commitments were met.
The Washington vote on who pays
The Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340) passed the House 417 to 3. It would require state utility regulators to consider a standard that makes data centers drawing 100 megawatts or more pay the full cost of the grid upgrades built to serve them. In the Senate, a Sep 30, 2026 procedural vote to begin debate got 57 votes, short of the 60 needed, so the bill has not become law. Read what officials said and how they voted.
What your elected officials say about data centers
Their own words, dated and linked, next to the jobs at sites they represent and one plain question you can send them. Same format for every party.
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 Clerk, the Senate and the National Governors Association. Districts from the Census geocoder at each site point.
Record types: Quote their own words · Paraphrase a summary by a named outlet · Vote recorded a recorded vote.
State by state
Open your state for its sites, jobs and officials.
No totals of peak headcounts: peaks happen in different years, so they cannot be added. Each cell is the largest single-site figure in the state that is linked to a primary source. States with sourced figures are listed first.
Cells fill in as figures are verified against primary documents. A blank cell means we have not yet linked a primary source. It does not mean zero.
Permanent jobs behind the headline numbers
The sites behind the permanent-job counts above. Actual and planned are never combined.
Open jobs hub · Open full site list
All sites
Find sites near you, then open a site page for the officials who represent it and how to contact them.
What the work pays
National 2025 figures for each trade across all employers, not pay at data centers only. See all 13 trades
Broader IT investment contributed 1.09 points of 3.4% annualized GDP growth in Q3 2026
- Broader IT investment: computers, other information equipment and software
- Everything else in the economy, net
BEA advance estimate for Q3 2026. The 1.09 includes data center equipment, but BEA does not isolate data centers or AI, so this is not an AI-only estimate. See every part of the economy
The crews building America's AI infrastructure
Peak construction crews forecast at the largest projects with a sourced figure. People, not buildings.
- Construction workers at peak, company or state forecast
- Meta Hyperion (Richland Parish)Richland Parish, LAmore than 7,500 at peak Planned
- 6,000 to 7,000 at peak Planned
- Microsoft Pecos Data Center CampusReeves, TXmore than 6,000 at peak Planned
- Meta Lebanon (Project Domino)Boone, INmore than 4,000 at peak Planned
- Meta El Paso AI Data Center CampusEl Paso, TX4,000 at peak Planned
- up to 3,800 at peak Planned
- Stargate Michigan (Saline Township)Washtenaw, MImore than 2,500 at peak Planned
- Meta Mesa Data CenterMaricopa, AZ2,000 at peak Planned
What IT investment added to U.S. growth, Q3 2026
How each part of the economy added to or took away from the 3.4% annual growth rate in the advance estimate. The second estimate is due Nov 25, 2026. IT investment is shown inside business investment. Imports count against growth.
- IT investment (computers, other info equipment, software)
- Other parts of the economy that added to growth
- Subtracted from growth
IT investment added 1.09 percentage points, about 32% of growth. Information processing equipment added 0.86 points (computers 0.72, other equipment 0.14) and software 0.23 points. The share is our calculation from these BEA figures.
What data centers cost
Each claim is linked to a public source. See Sources and methods for how we review evidence and handle corrections.
Power bills and the grid
- ERCOT is reviewing about 474 GW of requests to connect new demand to the Texas grid, more than five times the state's record peak. About 90% of those requests are data centers.
- Texas directed its utility regulator to require data centers to fully fund the electric infrastructure that serves them, with the stated aim of keeping those costs off household bills.
- New York paused state environmental permits for new hyperscale data centers for up to one year.
Water
- Sep 14, 2026: Texas directed its Water Development Board to make data centers comply with water-use reporting rules.
- Sep 21, 2026: Texas directed its environmental agency to halt permits sought by data centers until the ERCOT audit is complete.
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the data centers that have recently sought to come to Utah all use closed-loop cooling and that he "would support legislation that requires only closed-loop systems".
Tax breaks
- Ohio estimates its data center equipment sales tax exemption costs $141.8 million in FY 2026. Its 21 approved exemptions carry $2.38 billion in estimated value.
- Illinois has 34 data center incentive agreements worth an estimated $666.6 million in tax benefits for $10.67 billion of committed investment and 731 committed jobs.
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine paused new data center sales tax exemption requests on May 27, 2026, while lawmakers study the industry. He said companies already granted the exemption reported $27.2 billion of capital investment in 2025.
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who leaves office in January 2027, said he will work with the Legislature next session to eliminate financial incentives for data centers.
Who said data centers should cover their power costs
What officials said about making data centers cover their own power costs, in their own words. Same format for every party.
The global AI infrastructure buildout
Where AI chips went and how much power data centers used, from public research. Look up sites near you on the map, then see what your officials said.
Where AI chips were delivered, 2022 to June 2026
- United States
- Rest of world
- China
Epoch AI estimates that 27.4 million H100-equivalent AI chips arrived worldwide from 2022 through June 2026, based on customs records plus China's domestic chip output. The U.S. received 19.8 million (72%) and China 2.6 million (about 10%, with a range of 1.9 million to 4.2 million). These are arrivals, not chips confirmed running. Counts are H100-equivalents, a unit that converts different chips to one standard, so they are estimates. The U.S. share was 78% in the first half of 2026.
Power behind it
- The U.S. used 45% of global data center electricity in 2024 and China 25%, according to the International Energy Agency.
Sources and methods
How we verify claims
- We use public sources only and we cite the primary source first: a government record, a regulatory filing or the company's own document.
- Every number on this site links to the document it comes from. If we cannot link a credible source, we do not publish the number.
- Job figures are labeled by type: actual, committed or forecast. Peak construction crews and permanent jobs are kept apart and never added together.
- A blank figure means we have not yet linked a primary source for it. It never means zero.
- Every site and county page lists the officials who represent it, with contact links where published.
- Spot an error? Submit a correction or email corrections@mainstreetmegawatt.com. Every change is listed in the .
Map tiles: OpenStreetMap, with automatic switch to Esri Light Gray if tiles fail. Data: sites.json and officials.json are released under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). Site text is under CC BY 4.0. Site records draw on DataCentersExposed (ODbL 1.0), the Sue Data Centers registry, company filings and releases, state economic development agencies and local news. Each record names its source. No tracking, no cookies.