Union County-Marysville

Data Center Resources

Local stats and news related to data center developments in Union County.

What is a Data Center?

Data Centers are facilities that store, process, and secure digital information. They support everyday services such as banking, healthcare, cloud computing, education, artificial intelligence, government operations, and emergency systems. Advanced AI and cloud computing relies on data centers with reliable power, connectivity, and security.
There are 3 types of data centers:

‍Hyperscale Data Centers
‍Large facilities built to support cloud computing and artificial intelligence on a global scale. They serve as the backbone of cloud platforms, AI systems, streaming services, and digital applications.

Enterprise Data Centers
Private, in-house data centers are built to support a single organization's operations. Honda operates an enterprise data center locally.

Colocation Data Centers
Facilities owned by third-party providers where organizations rent racks, cages, or suites rather than constructing their own data center.

Myths Vs Facts

Myths

• Data centers do not pay taxes.
‍
• Data centers strain schools and public services.

• Data centers create no economic value.

• Agricultural land is permanently lost with no community benefit.

• Data centers are temporary or speculative.

Facts

‍Data centers pay land taxes (which are never abated), PILOT payments, property taxes, and other local fees. Their effective tax burden is approximately 75%, and data center properties are often valued two to four times higher than traditional industrial facilities.

‍Data centers do not generate student growth and create minimal demand for public services while still generating significant local revenue. A single project generating $2.5 million annually can represent approximately 9.2% of a school district's budget.

‍Data centers drive billions of dollars in investment, create construction and operational jobs, and provide long-term local revenue. Ohio has attracted approximately $39.9 billion in data center investment.
‍
‍Development converts low-tax agricultural property into significantly higher-value property, generating long-term tax revenue, infrastructure improvements, and economic diversification.
‍
‍Data centers are long-term facilities designed to operate for decades and require significant upfront capital investment. Equipment is continuously upgraded every 3–6 years, creating ongoing economic activity.

Community Benefits

Benefits

• Large, long-term capital investment.

• Reliable tax payments over time.

• Less sensitive to economic cycles and difficulties.

• Minimal traffic after construction and no demand on schools.

• Infrastructure improvements.

• Brings new life to hard-to-market sites

Details

Data center investments are typically hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.

Tax payments exceed previous agricultural taxes and help diversify the local tax base, reducing pressure on residents.

Data centers support critical sectors including healthcare, banking, education, government, AI, and cloud computing.

Data centers create jobs while generating significantly less traffic and school enrollment than many large-scale developments.

Projects often include road, utility, and infrastructure upgrades that support future growth.

Data centers can successfully locate irregularly shaped or difficult-to-develop parcels.

Community Challenges

Concern

• Provision of water.

• Provision of electricity.

• Noise concerns.

• Design/look of data centers.

• Landscape buffering

Solution

The City of Marysville limits data center water usage to 50,000 gallons per day and charges additional fees for large users. Water cooling is generally used for only about 3% of the year. Marysville residents use approximately 1.6 million gallons per day watering lawns.

AES Ohio, Union Rural Electric, and PJM work with developers to plan for increased electrical demand and maintain grid reliability.

Development review processes should incorporate noise buffering and mitigation measures.

Design standards, architecture, landscaping, and screening can ensure compatibility with surrounding areas.

Effective landscape buffers and screening should be incorporated through the development review process.

Water Usage

Marysville Water Supply

• Water use is one of the most common concerns regarding data centers.
‍
• Approximately 10,163 households are served by Marysville's water system.

• Lawn irrigation consumes approximately 1.6 million gallons per day.

• Irrigation accounts for approximately 42.1% of the city's water use.

• A Marysville data center is limited to 50,000 gallons per day.

Usage Comparison

Marysville Data Center
City of Marysville Lawn Watering
All U.S. Data Centers
All U.S. Car Washes
Americans Showering
California Almond Farms

50,000
1,600,000
46,000,000
480,000,000
2,024,405,865
4,700,000,000

Electricity Usage

Myth

• Data centers waste energy.

• Data centers are not sustainable.

• Data centers use too much electricity.

• Data centers negatively impact local power systems.

• Data centers drive up electricity prices.

Facts

Modern hyperscale facilities lead the industry in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), meaning most energy is used directly for computing.

Many new data centers utilize solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy and pursue carbon-neutral operations.

Data centers account for approximately 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption.

Energy demand associated with data center growth has contributed to maintaining generation assets and related jobs in some regions.

Large customers can help strengthen grid economics and support future utility investments.

Top Taxpayers in Union County: 2025

Corporate

1. Honda - $3.44 million

6. Jerome Grand - $490,942

2. The Scotts Miracle Gro Company - $1.18 million

7. AWS - $485,352

3. Stillwell Jerome - $1.02 million

8. Red Monarch, LLC - $417,612

4. Kenmore Place - $987,129

9. Nestle - $343,481

5. Watkins Glen - $687,563

10. Kroger - $334,152

Utility

1. AEP Ohio - $6.61 million

5. Columbia Gas of Ohio - $951,915

2. Dayton Power & Light - $2.55 million

6. Ohio Edison Company - $703,748

3. Ohio Power Company - $2.02 million

7. American Transmission Systems - $644,430

4. Union Rural Electric - $1.86 million

8. Ohio Power - $565,104

Data Center Facts at a Glance

Clear, local context on benefits, considerations, and public impact.

Myths vs. Facts

Myth	Fact
Data centers do not pay taxes.	They pay land taxes, PILOT payments, property taxes, and local fees; the effective tax burden is about 75%.
They strain schools and public services.	They create no student growth and minimal public-service demand while generating local revenue.
They create no economic value.	They drive investment, jobs, and long-term revenue; Ohio has attracted approximately $39.9 billion in data center investment.
Agricultural land brings no community benefit after development.	Development creates higher-value property, tax revenue, infrastructure improvements, and economic diversification.
They are temporary or speculative.	They operate for decades and are upgraded every 3–6 years, generating ongoing economic activity.

Community Benefits

Benefit	Local Context
Capital investment	Projects are typically hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.
Tax payments	Payments exceed prior agricultural taxes and diversify the local tax base.
Critical infrastructure	Data centers support healthcare, banking, education, government, AI, and cloud computing.
Low ongoing demand	They create jobs with less traffic and school enrollment than many large developments.
Infrastructure upgrades	Projects can include road, utility, and infrastructure improvements.
Difficult sites	They can productively use irregularly shaped or hard-to-market parcels.

Community Challenges

Concern	Planning Response
Water	Marysville limits use to 50,000 gallons per day, charges large-user fees, and water cooling is generally used about 3% of the year.
Electricity	AES Ohio, Union Rural Electric, and PJM plan with developers to maintain grid reliability.
Noise	Development review can incorporate buffering and mitigation measures.
Design and landscape	Standards, architecture, landscaping, screening, and buffers support compatibility.

Water Usage

Measure	Daily Use
Marysville data center limit	50,000 gallons
Marysville lawn watering	1,600,000 gallons
All U.S. data centers	46,000,000 gallons
All U.S. car washes	480,000,000 gallons
Americans showering	2,024,405,865 gallons
California almond farms	4,700,000,000 gallons

Marysville’s system serves approximately 10,163 households; lawn irrigation represents about 42.1% of city water use.

Electricity Usage

Myth	Fact
Data centers waste energy.	Modern hyperscale facilities lead in Power Usage Effectiveness, directing most energy to computing.
They are not sustainable.	Many new facilities use solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy and pursue carbon-neutral operations.
They use too much electricity.	Data centers account for approximately 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption.
They harm the local grid or drive up prices.	Large customers can strengthen grid economics and support future utility investments.

Taxpayers

Top Taxpayers in Union County: 2025

Rank	Organization	Tax Contribution
1	Honda	$3.44 million
2	The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company	$1.18 million
3	Stillwell Jerome	$1.02 million
4	Kenmore Place	$987,129
5	Watkins Glen	$687,563
6	Jerome Grand	$490,942
7	AWS	$485,352
8	Red Monarch, LLC	$417,612
9	Nestlé	$343,481
10	Kroger	$334,152

Union County Statistics

Topic	Key Statistic or Context
Construction employment	Large projects can support more than 500 construction jobs during development.
Operations employment	Data centers typically support 25–50 full-time employees and 25–50 contractor positions.
Ongoing work	Equipment upgrades every 3–6 years create recurring contracting opportunities.
School revenue	A project generating $2.5 million annually can represent about 9.2% of a school district’s budget.
AI infrastructure	Advanced AI depends on secure, high-performance data centers with reliable power and fiber.
Land increment tax	Development-driven land value helps fund roads, transportation, utilities, infrastructure, and services.

Conclusion

Land transitions from agricultural land to developed use, ensuring a significant increase in taxes PILOTs provide predictable, guaranteed payments Increased land value strengthens the long-term tax base Infrastructure improvements support future growth There needs to be consideration of the total impact to communities There needs to be consideration of development standards We will continue to work with developments that are more lucrative to taxing authorities We will ensure developments have a net benefit to the community

featured in the news

Union County Newsletter

Newsletter

Data Center Resources

What is a Data Center?