That growth is becoming increasingly concentrated. Nearly 1% of U.S. counties, roughly 33, now account for 72% of all data-center activity as of July 2025, according to a recent Goldman Sachs analysis. But the map is changing almost daily.<\/p>\n
One Georgia community is experiencing that shift in real time.<\/p>\n
GOOGLE TO INVEST $40B IN TEXAS DATA CENTERS IN MAJOR AI PUSH<\/a><\/p>\n Newton County, about an hour east of Atlanta, is one of four counties that host Meta\u2019s Stanton Springs campus.<\/p>\n FOX Business was granted an exclusive look inside the site, which opened in 2018 and has continued to expand with a second campus now under construction. The 1,000-acre site houses eight massive buildings, each roughly the length of four football fields, packed with rows of high-speed servers humming 24\/7.\u00a0<\/p>\n The cable network is long enough to reach the moon and back. And it\u2019s where data for Facebook,<\/a> Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta\u2019s other platforms is processed and pushed at record speeds.<\/p>\n Technology inside Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, GA. (FOX Business Network \/ Fox News)<\/p>\n It\u2019s just one of 26 data centers currently under construction or already in production in the U.S., with even more growth on the horizon.<\/p>\n “I\u2019ve been in the industry for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen this level of focus on data centers,” KC Timmons, director of SiteOps Global Operations at Meta, told FOX Business. “It’s innovative. There’s so much good that we can do.”<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s arrival was largely welcomed, and its investment has become a major economic anchor for the region, creating hundreds of jobs, supporting local contractors and generating long-term tax revenue<\/a> for schools and public services. The company now employs roughly 400 people in HVAC, electrical, operations and technical roles, most of them hired from the surrounding community.<\/p>\n Ticker Security Last Change Change % META<\/a> META PLATFORMS INC. 636.22 +23.17 But Meta\u2019s presence now sits alongside the explosive growth the county has experienced just this year. And not everyone is thrilled about it.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s all pie in the sky,” Newton County Commissioner LeAnne Long told FOX Business. “It\u2019s not what they say it is. These big developers come in with lucrative promises like zoning, water, electricity. It is the biggest smoke-and-mirror thing you\u2019ve ever seen.”<\/p>\n NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FIGHT BACK AGAINST MASSIVE TECH PROJECT POTENTIALLY COMING TO THEIR TOWN<\/a><\/p>\n Long, also a real estate broker in the region, questions what happens years from now if the industry\u2019s footprint shifts and the massive buildings are no longer needed.<\/p>\n “What happens to the communities that we\u2019ve lost?” Long asked.<\/p>\n Newton County has become one of the most aggressive data center build-out zones in Georgia. Since January alone, local officials say, 11 additional data centers are in various stages of planning or construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amazon has already<\/a> begun building on a $25 million acreage purchase \u2014 about $50,000 per acre \u2014 powered by Georgia Power. And in nearby Social Circle, where Meta is located and which spans both Newton and Walton counties, officials have zoned seven more data center projects with no long-term land-use plan in place.<\/p>\n Staff inside Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, Ga. (FOX Business Network \/ Fox News)<\/p>\n “Some would say we\u2019re building the plane while flying it,” Serra Hall, executive director of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority, told FOX Business.<\/p>\n Hall said Meta\u2019s success has drawn a wave of new interest to the region, making strategy and coordination more important than ever. Since the beginning of the year, she said, her phone has been ringing off the hook with inquiries from companies looking to build nearby.<\/p>\n MYSTERY COMPANY’S $1.6B DATA CENTER PROPOSED FOR WISCONSIN FARMLAND DRAWS RESIDENTS’ IRE<\/a><\/p>\n Part of the reason the growth is accelerating so rapidly is the county\u2019s access to power, proximity to I-20 and the extensive fiber infrastructure established by Meta. Through the Open Compute Project that Meta co-founded, the initiative to create open-source hardware for scalable and efficient data centers<\/a> has helped drive down costs. The OCP initiative actively encourages and facilitates more companies to build and adopt high-efficiency data center infrastructure.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re trying to bring everyone to the table and slow things down,” Hall said. “It\u2019s about working on the path together. It takes good planning.”<\/p>\n Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, Ga. (FOX Business Network \/ Fox News)<\/p>\n The influx of data centers brings benefits beyond jobs.<\/a> Since 2022, when Meta\u2019s first taxable buildings came online, the company has contributed $12 million in cumulative tax revenue, a number expected to rise as construction continues. Before Meta arrived, the same land had been off the tax digest for nearly two decades under government ownership.<\/p>\n Meta has also launched initiatives to support small businesses, such as workshops teaching local owners how to grow through Instagram Reels. Amazon, meanwhile, has partnered with Newton County Schools and Goodr to open a no-cost grocery store providing students with fresh produce and shelf-stable food.<\/p>\n Ticker Security Last Change Change % AMZN<\/a> AMAZON.COM INC. 229.53 +0.42 Still, residents say the promises don\u2019t always match their lived experience. Several major manufacturers, including Meta, Rivian and Takeda, have partnered to recycle water back into the community, but concerns persist as the development footprint grows.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS<\/a><\/p>\n “This all has just become so popular since Jan. 1,” Long said. “I didn\u2019t even know what a data center was a year and a half ago. We\u2019ve just been bombarded.”<\/p>\n Long stressed that Meta itself isn\u2019t the issue. Its campus sits in a designated business zone and hasn\u2019t disrupted residential life. Her concern is the wave of newcomers, the risk of future vacant megastructures and the effect speculative development could have on home values.<\/p>\n For longtime residents, the pace of construction is becoming harder to ignore.<\/p>\n Lisa Miller, 64, lives near land that once held a lumber mill and is now Amazon\u2019s active construction site.<\/p>\n An Amazon data center construction site in Oxford, Ga. (FOX Business Network \/ Fox News)<\/p>\n “We\u2019re not a big place,” Miller told FOX Business. “People out here are into cattle, horses.” The area has shifted among rural, suburban and industrial uses for decades, but never at this speed.<\/p>\n Blasting and heavy construction have also raised safety concerns. Miller described one neighbor\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n \u00a0“She heard the blast \u2013 and then her whole living room ceiling fell in,” Miller said.<\/p>\n Amazon told FOX Business its $11 billion investment will enable AI innovation and create thousands of jobs, from network engineers to construction workers, and also give back to the community.<\/p>\n “As we build these facilities over the next several years, we remain committed to being good neighbors,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Energy demand is another growing concern. Data centers will use roughly 8% of all U.S. power by 2030, and U.S. utilities will need to invest around $50 billion in new generation capacity to support the facilities, according to Goldman Sachs.<\/a><\/p>\n Inside Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, Georgia. (FOX Business Network \/ Fox News)<\/p>\n Despite the anxieties, local leaders and residents agree that the solution isn\u2019t to reject the industry. It\u2019s to slow the pace, coordinate and plan for long-term consequences.<\/p>\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meta-data-center-black-green-boxes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n +3.78%<\/p>\n![\"Staff](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meta-data-center-inside-people.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meta-data-center-black-yellow-boxes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n +0.18%<\/p>\n![\"Amazon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/amazon-data-center-georgia-construction.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Technology](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meta-data-center-blue-yellow-boxes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n