The tech industry is spending millions to fix data centers' image problem

"With community opposition growing, data center backers are going on a full-scale public relations blitz. Around Christmas in Virginia, which boasts the highest concentration of data centers in the country, one advertisement seemed to air nonstop. "Virginia's data centers are ... investing billions in clean energy," a voiceover intoned over sweeping shots of shiny solar panels. "Creating good-paying jobs" - cue men in yellow safety vests and hard hats - "and building a better energy future.""

"The ad was sponsored by Virginia Connects, an industry-affiliated group that spent at least $700,000 on digital marketing in the state in fiscal year 2024. The spot emphasized that data centers are paying their own energy costs - framing this as a buffer that might help lower residential bills - and portrayed the facilities as engines of local job creation."

"The reality is murkier. Although industry groups claim that each new data center creates "dozens to hundreds" of "high-wage, high-skill jobs," some researchers say data centers generate far fewer jobs than other industries, such as manufacturing and warehousing. Greg LeRoy, the founder of the research and advocacy group Good Jobs First, said that in his first major study of data center jobs nine years ago, he found that developers pocketed well over a million dollars in state subsidies for every permanent job they created. With the rise of hyperscalers, LeRoy said, that number is "still very much in the ballpark." Other experts reflect that finding. A 2025 brief from University of Michigan researchers put it bluntly: "Data centers do not bring high-paying tech jobs to local communities.""

Community opposition to data center growth has prompted an industry public relations push, including heavy advertising in Virginia claiming investments in clean energy and local job creation. Virginia Connects spent at least $700,000 on digital marketing in fiscal 2024. Ads stress that data centers pay their own energy costs and portray facilities as engines of good-paying jobs. Research indicates the economic benefits are limited: data centers often create far fewer permanent, high-paying local jobs than manufacturing or warehousing. Studies and advocates report developers receive large state subsidies per permanent job, sometimes exceeding a million dollars, and university researchers state data centers do not bring high-paying tech jobs to local communities.

Read at Fast Company