Many voters blame AI data centers for rising electricity costs

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

A significant number of American voters are blaming AI data centers for rising energy costs across the country, a new poll reveals.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found 15% of registered voters blame AI data centers for rising electricity costs across the country. Additionally, 22% of voters said companies are using AI data centers as an excuse to raise profits. Combine the two responses and 37% of voters blame rising electricity costs on data centers. That’s compared to 27% of voters who blame general inflation.

The Voters’ Voice Poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights between March 2-5, 2026. The poll sample included 2,569 registered voters, comprising 1,177 Republicans, 1,270 Democrats and 773 independents, of which 330 do not lean toward either major party. It is one of the most comprehensive tracking polls in the U.S.

Mike Noble, founder of Noble Predictive Insights, said he considers responses related to AI data centers as the same. He used the different responses to gauge specific concerns about data centers.

“We had both those in there to see if there is a difference of reasoning behind what people are attributing this to,” Noble said. “I’d say ⅓ agree that data centers are attributing to it.”

Across partisan lines, voters were concerned about data centers or companies using data centers to increase profits, raising electric costs. About 20% of Republican respondents said companies are using AI data centers as an excuse to raise profits, alongside 24% of Democrats and 22% of independents who do not lean toward either major party.

When combined with responses blaming AI data centers, 33% of Republicans said they are raising energy costs, alongside 41% of Democrats and 37% of Independents.

Younger voters are more likely to blame AI data centers for rising electricity costs. About 41% of adults ages 18-29 blame AI data centers to some degree for raising electricity costs, while 35% of adults ages 30-44 said the same. About 40% of voters aged 65 years old or older blame data centers or companies using data centers as an excuse to raise profits for rising electricity costs.

While concerns over AI data centers are high, about 27% of registered voters blame general inflation for rising energy costs.

“The inflation voters are feeling is not only real, it’s probably the most important thing on their mind,” Noble said. “Any policy or decision maker right now should absolutely be factoring inflation in any type of decision they’re making.”

Across partisan lines, Democrats were most concerned about inflation raising electricity costs. About 30% of Democrat respondents were concerned over inflation raising costs, compared to 27% of Independents and 25% of Republicans.

“These people are really feeling a pocketbook squeeze,” Noble said. “A lot of them are working on a pretty tight budget.”

Over the last year, the vast majority of states reported increased electric costs, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The District of Columbia saw the highest spike in energy prices from December 2024 to December 2025 at a 27% increase. California saw a 13.4% increase, Washington saw a 12.5% hike and Illinois saw a 7% increase over the same time period.

Nevada topped the list of states with a 13.7% decrease in energy costs between December 2024 and December 2025 , followed by Connecticut at a 10% decrease and Tennessee with 0.5% decrease.

Voters also blamed increased labor costs and green energy policies for rising electricity costs. About 27% of overall voters said labor costs were to blame for electricity costs, compared to 11% who blamed green energy policies.

Noble said predictions for wage growth paint a bleak picture with concerns over the cost of electricity.

“They’ve been getting beat up pretty bad over the last four, five years,” Noble said. “It doesn’t look like there’s much of an answer in sight. When you look at wage growth compared to [inflation] it’s not even freaking close.”