---
title: "US data center opposition nearly doubled in one year"
url: https://www.parallelquant.com/posts/us-data-center-opposition-nearly-doubled-in-one-year-7ca508
source_name: "The Decoder"
source_url: https://the-decoder.com/data-center-opposition-surged-from-42-to-75-percent-in-just-one-year-survey-finds/
published: 2026-08-21T18:25:44.000Z
topics: ["policy", "infrastructure"]
publisher: "Parallel Quant"
---

# US data center opposition nearly doubled in one year

*2026-08-21 · Source: [The Decoder](https://the-decoder.com/data-center-opposition-surged-from-42-to-75-percent-in-just-one-year-survey-finds/)*

A Heatmap News survey finds 75% of Americans now oppose having a data center built near them, up from an even split about a year ago. 61% describe themselves as "strongly opposed."

**Why it matters:** This tracks with concrete local pushback already seen this year, including a Virginia county curbing data center expansion and Greater Manchester resisting a Palantir health-data deal, suggesting hyperscalers' land and power grabs are becoming a political liability rather than a niche NIMBY issue. Rising opposition could slow the buildout pace AI compute demand currently assumes, compounding the same power and grid bottlenecks behind recent memory and chip price surges.

**Topics:** policy, infrastructure

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Read the original: https://the-decoder.com/data-center-opposition-surged-from-42-to-75-percent-in-just-one-year-survey-finds/
Canonical: https://www.parallelquant.com/posts/us-data-center-opposition-nearly-doubled-in-one-year-7ca508
Published by Parallel Quant — https://www.parallelquant.com