Data center growth has economic ripple effects

Development of new data center facilities is not only accommodating advanced technologies like artificial intelligence but is also contributing to widespread economic growth, according to CBRE.

Data center-related jobs have increased by 20 percent nationwide to 3.5 million from 2.9 million between 2017 and 2021, far exceeding the 2 percent rise in overall U.S. employment, according to accounting firm PwC. Each direct job in the U.S. data center industry helps to create an average of 7.4 ancillary jobs throughout the U.S. economy.

On a local and state level, sales and property-tax revenues are being fortified by data center growth. In a typical data center, sizable investment in computer hardware and software is required, as well as ongoing maintenance of this equipment. Three U.S. states in particular — Virginia, Nebraska and Ohio — illustrate the outsized impact that data centers are having on tax generation.

Virginia

In Northern Vir