Rural Americans are increasingly fed up with data centers

Rural Americans are antagonistic toward new data centers near them, according to a new Pew Research poll. Bloomberg/Getty Images A growing share of Americans living in rural areas aren't happy with data centers. Most data centers are built in rural areas. Data centers are facing a public reckoning amid bipartisan pushback. Americans living in rural areas are increasingly souring on data centers . In a new poll by the Pew Research Center, which surveyed people in August, half of rural Americans said data centers "are mostly bad for the environment" — a figure substantially higher than in January, when it sat at 32%. 46% of those respondents also said that data centers would drive up home energy costs, up from 32% in January. 45% said they negatively impact the quality of life for those living nearby, while 28% said so in January.