A hypothetical data center modeled by economists from a proposed facility in a rural part of Yellowstone County would employ about 500 temporary construction workers and another 250 long-term positions, according to a presentation in Helena Tuesday by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
The bureau presents two economic summits on Montana-specific economic issues each year. Earlier in 2026, BBER delivered an update on the well-being of Montana’s major industries and modeled the economic impact of a potential sales tax.
Data centers, the central component of Tuesday’s presentation, have attracted attention as symbols of a booming industry that has struggled, in some parts of Montana, to break ground.
A proposed facility in Bonner, east of Missoula, stalled earlier this month after the property owner withdrew support for the project. In Great Falls, where a group is petitioning Cascade County to temporarily halt the construction of data centers until regulations are enacted, a different facility met a similar end in November of last year. And in Butte, a proposed data center is taking flak from a local coalition that aims to subject new facilities to voter approval.
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Opponents of data center development argue that the facilities don’t bring enough economic upside to override concerns about increased demand on local water supplies and potentially rising utility rates.
BBER’s presentation estimated that a $20 billion project — a facility about half the size of the one planned for rural Yellowstone County — would spend about $2 billion on Montana goods and labor.
The remaining $18 billion would go toward infrastructure that would likely be manufactured out of state. BBER Director Jeffrey Michael said data center equipment would translate to about $33 million in local property tax revenue.
“All this stuff that is gonna get trucked in and placed in there, it’s not going to necessarily be built by Montanans, but it will be taxed by Montanans as business equipment and properties,” Michael said.
Michael also highlighted other positive economic effects, like data center-employed residents having more money to spend in the community and rising population over time.
But other Montanans in the data-center conversation pushed back on those rosy forecasts.
Anne Hedges, executive director at the Montana Environmental Information Center, reviewed presentation materials at Montana Free Press’ request and told MTFP they lack context about non-economic impacts.
“It’d be great to have jobs created, but we need to make sure first that all the rest of us aren’t paying the price for those jobs, because it doesn’t do the neighbor any good to have 200 jobs at a location when they don’t have water, or when their electricity bills become so high that they can’t afford to irrigate,” Hedges said Tuesday.
Hedges has been on a data center road show of her own. For about a year, she’s been co-hosting conversations across the state focused on electricity and water impacts as part of an ongoing effort to urge elected officials to develop policies that protect water supplies and utility ratepayers.
Hedges said she has long harbored doubts about the validity of BBER’s economic research because of the organization’s relationship to NorthWestern Energy, which was the principal sponsor of the bureau’s 2026 Montana Economic Report. Hedges raised similar concerns Tuesday. NorthWestern Energy has inked agreements to supply prospective data centers with energy.
Michael said NorthWestern Energy did not have influence on the bureau’s analysis.
“They didn’t read it,” Michael said. “They didn’t see it.”
Hedges also criticized BBER for not releasing a full report with details about data and methodology.
“These guys don’t show us the math,” Hedges said.
Michael said the full report is not yet complete, but that he plans to publish it before the end of September.
Amanda Eggert contributed reporting.
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