Oregon Disconnects — The Real Cost of Oregon's Data Center Boom

What the industry says vs. what the numbers actually show

They claim: 65,530 jobs

<80

Jobs per facility on average, using the industry's own 9,300 figure across 120+ sites

Oregon Center for Public Policy, 2026

They claim: $1B+ in tax revenue

$520K

Up to $520,000 per employee per year in public subsidies at some Oregon data center facilities

Oregon Center for Public Policy, 2026

They claim: 550% efficiency gain

+17%

Growth in global data center electricity demand in 2025 alone — AI facilities climbed even faster

International Energy Agency, 2025

They claim: clean energy leaders

40%

Of The Dalles' entire water supply consumed by Google's data center campus alone

Rolling Stone, 2024

They claim: $727M funds libraries

$140M

Lost by the Hillsboro School District in foregone tax revenue

Oregon Center for Public Policy, 2026

Photo: The Oregonian / OregonLive

Economic Impact

The $450 Million Dollar Question

Oregon Connects claims: Data centers generate "$10.4 billion in total GDP impact" and "over $1 billion in annual state and local tax revenue." Their source: a study commissioned by the data center industry itself.

The headline numbers look impressive... until you look at what Oregon gives back.

Research by Good Jobs First finds that tax subsidies "play almost no role in data center site location decisions" — companies choose Oregon for cheap electricity and favorable climate, not incentives. (Good Jobs First)
Oregon returned approximately $450 million in property tax breaks to data centers in 2026, according to The Oregonian as cited by OCPP. (OCPP, 2026)
Local officials and community advocates estimate the Hillsboro School District may have lost upwards of $140 million in revenue it would otherwise have collected from data center properties. (OCPP, 2026)
Crook County Schools saw a net loss of $29 million from tax abatement programs in 2024, according to the policy resource center Good Jobs First. (The Bend Source)
Tax breaks in some Oregon jurisdictions are locked in through 2051 — a 25-year subsidy regardless of how community needs change. (Hillsboro Herald)

Community members opposing data center development in La Pine, Oregon

Photo: The Bend Source / Eli Zatz

Job Creation

9,300 Direct Jobs Across 120+ Facilities

Oregon Connects claims: Data centers support "65,530 jobs across the state" and "9,300 direct workers," with each position supporting approximately six additional jobs and contributing "$5.6 billion in annual labor income."

The "permanent" jobs are not what they appear.

The industry's own figure of 9,300 direct workers spread across Oregon's 120+ data centers works out to fewer than 80 jobs per facility on average — and individual facilities often employ far fewer. A typical facility employs approximately 30 permanent on-site workers for a building the size of a big-box store. (OCPP, 2026)
Construction jobs are real but short-lived: "following construction, the jobs slow to a trickle, while the tax breaks remain longer." (The Bend Source)
X's facility in Washington County employs just 18 people — yet received over $300,000 in property tax breaks per worker in 2022. (The Oregonian, Mike Rogoway, as cited by OCPP)
Community advocates have estimated that some Hillsboro facilities cost up to $520,000 per employee per year in foregone tax revenue. (Hillsboro News Times, 2026)
The 65,530 figure relies on speculative "induced" economic multiplier effects spread across the entire state — the same methodology used to make almost any large capital project appear transformative on paper.
Prime industrial land in the Portland area has been absorbed by data centers, while research by The Oregonian found that almost none of Oregon's enterprise zone tax breaks are going to chipmakers — despite Oregon being a leader in semiconductor manufacturing. (Data Center Knowledge)

PGE electricity demand growth without data centers — Oregon CUB chart

Chart: Oregon CUB

Energy Efficiency

That Efficiency Stat Is Six Years Old

Oregon Connects claims: "Computing workloads increased nearly 550 percent between 2010 and 2018" while "electricity consumption grew only six percent." Implication: data centers have their power footprint under control.

That pre-AI-era statistic describes a world that no longer exists.

The 2010–2018 efficiency comparison is drawn from a pre-AI-era dataset. In 2025, global data center electricity demand surged 17% in a single year — AI-focused facilities climbed even faster. (IEA, 2025)
Global data center electricity consumption is projected to more than double from 415 TWh in 2024 to ~945 TWh by 2030. (IEA Energy & AI Report, 2025)
Oregon data centers already consume roughly 11% of the state's electricity and within three to four years "could be using up to a quarter of the state's electricity." (KLCC, 2026)
A single AI hyperscale data center can draw up to 1 gigawatt of electricity — the consumption equivalent of a mid-sized city. (Columbia Riverkeeper)
Residential Oregon power bills are already 50% higher than they were in 2020. Before the 2025 POWER Act, data centers paid ~8¢/kWh while households paid ~20¢. (Bend Source)

Manure lagoon near data center sites in Morrow County, Oregon

Photo: Rolling Stone

Clean Energy & Water

The Green Claims Don't Hold Water

Oregon Connects claims: Data centers represent "two-thirds of the total U.S. corporate renewables market" and four of the top five U.S. renewable energy purchasers operate data centers.

Buying a Renewable Energy Certificate is not the same as running on clean power — and no REC addresses the water crisis already underway.

Oregon's grid is hydro-heavy — but that advantage is being consumed. Data center growth has exhausted the region's surplus clean hydroelectric capacity, forcing Northwest utilities to buy "dirty unspecified power" from out-of-state fossil fuel plants to cover the gap. A Renewable Energy Certificate purchased by a data center doesn't change what's actually flowing through the wires. (Oregon CUB)
Nationally, data center demand has slowed the retirement of coal plants that utilities had already scheduled for closure. At the 2022 retirement pace the U.S. was on track for a coal-free grid by 2040; at the current pace, coal plants will linger until 2065 — a 25-year setback. (The Register, citing Energy Transition at Risk (US PIRG / Environment America), 2026)
In Morrow County, eastern Oregon, agricultural runoff had already contaminated the groundwater for decades — then data centers arrived and made it worse. Data center discharge water has tested at 56 parts per million nitrates — eight times Oregon's safety limit of 7 ppm. A 2022 sampling found 68 of 70 area wells violating safety thresholds, averaging four times the federal limit. The contamination has been linked to miscarriages, kidney disease, cancer, and birth defects. (WaterWatch Oregon / Rolling Stone)
300 miles away in The Dalles, a separate but equally stark problem: Google's data center campus alone uses approximately 40% of the city's entire water supply. (Rolling Stone)

Photo: Wired

National Security & Oregon

Oregon Bears the Costs. The "Benefits" Are National.

Oregon Connects claims: Keeping data infrastructure in the U.S. "ensures data security" and Oregon data centers underpin U.S. AI competitiveness and national security interests.

National security is a concern but not a justification for Oregon communities to absorb costs that benefit the entire country.

National security benefits are diffuse and shared by all Americans. The water pollution, rising utility bills, and lost school funding land exclusively on Oregon ratepayers and school districts.
Oregon is already the second-largest data center market in the United States, behind only Virginia. No additional subsidies are required to keep Oregon "competitive" for this industry. (Columbia Riverkeeper)
Data center facilities occupy roughly 10 acres under roof with minimal staffing, displacing industrial land that planners want for semiconductor manufacturers — an industry that employs far more people at significantly higher wages. (OCPP, 2026)
In one Oregon county, eight government employees collectively devote thousands of hours per year just to administer tax incentive programs — a hidden cost borne by local taxpayers. (GovTech)
Data center growth could "squash dam removal efforts and threaten salmon recovery" as utilities scramble to meet power demand — undercutting decades of Pacific Northwest environmental progress. (Columbia Riverkeeper)

Oregon Deserves the Full Story

The industry has a well-funded lobbying operation and a commissioned study. Oregon communities have the facts. Read the independent reporting and make your voice heard.

Contact Your Legislator Read the Coverage

Organizations doing the work

Columbia Riverkeeper WaterWatch Oregon Oregon Center for Public Policy Oregon CUB KLCC Podcast

Ratepayers. Farmers.
Schools. Watersheds.
Oregon.

The $450 Million Dollar Question

9,300 Direct Jobs Across 120+ Facilities

That Efficiency Stat Is Six Years Old

The Green Claims Don't Hold Water

Oregon Bears the Costs. The "Benefits" Are National.

Oregon Deserves the Full Story

In The News

Ratepayers. Farmers.Schools. Watersheds.Oregon.

The $450 Million Dollar Question

9,300 Direct Jobs Across 120+ Facilities

That Efficiency Stat Is Six Years Old

The Green Claims Don't Hold Water

Oregon Bears the Costs. The "Benefits" Are National.

Oregon Deserves the Full Story

In The News

Ratepayers. Farmers.
Schools. Watersheds.
Oregon.