Poll shows widespread opposition to data centers and growing public anxiety over AI's impact
A Rutgers-Eagleton poll found that most New Jersey residents believe data centers’ electricity and water demands outweigh their economic benefits. Large majorities oppose building data centers in their own town, a neighboring county, or anywhere in the state, while many residents also express concern about artificial intelligence’s environmental and economic effects.
A Rutgers-Eagleton Poll of 1,004 New Jersey adults found broad opposition to new data center construction. Fifty-five percent of respondents said data centers’ costs, including high electricity and water consumption and possible utility rate increases, outweigh their job and tax benefits; only 11% said the benefits outweigh the costs.
Opposition was reported across geographic levels, with 72% opposed to a data center in their own town or city, 64% opposed to one in a neighboring county and 62% opposed to new facilities statewide. Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, said no demographic group reached majority support for data centers. The poll also found substantial concern about artificial intelligence’s effects on the environment, jobs and education despite widespread daily use of AI tools.