A hypothetical data center modeled by economists based on 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 Tuesday by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana in Helena.
The office hosts two economic summits each year on Montana-specific economic topics. In early 2026, BBER provided an update on the health of Montana’s major industries and modeled the economic impact of a potential sales tax.
Data centers, the centerpiece of Tuesday’s presentation, have drawn attention as symbols of a booming industry that has struggled to gain a foothold in some parts of Montana.
A planned 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 asking Cascade County to temporarily halt data center construction until regulations are passed, another facility saw a similar demise last November. And in Butte, a planned data center is drawing criticism from a local coalition that wants to make new facilities dependent on voter approval.
Opponents of data center development argue that the facilities do not provide enough economic benefits to address concerns about increased demand for 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 in rural Yellowstone County — would spend about $2 billion on goods and labor in Montana.
The remaining $18 billion would go toward infrastructure that would likely be manufactured outside the state. BBER Director Jeffrey Michael said that equipping data centers would result in about $33 million in local property tax revenue.
Jeffrey Michael, director of the Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, speaks at the 2026 Mid-Year Economic Summit in Helena on July 28, 2026. Credit: Zeke Lloyd / MTFP
“All of these things that are trucked in and housed there are not necessarily built by Montanans, but they are taxed by Montanans as business equipment and real estate,” Michael said.
Michael also highlighted other positive economic impacts, such as residents employed in data centers being able to spend more money in the community and the population growing over time.
But other Montanans in the conversation about data centers rejected those rosy predictions.
Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, reviewed presentation materials at the request of the Montana Free Press and told MTFP they lacked context on non-economic impacts.
“It would be great to create jobs, but we need to first make sure that all the rest of us don’t pay the price for those jobs, because it doesn’t benefit neighbors to have 200 jobs in a place where they don’t have water or if their electric bills get so high that they can’t afford irrigation,” Hedges said Tuesday.
Hedges was on a data center roadshow himself. For about a year, she has co-hosted conversations across the state focused on impacts on electricity and water, part of her ongoing efforts to push elected officials to develop policies that protect water supplies and utility ratepayers.
Evan Barrett is collecting signatures for the Butte Data Center Initiative petition during the 2026 primary election. Credit: Denise Kelly
Hedges said she has long had doubts about the validity of BBER’s economic research because of the organization’s relationship with NorthWestern Energy, the lead sponsor of the bureau’s 2026 Montana Economic Report. Hedges expressed similar concerns Tuesday. NorthWestern Energy has signed agreements to supply energy to future data centers.
Michael said NorthWestern Energy had no influence on the bureau’s analysis.
“You haven’t read it,” Michael said. “You didn’t see it.”
Hedges also criticized BBER for not publishing a full report with details of data and methodology.
“These guys don’t show us how to do math,” Hedges said.
Michael said the full report is not yet complete, but he plans to release it before the end of September.
Amanda Eggert contributed reporting.
https://montanafreepress.org/2026/07/29/what-a-montana-data-center-costs-and-where-the-money-lands/
