This is probably no secret to you, but did you know that data center jobs in Washington state have doubled since 2018? Yes, doubled, and it makes sense because Washington state has some of the cheapest electricity in the United States. so, it would be natural for those big tech companies to want to put data centers into Washington state, especially Eastern Washington. 

According to axios.com,
‘Among states, Washington saw the eighth-biggest increase in data center employment between the first quarters of 2018 and 2024, notching 106% growth, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators.
These numbers include data centers as well as web hosting and a few other related fields.’ 

For some reason, it feels like we’re just starting to realize how important data centers are here in Eastern Washington, but this has been a big deal for years now. In fact, Washington state is not the largest host of data centers in the United States. I think that goes to Virginia but data center jobs in Virginia are actually down. 

The advent of data centers in Washington state is one of the reasons why so many electricians have moved into our area. The work is good, and it pays well. 

It is interesting to note that the largest growth in data center jobs is located in idaho, South Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. 

Seattle is the host of several smaller data centers, and just those data centers alone in 2022 were using 10% of the total electricity used in the Seattle market. 

Just Microsoft alone plans to spend almost $80 billion on new data centers in the United States During 2025. 

Bloomberg is reporting that Amazon is planning to spend almost $150 billion over the next 15 years. 

As always, the big question is where is the electricity coming from? Well, we’ve talked about that before, but look for new construction in solar, wind and even nuclear on the horizon. 

Washington state’s data center jobs have doubled since 2018 – Axios Seattle
Trump announces $20 billion data center investment from Dubai’s Hussain Sajwani
Minnesota’s data center boom raises concerns about clean energy – Axios Twin Cities