The more Americans learn about the data centers powering the AI boom, the less they want them. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that in just seven months, public opinion on the facilities has swung decisively negative. Six in ten U.S. adults now say they would be uncomfortable with a new data center opening in their area. Only 7% say they would be extremely or very comfortable.
The survey of 10,548 U.S. adults was fielded July 20 to Aug. 9 and published Sept. 22. It shows negative views rising on every measure Pew tracked since January. 54% now say data centers are mostly bad for the environment, up from 39%. Half say they are mostly bad for home energy costs, up from 38%. And 49% say they are mostly bad for the quality of life of people living nearby, up from 30%, a 19-point jump in under a year. The share saying data centers are mostly good in each of those three areas is just 4%.
The industry's economic pitch is losing ground as well. The share of Americans who call data centers mostly bad for local jobs rose from 15% to 24%, and for local tax revenue from 12% to 21%. On both measures the positive and negative camps are now roughly even, at 21% to 24% each.
Awareness Is Rising, and So Is Skepticism
Much of the shift appears to come from people learning about data centers for the first time. In January, a quarter of Americans said they had heard nothing about them. That share has fallen to 12%. The group that has heard "a lot" grew from 25% to 35%. Those newly aware Americans are not warming to the facilities. Among people who have heard a lot, 73% say data centers are mostly bad for the environment and 72% say they are mostly bad for energy bills. The Register summed up the pattern in its headline: "The more Americans hear about datacenters, the less they like them."
The shift is sharpest where developers are building. Pew notes that most data centers now planned or under construction are in rural areas, and rural residents have soured faster than anyone else. The share of rural Americans who say data centers are mostly bad for the environment went from 32% to 50%. On home energy costs it rose from 32% to 46%, and on nearby quality of life from 28% to 45%.
A Backlash That Crosses Party Lines
Democrats remain more negative than Republicans, but the movement is bipartisan. Among Republicans and Republican leaners, 42% now say data centers are mostly bad for nearby residents' quality of life, up from 24% in January. On a new local facility, 54% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats say they would be not too or not at all comfortable. Liberal Democrats stand out at 81%. Majorities of urban, suburban and rural residents all say they would be uneasy.
A separate PBS News, NPR and Marist poll of 1,280 registered voters, conducted Sept. 14 to 15, points the same way. It found that 58% of voters expect new data center construction to have a mostly negative effect on the country, and 65% oppose construction in their own communities, including 43% who are strongly opposed. Republicans in that poll were nearly split, 46% in favor and 44% opposed. Self-identified MAGA supporters were the only group in which a majority favored local construction.
That puts President Donald Trump, who has consistently backed data center construction, at odds with much of his own party. Last month he wrote on social media that "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement." Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told PBS the president is "out there on his own on this one." Other Republicans have moved away from him. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who once supported expansion, imposed a statewide moratorium on new data centers in August. Democratic governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and JB Pritzker of Illinois have also shifted toward tighter oversight.
"From a political standpoint, there is no nuance," Democratic strategist Joel Payne told PBS. "The public has no nuance within how they think about AI and data centers."
Why It Matters
The AI buildout runs on two things money alone can't buy: power and local permission. Every hyperscale campus needs zoning approvals, utility interconnections and, more and more, the acceptance of the county board and the neighbors who show up to its meetings. Pew's numbers suggest that acceptance is getting harder to win. Rural communities, where land and power are cheapest, are souring fastest. And the old sales pitch of jobs and tax revenue now persuades about as many people as it puts off.
The friction is already costly. Data Center Watch, a project that tracks local opposition, counted at least 75 projects worth about $130 billion blocked or delayed in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to PBS. Electricity prices are now a campaign issue. Last week the House passed bipartisan legislation that would push state regulators to consider requiring data centers to pay for grid upgrades in their communities. Even Amazon's chief sustainability officer said this week that communities should hold the company accountable, The Register reports. For AI companies planning gigawatts of new capacity, public opinion is becoming a real constraint on their timelines.
What to Watch
Keep an eye on the midterm campaigns. The National Republican Senatorial Committee reportedly warned in August that data centers had become a "sleeper issue" for the cycle, and candidates in both parties are already running ads on it. Also watch whether the House cost-allocation bill moves in the Senate, whether other states follow Texas with moratoriums, and whether developers answer with firmer commitments on power, water and community benefits. If the trend holds, the 12% who have yet to hear of data centers will come away skeptical too.
“From a political standpoint, there is no nuance. The public has no nuance within how they think about AI and data centers.”— Joel Payne, Democratic strategist, to PBS News