Public opposition to data centers is increasing over time.

Key evidence

• The Annenberg Public Policy Center reported that opposition to new local data centers rose from 49% to 61% over four months in
• Harvard Gazette, NPR, TIME, and POLITICO separately reported growing community, political, and regulatory resistance during
• The evidence measures a recent increase in opposition to local projects, not an uninterrupted historical trend or opposition to every data center.

Detailed analysis

A nationally representative Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that opposition to building new data centers in respondents’ communities increased from 49% in a survey ending in March 2026 to 61% four months later. That 12-point increase is direct evidence that public opposition rose over a recent period. The result was also reported by Phys.org. (SOURCES_6, 10) Other reporting points in the same direction. The Harvard Gazette described opposition as mounting over concerns about data centers’ demands for electricity and water, while NPR reported that cities were adopting new standards as public resistance grew. TIME reported organized opposition connected to delays or cancellations of major projects during the first three months of 2026. These accounts document political and community resistance, although they are not themselves a consistent long-term measure of public opinion. (SOURCES_1, 4, 5) Additional polling and reporting published in July and August 2026 described increasingly negative public attitudes and a growing political dispute over data-center projects. The available evidence therefore supports the statement as a description of the recent trend. It does not establish that opposition has risen continuously in every period, or that most Americans oppose every type of data center, since the polling cited concerns proposed facilities in respondents’ local areas. (SOURCES_2, 7, 8)

Sources

• Cities are adopting new data center standards as public opposition grows : NPR
• Opinion | Americans Hate Data Centers. Why? - The New York Times
• Why is the US public so against data centers?
• Community Backlash to AI Data Centers Is Growing Across the U.S.
• Why are communities pushing back against data centers? — Harvard Gazette
• Opposition to Local Data Centers Rises Sharply, Annenberg Survey Finds | The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
• A growing political reckoning is coming for data centers, POLITICO Poll shows - POLITICO
• Data centers have a politics problem — and industry knows it - POLITICO