Data centers contributed more than $9 billion to Ohio’s gross domestic product last year, according to a report announced by the state’s largest business organization. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce supports data centers as economic generators, but said the industry does have work to do in convincing voters.
The report from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation said data centers supported 69,600 jobs last year, with pay and benefits for 14,257 direct jobs averaging $147,700. The report also said $108.8 billion in construction and equipment spending from 2025 through 2030 will support at least 257,100 job-years and $20.1 billion in wages and benefits. And it said $96.50 of every $100 in property taxes stays with local governments, with around $53 going to school districts.
Ohio Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Steve Stivers said the report shows that data centers are a benefit to the state.
"I think the lesson of the 2026 election was pretty clear, but I think it's being a little bit misconstrued. I think voters basically said they don't like the current business model of data centers," said Stivers. "They want to make sure there's real benefits to them, their communities and the residents around them. It's never too late, but I think the industry does need to change its current business model. And I think that's the real lesson of 2026. I don't believe it to be an existential issue today, but if the business practices don't change, I think it will be an existential issue."
The report also said around $1.57 billion dollars in sales tax revenue was foregone because of the state's sales tax exemption for data centers. That exemption was paused by Gov. Mike DeWine in May, and new sales tax exemptions have been halted. The report didn't suggest what should happen going forward, but said a 75% tax exemption could send $20.4 billion in data center investments elsewhere. If the tax break were 25%, the report estimated only $6.8 billion in investment and 16,000 jobs wouldn't have been created in Ohio but state and local revenue would have increased by $1.2 billion.
Data centers were a big issue in several races in last week's election. Democratic Gov.-elect Amy Acton had said she wants a moratorium on data centers unless they pay for their own energy and are constructed only with union labor, among other conditions. A data center bill failed to pass in the legislature earlier this year because of a dispute over that break. But Stivers said he’s hopeful lawmakers will take some action on data centers during the lame duck session.
“Let's get the rules of the road set quickly," Stivers said. "Let's take a take a breath, have the legislature look at it, have the governor-elect when she becomes governor and the legislature worked together and get something done.”
The executive director of the chamber foundation says the data center industry was consulted on the report but it wasn’t directly financed by the industry.
