Below is an updated version with broader power and water usage context added.
A new Rasmussen Report poll shows that a majority of likely U.S. voters oppose building large data centers in their communities, even though majorities say the issue should be handled by state and local governments, not Congress.
A national telephone and online survey found that 52% of likely voters say they oppose the proposal to build a data center in their area, including 35% who say they strongly oppose it. 39% said they supported such a project, of which 15% said they strongly supported it.
The findings come as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence is increasing demand for large data centers and raising concerns from environmental groups and local communities about energy use, water consumption, land use, noise and other impacts.
However, some analysts argue that public discussions around data centers often lack broader context. A June 16 New York Post op-ed argued that data centers have become a political and environmental scapegoat for broader concerns about artificial intelligence. The article cited data from the Taxpayer Protection Alliance and noted that data centers account for 0.2% of New York state’s water consumption and 3.5% of its electricity consumption in 2025. According to the same data, data centers in Florida use 0.1% of the state’s water and 1.6% of its electricity, while data centers in Virginia, one of the nation’s major data center hubs, use 1.4% of its water and 4.6% of its electricity.
The Post article also argued that data centers’ water usage remains low compared to other sectors. The report said agriculture accounts for about 80% of water use in the United States, golf courses use 476 billion gallons of water annually, and data centers account for less than 1% of the nation’s water consumption. The article also argues that some energy use projections are inflated by assumptions and double counting, while acknowledging that data centers can still raise local concerns that require planning and community involvement.
Despite this widespread situation, voters remain wary of nearby data centers. Rasmussen found that 37% of likely voters think Congress should pass legislation regulating data center construction at the national level, while 51% say data center decisions should be left to state and local governments. A further 12% were unsure.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats or independent voters to support data centers in their communities. Forty-eight percent of Republicans say they at least somewhat support such projects, compared with 36% of Democrats and 32% of independent voters. Independent voters had the highest opposition rate at 59%, followed by Democrats at 55% and Republicans at 44%.
Views on federal regulation were more mixed. Both Democrats and Republicans had a 35% approval rating for Congressional regulation, while 30% of independent voters supported the national law. Half of voters who identify as liberals say data center construction should be regulated at the national level, while 56% of conservatives and 55% of moderates say the issue should be left to state and local governments.
The survey also revealed gender disparities. Men are more likely than women to support local data centers, with 44% of men supporting such a proposal compared to 34% of women. Men were also more likely to support national regulation by Congress.
Opposition varied by race and ethnicity. Fifty-seven percent of white voters said they opposed the creation of data centers in their area, compared to 40% of black voters, 38% of Hispanic voters, and 60% of other minority voters. Black voters were the group most likely to support federal legislation regulating data center construction.
Age was also a factor. Voters over 50 were most likely to oppose building data centers in their area, while voters under 30 were most likely to support Congressional regulations.
By income, voters earning between $30,000 and $50,000 a year were most likely to support data centers in their communities. Voters with annual incomes of $100,000 to $200,000 were most likely to say this issue should be left to state and local governments.
Retirees are the most opposed to data centers, with 59% saying they would oppose a data center being built in their area. This compares to 55% of private sector workers and 49% of government employees.
The Rasmussen Report survey of 1,129 likely U.S. voters was conducted June 21-23, 2026, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Field research was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
