Members of the Energy Values Lab at MSU have published a short report containing key findings from a portion of the Summer 2026 Michigan State of the State Survey (SOSS 94). The SOSS is administered by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) of Michigan State University and is a public opinion survey of adult citizens in Michigan. The analyses, interpretations, and conclusions below and in this report are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of IPPSR or of Michigan State University.
The report focuses on residents’ perceptions of and support for data center development in Michigan.
Key Findings Include:
- 4 out of 5 respondents in Michigan have either heard or read about data centers
- 70% of Michigan respondents oppose the construction of data centers in their community
- Nearly 3 out of 4 respondents think data centers are bad for Michigan’s environment and economy
- 83% of respondents want local governments to have a say in permitting data centers
- 71% of respondents are concerned about additional large-scale development brought about by data centers
- Over three-quarters of respondents expect data centers to increase their home energy costs
- Respondents are split on whether state financial incentives should be provided for data center development
- Opposition to data centers is bipartisan, though opposition is stronger amongst Democrats and Independents than Republicans
The report is free to download and distribute; however, please cite the report as follows:
Swanson, T., D. Horowitz, P. Borgess, & D. Bessette (September 2026). Michigan residents opposition to data center development. SOSS 94. Institute for Public Policy & Social Research. Energy Values Lab. Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI.
The report was authored by Tyler Swanson, a PhD student in the Department of Community Sustainability; Danny Horowitz, an undergraduate student in the College of Engineering; Paul Borgess, an undergraduate student in the College of Social Science, and Doug Bessette, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability.
Any errors, omissions or inaccuracies are the responsibility of, and inquiries should be addressed to, Doug Bessette, at bessett6@msu.edu.
The SOSS 94 relies on YouGov interviews of 1196 Michigan Residents who were then matched down to a sample of 1000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The sampling frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the Michigan subsample of the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file)
Data availability (currently embargoed): Michigan State University Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. (2026). State of the State Survey 94 [Data file and code book]. Retrieved from http://ippsr.msu.edu/soss/
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Energy Values Lab 