Data-center worries rise across party lines in University of Illinois survey analysis

Worries about the local costs of AI infrastructure are growing across party lines, even among Republicans who see more potential benefits from new data centers. A University of Illinois analysis published October 21 found rising concern about electricity costs, water use and farmland conversion between February and August 2026 across all three political groups surveyed.

The findings draw on two waves of the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey. Researchers Mark White, Sarah Low, Jonathan Coppess and Maria Kalaitzandonakes compared people who identified as Democrats, Republicans or Independents/Others. They looked at two questions: concern about possible harms and optimism about potential local gains.

Farmland concern rose the most

Democrats expressed the greatest concern in August. More than 60% were very worried about each of the three potential impacts: higher electricity costs, overuse of water and agricultural land being converted to data-center use. Their average concern rating exceeded 5.5 on a seven-point scale for every issue.

Republicans and Independents/Others were less concerned than Democrats, but worry was still widespread. Nearly 57% in each group were very worried about electricity costs. The shares expressing that level of concern about water use and farmland conversion clustered around 50%.

The change over the six-month interval was especially pronounced for farmland. Conversion of agricultural land produced the largest increase in the share who were very worried across all three political groups. In February, electricity costs among Democrats had been the only issue-group combination where that share exceeded half.

Republicans see more potential upside

The August wave also asked respondents to imagine a new data center being built in their area. They rated four possible benefits: increased local tax revenue, jobs at the facility, more business for local firms and suppliers, and improvements to roads, utilities and broadband.

Republicans were more likely than the other groups to be very optimistic about every benefit, especially increased local tax revenue. Independents/Others were least optimistic: the analysis found that only 20% were very optimistic about the potential benefits. The questions asked about a hypothetical local data center, not benefits from an operating project.

How the survey measured the divide

Each wave recruited 1,000 U.S. adults through Qualtrics to complete an online questionnaire. Quotas aimed to match the national population by region, income, age and gender. Republicans made up 34% of respondents in both waves. Democrats accounted for 34% in February and 37% in August; Independents/Others made up 32% and 29%, respectively.

Both waves asked about potential harms using a scale from one, meaning not at all worried, to seven, meaning extremely worried. The researchers counted responses of six or seven as very worried. The benefits question appeared only in August, so it provides a partisan comparison—not a February-to-August measure of changing optimism.

Optimism used the same seven-point structure, with six or seven classified as very optimistic. The order of items within both question sets was randomized to reduce order bias. The researchers said the Gardner survey would continue monitoring attitudes toward AI and data-center development, including after the election.