Solid majorities of Michigan's local officials say their residents would strongly oppose data center development in or near their communities, and believe governmental regulation of such centers should be a very high priority.
Those are among the key findings from the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted by the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy.
The survey finds 55% of officials expect strong opposition from residents to data centers, and 59% think prioritizing their regulation should be a very high priority. Fewer local leaders responding to the survey say they personally would strongly oppose local data centers (38%), but opposition still far outpaces support (13%).
Significant differences also emerge between officials from urban and rural communities: Among local officials in rural communities, 12% agree that data centers' benefits outweigh the costs, while 53% disagree. Conversely, 40% of officials in urban areas agree and 18% disagree.
Other major takeaways:
- 60% of local leaders believe large-scale data centers will have a negative impact on Michigan's freshwater supply, and majorities say data centers will negatively affect utility bills for ratepayers in affected communities, public health, quality of life and electric grid reliability.
- 51% believe data center development will have a positive impact on temporary construction jobs and 32% say data centers will positively affect local property tax revenues in communities where data centers are built.
- Over half of respondents believe a variety of resources would be very useful to their governments related developing or implementing policies on data centers. They include models from other communities, guidance on negotiating with developers, coordination with the county government and local units, resident engagement strategies and clarification of state standards.
The report notes there are currently about 60-80 large-scale data centers in communities across the state. Among the three-quarters of jurisdictions saying they have enough potential land available for data centers, 5% have one or more formal ordinances related to them and over half of communities are developing or plan to develop ordinances.
"When it comes to data centers, many local officials feel like they're between a rock and a hard place," said Stephanie Leiser, CLOSUP's director and one of the report's co-authors. "On one hand, they're facing vocal opposition or outright revolt from their residents who are demanding they stop any data centers from being built. On the other, they're facing the daunting prospect of fighting expensive and protracted legal battles with deep-pocketed data center developers.
"Meanwhile, the state is sitting on the sidelines, after having passed data center tax incentives two years ago."
The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at U-M's Ford School of Public Policy conducts the survey each spring. The 2026 edition gathered information between March and June, through its census survey of 1,856 general purpose local governments statewide.
Respondents include city, township, village and county officials from 1,328 jurisdictions, representing a 72% response rate by unit.
