Short answer: How many jobs a data center creates depends on the phase. Building one large facility puts roughly 1,000 to 2,000 construction workers on site at peak, and the largest AI campuses report several thousand. Once running, a typical data center has about 50 full-time workers, according to Virginia's legislative auditors, while big multi-building campuses report from about 100 to 1,000 permanent jobs.
Key takeaways
- Construction is where most data center jobs are. In Virginia, the construction phase accounted for about 80 percent of the industry's total annual job impact.
- Permanent on-site headcount is small for the size of the building, and about half of it may be contractors.
- Big national totals (millions of jobs) include indirect and induced jobs estimated with economic models, and use broad definitions of the industry.
- Many impact studies are paid for by industry groups. Read who funded a study, and how it counts jobs, before you quote it.
How many jobs does a data center create during construction?
A lot, for a while. Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), the research arm of the state legislature, reported in 2024 that building an individual data center usually takes about 12 to 18 months, that a full campus can take five or more years, and that roughly 1,500 workers are on site at the height of construction.
Company figures line up with that. Meta's own location list shows 1,000 to 2,000 skilled trade workers on site at peak construction for most of its U.S. campuses. AI campuses are bigger: Meta lists more than 4,000 at peak for El Paso and more than 7,500 for Richland Parish, Louisiana, and Microsoft says its Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, AI datacenter employed more than 3,000 construction workers at daily peak.
These are real jobs with real paychecks, but they are temporary at any one site. Trades workers often follow the work from building to building on a campus, and from one campus to the next. That is why JLARC concluded that continued growth would be needed to sustain the same level of economic impact.
How many permanent jobs does a data center create?
Far fewer. JLARC reported that data center representatives described a typical 250,000-square-foot facility as having about 50 full-time workers: roughly one worker per 5,000 square feet, compared with one per 650 square feet in some distribution centers. About half are direct employees, such as facility managers, engineers, data technicians, and maintenance staff. The other half are contractors who work full time at the site, including electricians, pipefitters, and security personnel.
Across Virginia, JLARC estimated that data center employees and full-time contractors held more than 8,000 full-time jobs in fiscal year 2023, and that the industry added more than 800 such jobs that year.
Large campuses, which contain several buildings, publish larger permanent numbers. Meta lists roughly 100 to 400-plus operational jobs supported at most of its U.S. campuses and about 1,000 for its Louisiana campus. Microsoft expects around 500 full-time employees in Mount Pleasant, growing to around 800. Indiana said Google's Fort Wayne data center is expected to support up to 200 jobs.
workers on site at the height of construction of a data center facility in Virginia.
full-time workers at a typical 250,000-square-foot data center, about half of them contractors.
of the industry's estimated total annual job impact in Virginia came from the construction phase.
How many jobs have companies committed for specific projects?
Companies and state officials often announce job numbers with a new campus. The table collects published figures for specific U.S. projects. Construction and permanent numbers are not comparable across rows, because each source counts differently, and announced numbers are plans, not audited results.
| Project | Construction | Permanent or operations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta, Richland Parish, LA | 7,500+ trade workers at peak | About 1,000 operational jobs supported | Meta |
| Meta, El Paso, TX | 4,000+ trade workers at peak | 300+ operational jobs supported | Meta |
| Meta, Altoona, IA | 1,300 trade workers at peak | 400+ operational jobs supported | Meta |
| Meta, Kuna, ID | 1,600 trade workers at peak | About 100 operational jobs supported | Meta |
| Microsoft, Mount Pleasant, WI | 3,000+ construction workers at daily peak | About 500 full-time employees, growing to about 800 | Microsoft |
| Vantage, Oracle, OpenAI, Port Washington, WI | 4,000+ skilled construction jobs | 1,000+ long-term jobs | Company release |
| Google, Fort Wayne, IN | Not stated | Up to 200 jobs | Indiana Economic Development Corp. |
| Google, West Memphis, AR | "Thousands of construction jobs" | "Hundreds" eventually | Google, as quoted by KAIT |
| AWS, Central Ohio expansion | Not stated | 230 direct jobs, plus about 1,000 support jobs | State officials, via AP |
| AWS, Douglas and Butts counties, GA | Not stated | At least 550 new jobs | Atlanta News First |
| AWS, multiple Virginia campuses (by 2040) | Not stated | At least 1,000 jobs | Governor's announcement, via WHSV |
For AI campuses specifically, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank said in September 2025 that five new Stargate sites were expected to create over 25,000 onsite jobs. See AI data center jobs for who is hiring on those projects.
Why is permanent headcount so small?
Because a data center is built to hold equipment, not people. A few reasons stand out:
- Automation and remote monitoring. Building management and monitoring systems watch thousands of points around the clock, so a small on-site team can respond to alarms.
- Shift coverage, not crowds. Sites run 24/7, but each shift needs a core team rather than a large workforce. See how data center operations work.
- Vendors and contractors. Specialized work, such as UPS, generator, and chiller service, is often done by manufacturer technicians and contractors who visit many sites.
- Size is measured in megawatts. A building can grow in power and equipment without adding many people, which is why jobs per square foot look low.
Small does not mean unimportant. These teams keep critical systems running, and JLARC found that both operations and construction workers earn average or above-average wages.
What are indirect and induced jobs?
Most big job numbers you see for data centers include jobs away from the site. Economic impact studies split them into three groups:
- Direct jobs: people employed by the data center industry itself (and, in construction-phase estimates, the construction workers).
- Indirect jobs: jobs at suppliers, such as materials, equipment, utilities, and professional services.
- Induced jobs: jobs supported when direct and supplier workers spend their pay at local businesses, such as restaurants and stores.
These indirect and induced figures are estimates from input-output models such as IMPLAN or REMI, not head counts. They tell you how much activity a sector supports, not how many people are on a payroll at the site. JLARC's appendix cautioned that the standard IMPLAN sector for data centers does not match real data center spending well, for example underweighting electricity and overweighting employee compensation, which may inflate induced impacts.
What do economic impact studies report?
They report large totals, and the definitions behind them matter as much as the numbers. Here are the primary studies we could verify, with who funded or prepared each one.
| Study | Funded or prepared by | Scope | Jobs finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Centers in Virginia (Dec. 2024) | JLARC, Virginia's legislative audit agency; economic analysis by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center, commissioned by JLARC staff | Virginia, annual average FY21-FY23 | About 74,000 total jobs: 59,000 from construction (35,000 direct) and 15,000 from operations (4,400 direct employees). Just over 1 percent of statewide employment. |
| Economic Contributions of Data Centers in the United States, 2023-2024 (May 2026) | PwC, commissioned by the Data Center Coalition (the industry trade association) | United States and all states | 1,005,080 direct jobs in 2024 and 5.5 million total jobs including indirect and induced effects; each direct job supports about 4.5 others. |
| One mid-sized data center analysis (Oct. 2026) | U.S. Chamber of Commerce, using the REMI PI+ model | One modeled mid-sized facility | More than 5,200 jobs per year statewide during a two-year construction phase; a typical 50 MW data center supports 740 jobs per year statewide over a 20-year operating life. |
| Data Centers: Jobs and Opportunities in Communities Nationwide (June 2017) | U.S. Chamber Technology Engagement Center; prepared by ndp | analytics | 244 large data centers owned by 10 companies | 1,688 local workers on average during construction; 157 local jobs per year in operation, at the data center and along the supply chain. |
| Quantum Frederick campus study (2023) | Sage Policy Group, commissioned by the Maryland Tech Council | One planned Maryland campus | About 1,700 jobs projected at completion. |
How to read these numbers
- Check the definition of "direct." PwC's 2026 study uses an expanded, function-based definition that counts data center services wherever they are produced, including IT services establishments outside the core data center industry code. That is much broader than the people working inside data center buildings.
- Separate construction from operations. JLARC shows most of the impact comes from construction, which depends on continued building.
- Remember that "supported" is not "created." Model-based totals estimate activity linked to the sector, statewide or nationally, not new jobs in the host town.
- Look at who paid. Industry-funded studies are not necessarily wrong, but they are written to show benefits. Government reviews like JLARC's also weigh costs, such as energy and land use.
What kinds of jobs does a data center create?
JLARC lists the construction occupations as site developers and surveyors, equipment operators for land clearing and leveling, workers who erect steel frames and concrete walls, electricians installing cabling, equipment, and generators, and pipefitters and HVAC technicians installing piping and cooling equipment. Commissioning agents and safety staff work alongside them near the end.
Operations jobs include facility managers, engineers, data center technicians, critical facilities and maintenance technicians, electricians, controls technicians, and security officers. Indiana's announcement for Google's Fort Wayne site listed facilities roles, data center technicians, and support services such as security, catering, and grounds keeping. Our guide to data center jobs explains each role, and data center technician covers the most common entry point.
Which of these jobs fits you? Answer a few questions and get matched to a role family and training track.
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Frequently asked questions
How many permanent jobs does a data center create?
Fewer than most people expect. Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that a typical 250,000-square-foot data center has about 50 full-time workers, about half of them contractors. Large multi-building campuses publish bigger numbers: Meta lists roughly 100 to 400 operational jobs at most of its U.S. campuses and about 1,000 at its largest, in Louisiana.
How many jobs does a data center provide during construction?
Many more than in operations. Virginia's JLARC reported about 1,500 workers on site at the height of construction for a data center facility. Meta lists 1,000 to 2,000 skilled trade workers at peak for most of its campuses, and the largest AI campuses report several thousand, such as more than 7,500 at Meta's Richland Parish, Louisiana, site.
How long do data center construction jobs last?
JLARC reports that one data center building usually takes about 12 to 18 months to build, and a full campus can take five or more years. Individual trades may be on site for only part of that time, but workers often move from building to building on a campus, or from one campus to the next.
Why do data centers create so few permanent jobs?
A data center is full of equipment, not people. Systems are monitored remotely and run around the clock with small shift teams, and specialized maintenance is often done by visiting vendors and contractors. JLARC compared one worker per 5,000 square feet in a typical data center with one per 650 square feet in some distribution centers.
Who pays for data center economic impact studies?
Many are commissioned by industry groups. The national PwC studies were commissioned by the Data Center Coalition, the industry's trade association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has published its own analyses. Government reviews, such as Virginia's 2024 JLARC study, are independent of the industry. Check who paid for a study and how it defines direct jobs before comparing numbers.
Sources
- Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (Virginia), Data Centers in Virginia, December 9, 2024 (economic analysis by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service).
- Data Center Coalition, 2026 Impact Study: Economic Contributions of U.S. Data Centers, 2023-2024 (prepared by PwC), May 2026; see also DCC reports and publications.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, One Mid-Sized Data Center Can Generate Nearly $700 Million in Economic Output and Support 5,200 Jobs, October 15, 2026.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber Report: Data Centers Average $32.5 Million Economic Impact, June 15, 2017.
- Maryland Association of Counties, Tech Council study: Frederick data center represents $41M in annual county tax revenue, 1,700 jobs, November 2, 2023.
- Meta, U.S. data center locations (reviewed October 2026).
- Microsoft, Made in Wisconsin: The world's most powerful AI datacenter, September 18, 2025.
- Latitude Media, OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers announce Stargate data center site in Wisconsin, October 2025.
- SoftBank Group, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites, September 2025.
- Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Gov. Holcomb announces Google is building a $2B data center in northeast Indiana, April 26, 2024.
- KAIT, Google breaks ground on $4B data center in West Memphis, October 2, 2025.
- The Associated Press via 13 ABC, Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, June 26, 2023.
- Atlanta News First, Amazon subsidiary pledges $11 billion to build more data and AI infrastructure in Georgia, January 8, 2025.
- WHSV, Amazon Web Services plans to invest $35 billion in Virginia by 2040, January 20, 2023.
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Read the guide →This page is general educational information, not economic, legal, or investment advice. Figures come from the cited sources, use different methods and definitions, and can change. Data Center Training is not affiliated with any company, agency, or organization named here.