Michigan Data Center Opposition Tops National Average

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/20/2026) Michigan residents are more aware of data centers and more likely to oppose one being built in their community than Americans nationally, according to Michigan State University survey findings presented Tuesday.

About 70% of respondents to MSU’s Summer 2026 State of the State Survey said they strongly or somewhat oppose the development of a data center in their community, compared to 65% nationally in a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst poll. Eleven percent of Michigan respondents expressed some level of support.

Doug Bessette, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Community Sustainability who led the survey work through the university’s Energy Values Lab, said the difference is not huge, but Michigan has several reasons to be paying closer attention.

He pointed to the number of projects proposed in Michigan, the ongoing political debate over the industry and, specifically, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's role in the controversial Saline data center.

He also pointed to growing opposition to large-scale solar developments, saying the two issues have increasingly become linked in the public debate.

“I think the fact that it's a political season and that we're a purple state and there's an election going on,” Bessette said of the national difference. “I think that there have been more data centers proposed here in Michigan than across many of the states, so there's just more attention being paid to it.”

The findings were presented as part of the City of East Lansing’s Data Week, running Oct. 19 through Oct. 22. MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) presented State of the State Survey findings on Michiganders’ attitudes toward data centers and the AI economy. IPPSR Director Matt Grossmann joined Bessette for Tuesday’s presentation.

Beyond general opposition, respondents were skeptical about data centers’ effects on both the environment and the economy.

About 72% said data centers would be mostly or somewhat bad for Michigan’s environment, while 59% said they would be mostly or somewhat bad for the state’s economy.

More than three-quarters, 77%, also predicted data centers would raise their home energy costs, including 55% who said they would raise costs “a lot.”

Residents were considerably more unified on local control: 83% said local governments should have at least some say in permitting data centers, including 52% who said they should have “a lot” of say. The study notes that Michigan municipalities can regulate data centers through zoning ordinances but cannot enact outright bans on the developments.

Respondents were more divided over the state’s financial incentives for the industry. Forty-six percent said Michigan should not provide financial incentives for data center development, while 41% supported incentives in some form. Most of those supporters – 35% of all respondents – said incentives should only be available if operators meet certain requirements.

The politics surrounding data centers, Grossmann said, have shifted quickly. He recalled that just a few years ago, the primary state policy debate was over how much Michigan should incentivize the industry.

“It’s kind of amazing how far the politicians have run from that original debate to where we are now,” Grossmann said.

Opposition also crossed party lines, although Democrats and Independents were more opposed than Republicans. About 76% of Democrats and 72% of Independents opposed a data center in their community, compared to 58% of Republicans.

The survey additionally found 71% were concerned that a data center built in their community would attract other large-scale development, such as a solar facility.

Grossmann also presented a study of Michigan voters and the 2026 election, including data showing how strongly views of President Donald Trump are shaping races further down the ballot.

“If you know someone's opinion of state government, you know almost nothing about who they're going to vote for state legislator,” Grossmann said. “But if you know their opinion of Donald Trump, you know almost everything about who they're going to vote for."

The survey also asked whether Trump’s endorsement would make respondents more or less likely to support a candidate. Grossmann said nearly half said an endorsement from Trump would make them much less likely to support a candidate, while another 7% said it would make them somewhat less likely.

Still, Grossmann said there are voters who do not fit neatly into that pattern. Some respondents who view Trump negatively still support Republican Mike Rogers in the U.S. Senate race, while some who are not strongly opposed to Trump support Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

The State of the State Survey is an IPPSR public opinion survey of Michigan adults. The latest data center findings were based on roughly 1,000 respondents.