Data Centers Are Growing in Ohio—Should Homeowners Be Worried?

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Data centers are expanding to support the AI boom, but more homeowners have questions as large facilities increasingly come closer to residential areas.

Ohio is emerging as a major data center market. The state has 91 facilities across 14 counties, accounting for 6.2% of data centers nationwide—placing it in the top five states with the highest number in the country, according to the National Association of REALTORS^®’ newly released 2026 Data Center Impact Report. Ohio added 25 facilities between 2025 and 2026 alone, matching Texas for the largest increase among states.

Central Ohio is at the center of that growth. Licking County more than doubled its number of facilities from 2025 to 2026—jumping from 16 to 34, the largest percentage increase among counties tracked nationwide. The county is part of the growing technology corridor around Columbus and New Albany, where large business parks have attracted technology companies and data centers.

But Does Living Near a Data Center Hurt Home Values?

So far, the research is offering some possible reassurance. NAR’s analysis found no consistent pattern of weaker housing markets in counties with large concentrations of data centers. Actually, counties with data centers generally have higher home values, incomes and employment growth than counties without. But that does not mean data centers caused those outcomes, researchers caution. Some of those characteristics may have existed before facilities arrived and may help explain why the areas attracted them in the first place.

Realtor^®.com’s research similarly found that home values in ZIP codes surrounding new data centers generally tracked with comparable areas without one, even within two years of a facility opening.

The picture is more mixed anecdotally. In the Midwest, which includes Ohio, 23% of real estate agents surveyed by NAR said that nearby data centers prompted residential property values to increase, while 19% reported a decrease and 23% saw no change. Another 33% were unsure, according to NAR’s survey of real estate agents.

Perceived demand from buyers was similarly mixed, with some agents reporting increases, some decreases and more than a quarter seeing no change.

Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com, said the research so far is not showing cause for alarm to residential properties, but she cautions “the facilities coming online next are bigger, more remote and landing in communities with less experience managing an industrial neighbor.”

Why Ohio Communities Are Watching Data Centers Closely

The concern isn’t necessarily the data center building itself. Large facilities can raise questions about electricity demand, water use, traffic, noise, generators and new power infrastructure.

These issues are particularly relevant in Ohio, where residential electric rates rose from 12.42 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2020 to 16.18 cents in 2024, an increase of 30%, according to NAR’s analysis. To help lessen electricity concerns, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved AEP Ohio’s Data Center Tariff, which requires qualifying new, large data centers to pay for a minimum of 85% of their contracted electricity capacity, even if they use less.

As Ohio emerges as a fast-growing market for data centers, home buyers may want to do their homework to ensure they’re comfortable living near one. They may want to check:

• Local zoning and development plans: Are any additional facilities proposed?
• Distance: How close is the property to the facility or planned site?
• Power infrastructure: Are new substations or transmission lines planned?
• Water, traffic or noise: What impacts are expected?
• Utility costs: Could electricity or other local costs change?

For more guidance, check out How to Talk to Home Buyers About Data Centers

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