Recent Release | 24 Apr 2018

Google Data Centers: Economic Impact and Community Benefit

Economic Consulting Team

Oxford Economics

As of the date of this report, six data centre campuses provide the technological infrastructure necessary to power Google’s operations in the United States. The data centres allow Google to provide search engine, cloud computing, and other web-based services on which so much economic activity now depends. In addition to enabling Google to offer these services to people and businesses throughout the United States, the data centres also contribute significantly to job growth and income gains at both the national and state levels.

Even more important are the economic contributions that Google data centres make to the communities in which they are located. The report details the economic impact and community benefits of these centres.

Key takeaways include:

In 2016, Google data centres generated $1.3 billion in economic activity, $750 million
in labour income, and 11,000 jobs throughout the United States.
Google data centres create economic opportunity well beyond the campus itself.
The employment impact of Google data centres is widespread at the state level and
higher than is often supposed.
New analysis in this report finds that the opening of a Google data centre has
a significant benefit on the local economy.
Google’s long-term commitment to take power from renewable energy sources has
economic as well as environmental benefit.
Beyond these measurable effects, the addition of a Google data centre also ripples
through local economies in other, less easily quantifiable ways.

Read the full report

About the team

Our economic consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. The lead consultant on this project was:

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