Rural America mounts fierce resistance to AI data center expansion, creating political vulnerability for Trump administration

According to Pew Research Center, 67 percent of planned data centers are in rural areas, while 87 percent of existing data centers are in urban ones. More than 160 new AI-focused data centers have been built across the US in the past three years, a roughly 70 percent increase on the total, according to Bloomberg data.

In Tazewell County, Illinois, residents launched opposition campaigns against a data center proposal by Western Hospitality Partners over concerns about water depletion from a shared aquifer; the project was scrapped after several months. Similar organized opposition has emerged across rural areas from Illinois to West Virginia, with some incidents including shots fired at a lawmaker's home in Indiana.

Data centers already account for 80 percent of private sector growth in the first half of 2025, according to S&P Global. However, environmental groups report that most data center projects lack transparency about water use and intend to build gas-fired plants, raising concerns about air and water pollution in rural counties.