Gallup Poll: 71% Oppose Local AI Data Centers, Preferring Nuclear

A new Gallup survey shows that more than 70 percent of Americans would oppose construction of a data center in their local area, with nearly half describing themselves as strongly opposed. The findings, drawn from a March 2026 poll of 1,000 adults and an April survey of more than 2,000 Gallup Panel members, mark the first time the organization has measured public attitudes toward these facilities, which have become central to the expansion of artificial intelligence systems.

Opposition exceeds levels recorded for nuclear power plants. Gallup previously found that 53 percent of Americans opposed nuclear facilities nearby. In the new data, only 27 percent of respondents favored data centers in their communities, and just 7 percent said they were strongly in favor. Partisan differences appeared, though majorities in every group expressed resistance: 75 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents, and 63 percent of Republicans.

Respondents who opposed new data centers cited resource demands as their leading concern. Half pointed to effects on water and electricity supplies. A separate Pew Research survey released earlier this month found that 43 percent of Americans view data centers as a major driver of rising electricity bills. Other objections included noise from cooling systems, air pollution from backup generators, and broader quality-of-life impacts such as increased traffic. Among the minority who supported construction, 55 percent named job creation as the primary reason.

Data centers require large tracts of land along with steady access to power and water for cooling. Some operators have installed natural gas turbines on site to meet energy needs, prompting lawsuits over emissions in places such as Mississippi. In Nevada and California, utilities serving the Lake Tahoe region have signaled they will prioritize data centers over residential customers beginning in 2027. These practical burdens help explain why local resistance has already altered industry plans. One tracking project estimates that coordinated opposition has led to the cancellation of at least $156 billion in proposed projects, and more than 260 grassroots groups are now active in 37 states.

Developers continue to advance large facilities in some locations. A $16 billion campus is under construction in Saline, Michigan, for Oracle and OpenAI. Investor Kevin O’Leary has pursued a site in Utah that would cover more than twice the area of Manhattan. Yet the Gallup numbers suggest that such projects will face sustained local scrutiny wherever they are proposed. The poll also indicates that abstract arguments about national competitiveness or technological leadership have not yet overcome concrete worries about costs and disruption in individual communities.

The results arrive as AI companies accelerate spending on compute infrastructure. The survey does not measure overall views of artificial intelligence itself, but negative associations with data centers appear to shape attitudes toward the technology’s physical footprint. Policymakers in several states have already considered moratoriums or stricter permitting rules. Whether those measures expand will depend in part on how clearly the trade-offs between rapid buildout and local impacts are communicated to residents.