Data-center boom lifts county wages 69% as AI buildout accelerates

Data-center construction tied to the AI boom is delivering outsized labor-market gains in host communities, with Loudoun County, Virginia employment up 17.4% since early 2020 while neighboring Washington suburbs shed jobs.

"We're witnessing demand levels that continue to exceed even industry insiders' expectations," Andy Cvengros, co-lead of JLL's U.S. data center markets team, said in a statement.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data through March shows Loudoun's construction workforce grew 63% since early 2020, versus single-digit gains in Fairfax and Arlington counties. Permitted data-center space in the county increased roughly 150% between 2020 and 2025. Average weekly wages for leisure and hospitality workers rose 69% in Loudoun, double the rate in neighboring jurisdictions. In Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta's data-center project has driven private employment up 41% since the first quarter of last year, with construction weekly wages up 182%.

The economic dividends arrive as political opposition to data centers intensifies. President Trump drew criticism for suggesting communities that block data centers will end up "backwards and poor," and voter opposition has made data centers a midterm campaign issue. If opposition slows future buildout, the labor-market gains could stall.

The BLS data paints a stark contrast across the Washington region. Employment grew 1% or less in Fairfax County, Virginia and Prince George's County, Maryland since early 2020. Arlington County, Virginia lost 7.3% of jobs and Montgomery County, Maryland shed 5.6%. Loudoun's leisure and hospitality employment rose 6.8% while declining in every other D.C. suburb tracked.

Construction jobs in Loudoun grew 63% since early 2020, far outpacing Fairfax's 6.3%, Arlington's 8.2%, Prince George's 8.3%, and Montgomery's 12.8% decline. The spillover effects extend to wages: average weekly pay for leisure and hospitality workers in Loudoun rose 69%, more than double the 26% to 31% range seen in neighboring counties.

Richland Parish offers an even more dramatic case. The rural Louisiana farming community has seen its construction workforce rise more than tenfold in a single year, with average weekly wages up 182% — an annual increase of roughly $86,000 for construction workers. Leisure and hospitality employment grew 21.5%, with weekly wages in that industry up 34%.

Political headwinds mount

The prosperity story runs against a growing political backlash. Trump's "backwards and poor" comment drew condemnation, but the underlying tension is real: data centers consume enormous amounts of power and land, and communities increasingly push back on new projects. The issue has become a midterm campaign talking point, and statehouses are weighing new restrictions on data center development.

The construction pipeline remains enormous despite these headwinds. JLL reports more than 66 gigawatts of data center capacity under construction across North America — enough to more than double existing inventory. CBRE found capacity under construction in primary markets climbed 24.8% in the first half of this year to a record high. Vacancy across North America sits at just 1%, with more than 80% of under-construction capacity already preleased.

But the geography is shifting. Frontier markets now account for 77% of the construction pipeline, up from 64% in the second half of last year, as builders move away from traditional hubs where power constraints and community opposition have become bottlenecks. Texas could overtake Virginia as the world's largest data center market by the end of the decade, according to JLL projections.

For hyperscalers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google, the labor-market dividend strengthens the case for continued capital expenditure. AWS operates a major presence in Loudoun County, and Meta's Richland project demonstrates the model works in rural communities. But if political opposition translates into permitting delays and zoning restrictions, the pace of buildout — and the associated job creation — could slow.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.