# Data center opposition surged from 42 to 75 percent in just one year, survey finds > Source: > Published: 2026-08-21 18:25:44+00:00 # Data center opposition surged from 42 to 75 percent in just one year, survey finds **75 percent of Americans now oppose building a data center near them, according to a Heatmap News survey.** 61 percent are "strongly opposed." A year ago, opinion was nearly even at 43 percent in favor and 42 percent against. A slim majority first emerged in February. [Heatmap News journalist Robinson Meyer](https://x.com/robinsonmeyer/status/2090457322506141760) calls it "a swift, massive shift." The survey asked the same question repeatedly over the past year. Breakdowns by party and urban-rural splits are in the [full report at Heatmap News](https://heatmap.news/daily/data-center-opposition-poll-collapse). The numbers roughly match a [Gallup poll from May](https://the-decoder.com/americans-would-rather-live-next-to-a-nuclear-plant-than-an-ai-data-center-gallup-poll-finds/), which found 71 percent opposed, 48 percent "strongly." Data centers now [rank above racism and Israel](https://the-decoder.com/ai-and-data-centers-have-leapfrogged-israel-racism-and-crypto-as-us-campaign-topics/) as a campaign issue. The top concerns are local power costs, water use, and land use. ``` AI News Without the Hype – Curated by Humans Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive "AI Radar" frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section. Subscribe now ``` Source: