"Americans' views of data centers have turned more negative" is a short read by Brian Kennedy, a senior researcher in science and society research at the Pew Research Center, published September 22, 2026. It compares answers to repeated questions about data centers from a survey fielded July 20 to August 9, 2026 with the same questions asked in January 2026. Its central findings are that Americans have "grown more negative toward the possible environmental and economic effects of data centers since the beginning of the year," and that a majority would be uncomfortable if a new data center started operating in their area.
Survey design
The survey was conducted July 20 to August 9, 2026 among 10,548 U.S. adults, all members of Pew's American Trends Panel; Pew states that it represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. The comparison wave is labelled January 2026; the short read does not restate that wave's field dates or sample size, and refers to an earlier short read of March 12, 2026 for the January results. Chart notes state that respondents who did not answer are not shown, so rows need not sum to 100. The questionnaire, topline and methodology are published as separate PDFs; the capture held here does not include them, so the margin of error is not recorded.
Findings
Perceived effects
In August 2026 more than half of U.S. adults (54%) said data centers are mostly bad for the environment, half (50%) mostly bad for home energy costs, and 49% mostly bad for people's quality of life nearby. Just 4% said data centers have a mostly good impact in each of those three areas. Views on local jobs and local tax revenue were mixed, with between 21% and 24% saying mostly good and mostly bad; the mostly-bad shares for each rose 9 percentage points since January. Between 18% and 32% were not sure of the impact in each of the five areas, and 12% had not heard of data centers.
| % of U.S. adults saying data centers are … for | Wave | Mostly bad | Neither good nor bad | Mostly good | Not sure | Have not heard of data centers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The environment | Aug 2026 | 54 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | 39 | 14 | 4 | 17 | 25 | |
| Home energy costs | Aug 2026 | 50 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | 38 | 10 | 6 | 21 | 25 | |
| People's quality of life nearby | Aug 2026 | 49 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 22 | 25 | |
| Local jobs | Aug 2026 | 24 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | 15 | 17 | 25 | 17 | 25 | |
| Local tax revenue | Aug 2026 | 21 | 12 | 22 | 32 | 12 |
| Jan 2026 | 12 | 12 | 23 | 27 | 25 |
Change across groups
Pew states that men and women, adults across age groups and education levels, and urban, suburban and rural residents all became more likely since January to say data centers have a mostly bad impact. Percent saying data centers are mostly bad, January 2026 → August 2026:
| Group | Environment | Home energy costs | Quality of life nearby | Local jobs | Local tax revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 39 → 54 | 38 → 50 | 30 → 49 | 15 → 24 | 12 → 21 |
| Men | 43 → 57 | 46 → 56 | 33 → 51 | 16 → 25 | 14 → 23 |
| Women | 35 → 52 | 29 → 44 | 27 → 47 | 13 → 22 | 10 → 19 |
| Ages 18–29 | 54 → 64 | 45 → 61 | 42 → 59 | 23 → 37 | 19 → 35 |
| 30–49 | 44 → 59 | 41 → 53 | 34 → 53 | 18 → 28 | 14 → 25 |
| 50–64 | 35 → 51 | 36 → 47 | 27 → 46 | 10 → 19 | 10 → 15 |
| 65+ | 26 → 42 | 28 → 40 | 19 → 37 | 7 → 14 | 6 → 13 |
| Postgrad | 52 → 66 | 50 → 60 | 36 → 55 | 12 → 20 | 10 → 18 |
| College grad | 51 → 65 | 50 → 60 | 40 → 59 | 16 → 26 | 13 → 23 |
| Some college | 40 → 56 | 38 → 52 | 32 → 51 | 17 → 27 | 14 → 23 |
| HS or less | 28 → 41 | 25 → 39 | 21 → 37 | 13 → 21 | 11 → 20 |
| Urban | 41 → 51 | 38 → 48 | 33 → 46 | 18 → 25 | 15 → 22 |
| Suburban | 43 → 58 | 40 → 54 | 30 → 52 | 13 → 24 | 12 → 22 |
| Rural | 32 → 50 | 32 → 46 | 28 → 45 | 14 → 22 | 10 → 20 |
| Rep/Lean Rep | 31 → 47 | 33 → 44 | 24 → 42 | 12 → 19 | 10 → 17 |
| Dem/Lean Dem | 50 → 62 | 44 → 58 | 37 → 57 | 18 → 29 | 15 → 25 |
| Heard a lot about data centers | 63 → 73 | 67 → 72 | 51 → 68 | 26 → 35 | 23 → 32 |
| Heard a little about data centers | 48 → 54 | 42 → 47 | 35 → 47 | 16 → 22 | 13 → 19 |
The largest environment increase among the groups in Pew's chart was among rural adults (+18 points), and the smallest among adults 18–29 and urban adults (+10 each). Pew notes that most data centers being planned or under development will be in rural areas, citing its own April 13, 2026 short read. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remained more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to view the impacts negatively, as in January, but Republicans' views also turned more negative; 42% of Republicans said the facilities are mostly bad for the quality of life of people nearby, up from 24%.
Partisan views on jobs and tax revenue
Among both Democrats and Republicans, views of data centers' effects on local jobs and tax revenue became somewhat more negative, with many in both groups saying they are not sure or that the effects are neither good nor bad. More Democrats now say the effects in these two areas are mostly bad than mostly good, a shift Pew states was driven primarily by liberal Democrats: 34% of liberals said data centers are mostly bad for local tax revenue, up from 19% in January. More Republicans continued to say the effects on local jobs and tax revenue are mostly good than mostly bad, though Republicans were 7 percentage points more likely than in January to say the effects in both areas are mostly bad.
Comfort with a new local data center
Sixty percent said they would be not too or not at all comfortable with a new data center operating in their area, against 19% somewhat and 7% extremely or very comfortable.
| % who would be … comfortable with a new data center in their area | Extremely/very | Somewhat | Not too/not at all | Have not heard of data centers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 7 | 19 | 60 | 12 |
| Urban | 7 | 20 | 57 | 14 |
| Suburban | 7 | 20 | 63 | 9 |
| Rural | 6 | 18 | 60 | 14 |
| Rep/Lean Rep | 10 | 24 | 54 | 11 |
| Conservative Rep | 12 | 25 | 54 | 9 |
| Moderate/liberal Rep | 7 | 22 | 55 | 15 |
| Dem/Lean Dem | 4 | 16 | 68 | 10 |
| Conservative/moderate Dem | 6 | 22 | 58 | 14 |
| Liberal Dem | 3 | 10 | 81 | 5 |
| Heard a lot | 11 | 16 | 73 | — |
| Heard a little | 6 | 26 | 66 | — |
Pew summarizes the partisan rows as "just over half of Republicans (54%) and about two-thirds of Democrats (68%)," with liberal Democrats at 81%, and states that majorities of urban, suburban and rural Americans would be uncomfortable.
Awareness
The share who had heard or read a lot about data centers rose from 25% in January to 35% in August; 53% had heard a little (50% in January) and 12% nothing at all (25% in January), so 88% had heard at least a little. As in January, awareness was higher among men than women and among people with at least a bachelor's degree than among those with less education.
Political context given by Pew
The short read places the findings alongside protests against new data-center construction and state and local politicians speaking out against data centers, while President Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter. It notes that Texas Governor Greg Abbott previously supported expansion but "issued a statewide moratorium on new data centers in August," and that Democratic governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and JB Pritzker of Illinois have shifted toward additional rules and oversight on data-center construction and operation. Pew's description of the Texas action as a statewide moratorium is broader than accounts describing it as a halt to approvals for data centers seeking connection to the state grid (Data Center Siting / AI Power Politics).
Relation to other surveys
The findings are consistent in direction with other mid-2026 national surveys of local data-center opposition. The Annenberg Public Policy Center's W38 survey (June 16 – July 19, 2026) found 61% opposing new data centers in their area, and the AP-NORC/EPIC survey (July 6–24, 2026) found 63% extremely or very concerned about data centers' effects on electricity prices in the communities where they are built (AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy). The questions differ, so the figures are not directly comparable. AP-NORC/EPIC found that concern did not differ among urban, suburban and rural residents, whereas Pew records rural respondents moving further than urban respondents on the environment question; the two surveys measure different things (level of concern versus change in perceived effect).
Provenance
Published on pewresearch.org as a short read on September 22, 2026. Captured 2026-09-26 from the canonical host (live fetch), with each chart's data table reproduced; chart images did not render. Authenticity verified against site metadata (publication time and author). Single-source page; confidence medium.
Relationships
- supports: Public Opinion on AI — tracked change in U.S. views of data centers, January to August 2026.
- supports: Data Center Siting / AI Power Politics — majority discomfort with a new local data center across urban, suburban and rural areas.
- supports: AI Data Centers — public perception of environmental, energy-cost and local economic effects.
- related: AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy, Public First / ITIF, \"The opposition to data centers\" (polling deck, August 2026), Fabrizio Lee — Neutralizing Political Attacks on AI Data-Center Development Through Enforceable Conditions (memorandum, September 14, 2026) — other 2026 data-center polling.
- related: Data centers are coming for rural America — Abigail Bassett (The Verge, May 13 2026) — carries Pew's April 2026 finding that most planned data centers are in rural areas.
- related: Pew Research Center — publisher.
- related: Greg Abbott, Josh Shapiro, Donald Trump — officials whose positions the short read notes.