2 hours ago
Mar. 17, 2026
New Research from the Pew Research Center American Trends Panel (ATP). The Pew Research Center works with SSRS to recruit panelists, manage the panel and conduct ATP surveys.
More Americans say data centers have a negative effect on the environment, home energy costs and people’s quality of life nearby than say they have a positive effect. Far more say data centers are mostly bad than good for the environment (39% vs. 4%), home energy costs (38% vs. 6%) and the quality of life for those nearby (30% vs. 6%).
In contrast, Americans are more likely to see positive than negative effects on local jobs and local tax revenue. More adults say data centers are mostly good than bad for local jobs (25% vs. 15%) and local tax revenue (23% vs. 12%).
We surveyed 8,512 U.S. adults from Jan. 20 to 26, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.
Here are the survey questions we used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.
