Over 90% of Public Comments Oppose Data Center Projects, Study Finds

Local opposition to data center construction has reached near-consensus levels across the United States, with more than nine out of ten public comments voiced at municipal meetings opposing proposed facilities, according to an analysis reported by TechRadar Pro.

The findings, compiled by San Francisco-based artificial intelligence startup Prophecy Gov through its American Sentiment project, evaluated 10,202 public comments recorded across 906 government meetings in 417 local jurisdictions spanning 48 states. The researchers found that 90.5% of public submissions opposed data center projects, while only 7% registered support and 2.5% raised questions without taking a definitive stance.

The figures reflect a severe community bottleneck for hyperscale cloud operators and artificial intelligence developers seeking to expand their physical footprints. In nearly three-quarters of the tracked municipal sessions—73%—not a single resident spoke in favor of proposed facilities. Even in jurisdictions where proponents attended, objections still outpaced endorsements by roughly six to one.

Pushback was remarkably consistent across political divides, with Democratic and Republican counties recording virtually identical rates of resistance. The underlying grievances, however, varied by geography. Rural participants focused heavily on the preservation of agricultural land and private property rights, while urban and suburban speakers centered their criticism on rising electricity expenses, pollution, local government transparency, and zoning disclosures.

Water consumption surfaced as the leading specific point of contention. Municipal records highlighted instances where high-density computing complexes strained local utilities, including one project that reportedly consumed 29 million gallons in May 2026, leading adjacent residents to report reduced pressure across municipal water systems. While operators have sought to counter that narrative—Microsoft previously maintained that its newer AI facilities consume an annual water volume comparable to standard restaurants—public skepticism remains elevated.

Despite intense industry focus on generative machine learning models, artificial intelligence was explicitly cited in just 21% of citizen submissions, indicating that pushback is primarily driven by immediate resource competition rather than theoretical debates over AI risk.

Tech industry leaders nonetheless drew frequent personal scrutiny in public records. Elon Musk of SpaceX and xAI drew the highest volume of named mentions, followed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Corporate criticism targeted Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft alongside local development partners.

The analysis also uncovered sharp occupational divides. Labor union members diverged significantly from nearby homeowners: approximately 79% of commenters identifying as union workers backed data center development, citing construction and industrial employment. By contrast, only 3% of local homeowners and property owners favored the developments. Even among employees working directly in the data center sector, only 40% expressed support for constructing additional facilities, underscoring ambivalence within the industry's own workforce.