October 2026 study
Data center job promises in nine U.S. markets
We looked for a public job figure for every one of the 109 data center projects in our nine trackers: what the developer, the county or the state said, in their words, next to the megawatts and dollars they announced. 68 projects have no figure at all.
By Czarina Tabayoyong, Founder, Critical Path Hiring. Former Amazon, AWS and Google recruiter.
Last reviewed · First published
New edition each quarter.
Findings
- 68 of 109 tracked projects (62%) have no public job figure. 16 use words like "hundreds" or "high-paying jobs" with no number. 23 (21%) state a number, and 2 more give an existing headcount for a campus already running.
- 24 of the 25 Texas projects we track state no job number. Texas state filings carry construction values and no job figures.
- Where a source states both permanent jobs and megawatts, the promises run 1 to 120 permanent jobs per 100 MW, median 39, across 5 projects. 3 of the 5 fall between 25 and 50.
- Where a source states both permanent jobs and investment, the promises run about 6 to 90 permanent jobs per $1 billion, median 25, across 10 projects. The median works out to one permanent job per $40 million.
- Ohio has the smallest promises, 25 to 90 permanent jobs per campus, and Ohio's incentive sets a payroll floor with no job count. Illinois requires 20 jobs, and 29 of the 34 data centers certified there report exactly 20.
- In the 6 projects that state both figures, construction jobs outnumber permanent jobs by 4 to 68 times.
Permanent headcount
Once it runs, the people on site are a small operations crew on rotating shifts, plus security and a few managers. Virginia's legislative audit office put a typical 250,000 square foot building at about 50 full-time workers, half of them contractors (JLARC, December 2024). The hiring happens before that. Construction crews number in the hundreds to thousands per building, and a commissioning team follows for the last months before handover. On a campus with many buildings, those crews return for each one, so construction and commissioning hiring runs for years. The hiring timeline by build stage shows the order.
Figures by market
| Market | Projects | State a number | Words only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Virginia | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Phoenix | 14 | 4 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 14 | 4 | 1 |
| Columbus | 14 | 5 | 3 |
| Salt Lake City | 11 | 4 | 3 |
| San Antonio | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| Hillsboro | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Chicago | 12 | 2 | 1 |
Numbers tend to appear on the record where a project drew opposition or a public vote. Projects that passed quietly usually have none.
Jobs per 100 MW
Only projects where the same page states both the job figure and the megawatts. Ranges use the midpoint. Where the promise is per building, the campus figure is our arithmetic and the note says so.
| Project | Permanent jobs stated | MW | Jobs per 100 MW | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creekstone Energy data center campus | 106 | 10,000 | 1.1 | business.utah.gov |
| Microsoft Project Firecracker campus | 150 | 422 | 35.5 | datacenterdynamics.com |
| Joliet Technology Center | 700 | 1,800 | 38.9 | shawlocal.com |
| Aligned Pataskala data center | 100 | 200 | 50.0 | abc6onyourside.com |
| Nebo North data center campus | 80 to 100 per building, 10 buildings | 750 | 120.0 | sltrib.com |
For comparison, Food & Water Watch computed 1.12 direct jobs per MW at Virginia facilities built from 2020 to 2025 (January 2026), which is about three times the median promise here.
Jobs per $1 billion
Only projects where the same page states both the job figure and the investment. Investment figures are announced totals and differ in what they cover.
| Project | Permanent jobs stated | Investment | Jobs per $1B | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creekstone Energy data center campus | 106 | $17B | 6.2 | business.utah.gov |
| Oakline at Mill Creek (Salem) | 75 | $5.1B | 14.7 | katu.com |
| Aligned Pataskala data center | 100 | $5.0B | 20.0 | abc6onyourside.com |
| Vantage Millersport campus | 37 to 50 | $2.1B | 20.7 | nbc4i.com |
| Buckeye Tech Corridor | 500 | $20B | 25.0 | ktar.com |
| Amazon Marysville Innovation Park campus | 25 | $1.0B | 25.0 | spectrumnews1.com |
| AWS Sunbury Business and Technology Park campus | 50 | $2.0B | 25.0 | 1808delaware.com |
| Rumble Technology Park | 30 to 50 | $1.2B | 33.3 | 11alive.com |
| Joliet Technology Center | 700 | $20B | 35.0 | shawlocal.com |
| Nebo North data center campus | 80 to 100 per building, 10 buildings | $10B | 90.0 | sltrib.com |
Audits and reports
- Microsoft projected about 500 full-time jobs at its first Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin building by the end of 2026 and reported about 375 hires in May 2026 (Urban Milwaukee, May 2026).
- Georgia's state audit cut the operations jobs attributed to its data center exemption from 5,471 to 1,641 and construction jobs from 28,350 to 8,505 (Rough Draft Atlanta, January 2026).
- Illinois certified 34 data centers for its incentive; 29 report exactly the 20-job minimum (Illinois DCEO, 2025).
- Texas audited 20 incentive recipients in 2026 and found 6 out of compliance, at least 4 on jobs (Texas Tribune, July 2026).
- No tracked project has a published count of jobs delivered, so this study compares promises with each other and with state minimums, and makes no claim about delivery at any project.
Every project
Download the table as CSV. Free to reuse with credit to Critical Path Hiring. Projects with no job language are in the CSV and left off this table.
| Project | Market | Permanent | Construction | In their words | Who said it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Technology Campus | Northern Virginia | 1,000 | "hundreds of well-compensated full-time jobs" / "over 1,000 construction jobs during peak development" (peak) | Developer press release | stackinfra.com | |
| Amazon WarrentonThe $39.7M in the source is a land price, not project investment. | Northern Virginia | 52 | "employ approximately 52 employees" (engineering, data center operations, security, logistics) | Developer special-use permit application | fauquiernow.com | |
| Buckeye Tech Corridor | Phoenix | 500 | 2,000 | "an estimated 500 full-time jobs" / "generate 2,000 construction jobs" (total; phased over 15 years) | News report (Phoenix Business Journal via KTAR), figures unattributed in article | ktar.com |
| Grande Valley Data Center | Phoenix | 445 to 1,200 | 445 long-term jobs at $108,000/yr (paraphrased in article); "I believe it's 1,200 jobs at final buildout" / "there will be 1000s of jobs through the construction phase"; "450 on the site at one time" | Developer, through its attorney (KJZZ) | kjzz.org | |
| Energy Generation and Technology Campus (Porter Road)"1,000 permanent jobs in the region" from the applicant's attorney; counted as a promise but left out of the per-dollar ratio because it is regional. | Phoenix | 1,000 | "1,000 permanent jobs in the region" (regional, incl. indirect); also hypothetical "if you had 500 jobs there" | Applicant's attorney (Court Rich, Rose Law Group) at county board | inmaricopa.com | |
| Southwest Crossing Data ParkThe 4,800 construction jobs come from a developer-commissioned economic study based on 1.25M sq ft. | Phoenix | 4,800 | "more than 4,800 direct construction jobs" (total; economic impact study basis up to 1.25M sq ft) | Developer-commissioned economic impact analysis (Elliott D. Pollack & Co.) via AZBEX | azbex.com | |
| Rumble Technology ParkFigures predate the 2025 expansion. The cited page names Data Core Innovations as the developer. | Atlanta | 30 to 50 | 1,700 | "expect to hire between 30-50 employees" / "1,700 construction jobs over the years" (total) | Developer statement (via 11Alive, 2024 original 525-acre proposal) | 11alive.com |
| Microsoft Project Firecracker campusInvestment reported as $360M in the DRI filing and $1B elsewhere, so this row is left out of the per-dollar ratio. | Atlanta | 150 | "will employ 150 people once operational" (DRI filing); 2023: "committed to creating 150 new jobs at the data center" | Developer DRI filing (via DCD); developer statement to Rome News-Tribune (2023) | datacenterdynamics.com | |
| QTS ATL2 East (Fayetteville expansion)2022 figures for the original campus; the city said 100, QTS said up to 1,000. Left out of the ratios. | Atlanta | 100 to 1,000 | "which will create up to 1,000 jobs" (QTS, type unspecified); "The city hopes it will provide 100 jobs" (City of Fayetteville) | Developer expectation and city statement (via ASBN, 2022 original campus) | asbn.com | |
| Shadowbox Studios data centerThe 651 MW figure is not on the cited page, so this row is left out of the per-MW ratio. | Atlanta | 275 | 275 permanent jobs; "average annual wage of over $100,000" / "thousands" of jobs during construction | Developer CEO (Peter Rumbold) at community meeting (via WABE) | wabe.org | |
| Vantage Millersport campus | Columbus | 37 to 50 | 2,500 | Gov. DeWine: "37 full-time positions" (Oct 2025); Vantage: "create 50 full-time jobs" (Aug 2026) / "2,500 construction jobs" (Vantage; total/peak not specified) | State announcement (Governor) and developer statement | nbc4i.com |
| Amazon Marysville Innovation Park campus | Columbus | 25 | "create at least 25 direct jobs" / "thousands of additional jobs in construction and other local industries" (city news release) | News report (Spectrum News), figure unattributed | spectrumnews1.com | |
| AWS Sunbury Business and Technology Park campus | Columbus | 50 | "AWS has committed to creating 50 full-time, high-paying jobs"; annual payroll $4.5M | Developer commitment reported by local news (1808Delaware) | 1808delaware.com | |
| Microsoft Licking County campuses | Columbus | 400 | "the creation of hundreds of direct jobs if the campuses reach full capacity"; "hundreds of full-time employees with competitive wages and world-class benefits" / "as many as 400 construction jobs on an annual basis" (annual) | Developer via regional economic development release (One Columbus; JobsOhio quoted) | columbusregion.com | |
| Aligned Pataskala data center | Columbus | 100 | "more than 100 permanent jobs" | Developer statement (via ABC6) | abc6onyourside.com | |
| Equinix Minooka campus | Chicago | 150 | "generally, think the 150, potentially higher, potentially lower" | Advisor to the developers (WSPY) | wspynews.com | |
| Joliet Technology Center | Chicago | 700 | 7,000 to 10,000 | "700 permanent high-paying jobs when fully operational" / "between 7,000 and 10,000 jobs through construction" (total through construction) | Project promise as reported (unattributed in article; developer Hillwood cited for $2.1B tax figure) | shawlocal.com |
| QTS Eagle Mountain campus (SLC1) | Salt Lake City | 100 | 2,000 | "more than 100 permanent roles"; also "delivering hundreds of jobs" and "Campus supports thousands of local jobs" / "more than 2,000 construction jobs" (total) | Developer/contractor joint press release (QTS and Layton Construction) | utahbusiness.com |
| Nebo North data center campus80 to 100 jobs per building across 10 planned buildings, so the campus figure is our arithmetic. | Salt Lake City | 80 to 100 per building | "each building would create 80 to 100 jobs with pay around $100,000 a year" (per building; up to 10 buildings) | Developer statements in county planning commission minutes (via Salt Lake Tribune) | sltrib.com | |
| Creekstone Energy data center campus | Salt Lake City | 106 | "add 106 new, high-paying jobs"; tax credit table: 106 jobs and $333,453,662 in wages over 20 years | State announcement (Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity) of REDTIF agreement | business.utah.gov | |
| Meta Eagle Mountain expansionThe $3B is Meta's total Utah investment, so this row is left out of the per-dollar ratio. | Salt Lake City | 300 | 1,200 | "more than 300 permanent operational roles" / "roughly 1,200 construction jobs at peak" (peak) | Expansion projection reported by Utah Business citing KUTV (not directly attributed to Meta in text) | utahbusiness.com |
| CloudBurst data center campusMegawatts and investment are not on the cited page, so this row is left out of the ratios. | San Antonio | 30 | expected to create 30 jobs per building (tax abatement proposition) | Tax abatement proposition (county) as reported by Herald-Zeitung | herald-zeitung.com | |
| Oakline at Mill Creek (Salem) | Hillsboro | 75 | "75 permanent jobs" / "years of construction work" (no headcount) | Developer statement (via KATU) | katu.com | |
| Meta New Albany campus (Prometheus)Existing headcountExisting campus headcount from a utility filing, not a promise for the new project. | Columbus | 300 | "$1.5 billion in capital investments and 300 full-time jobs" (existing New Albany campus to date per AEP Ohio/Meta PUCO filing; not Prometheus-specific) | Utility/developer regulatory filing (AEP Ohio and Meta affiliate, PUCO) via Statehouse News Bureau | wysu.org | |
| Google The Dalles campus expansionExisting headcount | Hillsboro | 200 | "Google employs about 200 people in The Dalles" (existing headcount, article statement; not an expansion promise) | News report (OPB) | opb.org | |
| EdgeCore Culpeper | Northern Virginia | "helping generate economic growth and jobs for Culpeper County" (no number) | Developer announcement (via InsideNoVa) | insidenova.com | ||
| Prince William Digital Gateway | Northern Virginia | "bring increased local tax revenue and new job opportunities" (no number) | Developer statement (QTS) | bisnow.com | ||
| Unnamed data center, FM 2210 and Texas 199 | Dallas-Fort Worth | "A minimum 50% local hiring requirement for the construction workforce" (no headcount) | Developer community update (tax abatement agreement terms); GovTech news report | cyrusone.com | ||
| Long Creek Road data center | Dallas-Fort Worth | "relatively low staffing needs" (article description, no number) | Hoodline only (flagged) | hoodline.com | ||
| Prime Data Centers PHX01 | Phoenix | "bringing new jobs, long-term growth and world-class infrastructure to our community" (Avondale mayor, no number) | City statement in developer release (via REBusiness) | rebusinessonline.com | ||
| Project Sail | Atlanta | "high-paying jobs" (county development authority, no number) | County development authority (Coweta County Development Authority, Sarah Jacobs) | times-herald.com | ||
| Cologix Johnstown campus | Columbus | "The two new campuses will deliver 90 new direct jobs to Central Ohio" (Johnstown + Lewis Center combined; not split) / "hundreds of additional construction jobs through a multi-year buildout" (shared with Lewis Center) | Developer press release via One Columbus (JobsOhio quoted, no figures) | columbusregion.com | ||
| Cologix Lewis Center data center | Columbus | 90 direct jobs across two campuses (see Johnstown); Worthington asst. city manager: payroll "about $2.5 million to $3 million" annually / "hundreds of additional construction jobs through a multi-year buildout" (shared with Johnstown) | Developer press release via One Columbus; city official (payroll) | aol.com | ||
| EdgeConneX Ashville data centers | Columbus | "may contribute to local and regional economic activity through employment and income tax generation" (no number) | Developer representatives' slide presentation to village council (via Circleville Herald) | circlevilleherald.com | ||
| Project Vector | Chicago | "job creation" cited by supporters (unquantified) | News report (city, county EDC) | shawlocal.com | ||
| Joule AI data center and energy campus | Salt Lake City | "securing jobs for the region in rural Utah" (article narration, no number) | News report (Deseret News) | deseret.com | ||
| Stratos Project | Salt Lake City | MIDA director pushed back on claim data centers don't generate employment (no number) | State development authority (MIDA) via KPCW | kpcw.org | ||
| Tract Eagle Mountain land | Salt Lake City | Mayor: "We identified data centers early on as a way to employ residents" (no number) | Developer press release with city statement | utahbusiness.com | ||
| Cinco data center campus | San Antonio | Rowan: "unlock tens of millions of dollars in direct economic benefit to this community" (no job number) | Developer statement at city council (via Devine News) | devinenews.com | ||
| Stream San Antonio III campus | San Antonio | "excited [to] contribute to the economic growth of San Antonio" (no number) | Developer press release | streamdatacenters.com | ||
| Francis Harris Lane data center | San Antonio | Article: limited public information on permanent positions; developers promoted employment benefits without a figure / Union (LIUNA Local 1095): construction "could last up to five years" (no headcount) | Union testimony and developer remarks at city council (via TPR) | tpr.org |
Method and limits
- The projects come from our data center project trackers, which list large and recent projects in each market. They are not every project.
- For each project we opened its tracker source and ran at least two searches for a job figure, about 120 pages in all. A figure may exist in a document we did not find, and several local news pages were paywalled.
- Figures are recorded as stated, with the exact phrase. Where a source says "hundreds" we record "hundreds" and no number. Ranges use the midpoint in the ratios.
- Ratios use only megawatt and investment figures that appear on the same page as the job figure. Rows where they do not are shown but left out of the ratios, with a note.
- Construction figures mix peak, total and annual wording, so we report them without a ratio.
- Data as of October 2026. We update the trackers monthly and plan a new edition of this study each quarter.
Questions
- How many permanent jobs does a data center create?
- In the October 2026 set of 109 projects we track, 20 state a permanent job figure. Where the same source also states megawatts, the promises run from 1 to 120 permanent jobs per 100 MW, median 39, across 5 projects. Virginia's legislative audit office put a typical 250,000 square foot building at about 50 full-time workers, half of them contractors.
- Do data center developers state how many jobs they will create?
- Most don't. 68 of 109 tracked projects (62%) have no public job figure, 16 use words like "hundreds" with no number, and 23 (21%) state a number. All 24 of the Texas projects we track except 1 state no number.
- How many construction jobs does a data center create?
- 9 tracked projects state a construction figure, ranging from 400 to 10,000. Reported peaks on named builds include 2,960 workers at Microsoft's Wisconsin campus, about 4,000 at Amazon's New Carlisle, Indiana site and 5,000 or more at Meta's Louisiana campus. In the 6 projects that state both figures, construction jobs outnumber permanent jobs by 4 to 68 times.
Czarina Tabayoyong
Founder and principal recruiter, Critical Path Hiring. Czarina recruits commissioning, MEP, power and critical facilities people for data center builds. She previously recruited cloud and data center architecture talent at AWS Professional Services, and PMO and project delivery talent for hyperscale data center campuses in Texas and Virginia.
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