Opposition to local data centers rises sharply, survey finds
As protesters rally against data center construction in dozens of states and New York and Texas pause the issuance of permits for large data centers, a new nationally representative survey finds that Americans' opposition to data centers in their communities has risen sharply since last spring.
A new nationally representative survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania has found that opposition to the construction of new data centers in U.S. communities has risen sharply since spring. Currently, about 61% of Americans oppose such developments, a 12-point increase from February and March.
The survey, which polled 1,320 U.S. adult citizens from June 16–July 19, 2026, found that this opposition spans political groups and is particularly strong among adults under 30. Despite this growing opposition, views on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the U.S. over the next decade have remained stable at 39% expecting somewhat or very negative outcomes.
The concern appears to be focused on the physical infrastructure of data centers and their proximity to communities, with the survey also revealing that two-thirds of Americans believe the government has done too little to regulate AI.
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