Article By: Isaac Edwards
Data centers aren’t new, but the meteoric rise in AI demand in the early 2020s has sharply increased the appetite for building them, especially in Ohio, which Synergy Research Group ranks as the fourth-largest data center hub in the United States. Unless you’ve sworn off screens and technology altogether, you have likely interacted with AI directly, using it to generate lists, write papers, study for a test, ask questions about yourself, or depict a friend in a goofy outfit. All of these uses depend on data centers, and as AI use has grown, so has demand for the facilities that power it. Developers have responded by pursuing new sites aggressively, and in the right circumstances these projects can bring enormous benefit to the communities that host them.
Ohio communities are now being asked to weigh these proposals, and local leaders want to know what the investment means for their economy. Montrose Group has used IMPLAN®, the industry-standard input-output modeling platform, to answer that question for three proposed data center projects in Ohio: one in Central Ohio, one in Southwest Ohio and one in Northwest Ohio. All three were modeled with 2024 IMPLAN county-level data, and results are reported in the dollar year each project was projected to deliver.
The Construction Surge
Across the three projects, capital investment ranges from about $226 million to $700 million – with a larger $3 billion hyperscale scenario also being modeled for the Northwest Ohio site.
- Southwest Ohio ($226 million): about 1,560 jobs, $122 million in labor income and $323 million in total economic output
- Central Ohio ($540 million): about 2,730 jobs, $252 million in labor income and $608 million in output
- Northwest Ohio (Colocation: $700 million): about 4,610 jobs, $356 million in labor income and $928 million in output
- Northwest Ohio (Hyperscale: $3 billion): about 19,800 jobs, $1.5 billion in labor income and $4 billion in output
The impacts from construction are one-time impacts spread across the period of development. They include the trades on site plus the jobs supported through local suppliers and worker household spending. Construction also produces significant tax revenue, with each $1 million invested generating roughly $106,000 to $145,000 in combined local, state and federal taxes.
The Ongoing Return
Once construction ends, data centers employ relatively small workforces compared to other projects of similar capital investment, with each facility directly employing between 80 and 360 people. Modeled payroll averages $50,000 to $88,000 per worker, and IMPLAN captures the annual spillover that follows.
- Central Ohio: 100 direct jobs support about 150 total jobs, $11.4 million in labor income, and $36.5 million in output
- Southwest Ohio: 100 direct jobs support about 160 total jobs, $8.7 million in labor income, and $28.4 million in output
- Northwest Ohio Colocation: 80 direct jobs support about 190 total jobs, $12.9 million in labor income, and $48.7 million in output
- Northwest Ohio Hyperscale: 360 direct jobs support about 840 total jobs, $58.1 million in labor income, and $219 million in output
Every data center job supports roughly 0.5 to 1.3 more jobs elsewhere within the county economy. Those jobs are at vendors, maintenance contractors, restaurants, and retailers where employees spend their paychecks. The facilities generate about $2.7 million to $4.2 million in total tax revenue each year, or $18.7 million under the hyperscale scenario.
What This Means for Communities
Two lessons stand out: first, construction makes a data center a major short-term economic event for any county, with real opportunity for local contractors and suppliers; second, the ongoing impact depends on how much of the facility’s operating spending local businesses capture. The Northwest Ohio project shows the strongest multiplier of the three, supporting nearly one supply-chain job for every direct job. Communities that have the infrastructure to support a data center, along with the amenities, housing and land for complementary development, stand to benefit most from an asset that brings ample capital investment and desires to move very quickly.
It is worth being precise about these figures. IMPLAN tax estimates rely on effective county tax rates and do not reflect abatements or other incentives a community may negotiate.
Montrose Group helps communities, developers and economic development organizations quantify these trade-offs with transparent IMPLAN analysis. That work gives local leaders a clearer basis for weighing incentives and explaining a project’s stakes to the public.
Source: IMPLAN® model, 2024 data year. IMPLAN Group LLC, IMPLAN System (data and software), www.IMPLAN.com.
Source: Synergy Research Group, https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/us-rises-again-as-synergy-updates-its-ranking-of-hyperscale-data-center-locations