Data centers are rapidly springing up all over the Buckeye State.
A 2026 report from Colliers, a Toronto-based firm, named the Columbus area as one of the nation’s “key” data center markets and noted how fast the sites are being built for Google, Meta, Amazon and other companies.
“Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and sits at a strategic geographic midpoint between Midwest and East Coast markets. With nearly two‑thirds of the U.S. population within 500 miles, the metro is positioned roughly equidistant from both Chicago and Ashburn, and within reach of New York, reinforcing its role as a bridge market for cost‑ and latency‑sensitive deployments,” the report, “Facilitating AI with Unprecedented Infrastructure Investment,” reads.
Some see data centers as critical to Ohio’s economic and technological future.
But far from everyone is excited about the structures that house servers and other equipment needed for AI and other digital infrastructure.
Residents of several communities are fighting against the centers, worried about noise and the impact on soil, water, energy, and home values with little economic reward for communities.
There are particular concerns about the impact on rural and small-town Ohio.
Sunbury in April joined a growing list of Ohio communities with bans or moratoriums on new data centers.
A group is circulating petitions statewide seeking signatures for a constitutional amendment that would ban new large data centers.
As part of the ongoing debate, we offer three perspectives for today’s Conversation.
What do you think?
Take our quick poll. Join in the conversation by sending a letter to the editor to Letters@Dispatch.com. Include your full name, address and phone number.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will data centers be a boon for Ohio or bust it? Tell us your thoughts | Opinion poll
Reporting by Amelia Robinson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
