Business
Study: Data centers could bring billions in economic activity to NW Indiana
A new study reveals that hyperscale data centers in Northwest Indiana could generate $16.1 billion in regional economic output and create thousands of jobs.
By Tom Joyce · 2026-08-03T05:08:50.726Z
The Center Square – A large data center campus could generate billions of dollars in economic activity and support thousands of jobs in northwest Indiana over the next two decades, according to a new study https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract id=7087540 .
The study was authored by Justin Ross, a professor of public finance and economics at Indiana University Bloomington, and Saurav Roychoudhury, a professor of finance and economics at Capital University. The authors modeled the economic effects of a hypothetical hyperscale data center similar in size to projects that Microsoft has announced in LaPorte and other companies have proposed in the region.
The researchers estimated that a 1 gigawatt data center campus would generate about $16.1 billion in regional economic output over 20 years. They also projected the project would support 14,651 construction job years over a three year construction period and create $1.08 billion in construction earnings.
Once the facility begins operating, the study estimated it would support about 2,090 jobs across the regional economy and generate about $176 million in annual worker earnings.
This Story Originally Appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/indiana/article bc7be532 feeb 4d00 b443 8cbd6f0d270e.html