The projection, from market intelligence firm Industrial Info Resources, puts Texas first at $638 billion and Virginia second at $249 billion. Georgia is fourth at $160 billion. The figures reflect a national construction surge that a Columbia Business School professor estimates could total $10 trillion and approach 4% of U.S. economic output.

The scale is drawing scrutiny from researchers and state officials over whether the benefits will match the costs — including pressure on electricity supplies, public revenue and investment in other types of construction. Ohio’s projected total does not establish how much will be spent in any particular community or how many projects will be built.

The boom has prompted some states to revisit tax incentives offered to data center operators. Nevada, for example, has trimmed tax abatements and said operators should cover the energy and water costs tied to their facilities. The source of the projections did not provide a comparable Ohio policy change.

National construction data point to a possible trade-off. The value of new data center construction more than doubled over two years, reaching $85 billion annually, while the value of all other construction fell 8%, according to a U.S. Census Bureau analysis cited in the report. Over that period, data center construction value rose by $48 billion as new construction of houses and apartments fell by $29 billion.

The shift has raised concerns about whether a capital-intensive industry that employs relatively few people once facilities are operating could displace investment in housing and other sectors. Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, described the economy’s reliance on AI spending as a “narrow base of growth” and said it could be vulnerable if expectations for future profits change.

Energy demand is another concern for communities weighing new projects. The Columbia professor estimated that the buildout could double electricity consumption. A study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University found that data centers and cryptocurrency mining together could increase electricity bills by 8% nationally, and by as much as 25% in parts of Virginia.

Those estimates are national and do not predict a specific increase for Ohio customers. But they underscore why the growth projected for Ohio could have consequences beyond construction sites, particularly if utilities need costly new infrastructure to serve large facilities.

The investment has drawn comparisons to the railroad expansion of the late 19th century. That building boom cost about $173 billion in today’s dollars and accounted for more than 2% of annual U.S. economic output over two decades, according to historical figures cited in the report. The estimated data center buildout would be far larger, though its long-term profitability remains uncertain.

David Pickering, senior vice president of research at Industrial Info Resources, said the sector’s profitability has not yet caught up with its spending. He expects that could change as the industry matures and rules governing AI develop, but economists have warned that a pullback in expected returns could lead to sharp cuts in investment.

For Ohio, the $169 billion projection signals the state’s central place in a fast-growing industry — and the need to weigh prospective investment against its effects on household energy costs, tax revenue and other construction priorities.