Altoona, Iowa — Home Of The Rare Data Center Success Story

Why Altoona Remains the Rare Data Center “Success Story” (For Now)

If you’ve seen Meta’s glossy TV ads featuring smiling Altoona residents praising the company’s massive data center for bringing jobs and growth, it’s easy to roll your eyes. But in the world of hyperscale data centers—where backlash over water consumption, soaring electricity demand, and controversial tax incentives is spreading nationwide—Altoona, Iowa remains a genuine outlier.

As of late 2025, there’s remarkably little organized opposition here. No protests. No viral petitions. No local officials backing away from deals. Instead, the dominant narrative is still largely positive: economic growth, infrastructure upgrades, and steady community investment.

Meta’s Altoona Data Center: A Decade in the Making

Meta broke ground on its Altoona campus in 2013. The final expansion wrapped up this year, pushing the facility past 5 million square feet—making it Meta’s largest data center globally. Billions of dollars have flowed into the project, supporting hundreds of permanent operational jobs and thousands more during construction.

Beyond payroll, Meta directly funded critical infrastructure upgrades, including new water towers, sewer mains, and pump stations that benefit the entire city. Local officials, including Altoona’s economic development leadership, credit Meta with accelerating warehouse development and contributing to population growth.

Community goodwill has also been reinforced through grants. In recent funding rounds alone, Meta distributed more than $200,000 to schools and local nonprofits. On the energy front, the company matches its electricity use with Iowa-based wind power—an important talking point amid growing concern over data center emissions.

The National Context: Growing Backlash Elsewhere

Altoona’s calm contrasts sharply with the national picture. A 2025 study tracked nearly $98 billion in data center projects that were delayed, scaled back, or blocked within just a few months due to community opposition. Across states like Virginia and Georgia—and even elsewhere in Iowa—concerns about water strain, grid stress, and tax giveaways have sparked heated public debate.

In nearby West Des Moines, for example, Microsoft’s data center expansion has drawn criticism over water usage. Meta’s own advertising push is widely seen as a response to mounting skepticism in other regions.

Why Altoona Has Been the Exception

• A long honeymoon period: More than a decade of steady benefits without a major crisis has built trust.
• Proactive givebacks: Infrastructure funding and community grants created visible, tangible returns.
• Iowa’s wind power advantage: Renewable energy helps blunt criticism over electricity demand, even as data centers now consume roughly 11% of statewide power.
• Limited job backlash: While roughly 400 permanent operations jobs is modest for a project of this scale, it hasn’t yet triggered widespread resentment locally.

Water and Power: The Quiet Flashpoints

Water use remains the most likely pressure point. Reports suggest Meta’s campus can draw up to 16% of Altoona’s water supply on peak days. So far, however, there have been no widely reported shortages or restrictions tied directly to the facility.

Electricity demand is immense—the Altoona campus ranks as Meta’s second-largest power consumer globally—but renewable energy offsets have helped maintain public support.

How Long Will This Harmony Last?

Probably not indefinitely. The accelerating AI boom is pushing data center demand to new extremes, and Iowa’s generous incentive structure—sales tax refunds on electricity and large property tax abatements—is facing growing scrutiny. Early 2025 saw renewed debate over capping or reforming these incentives, with critics arguing that limited job creation doesn’t justify the subsidies.

If future incentive reforms reduce financial returns for host communities—or if drought conditions amplify water concerns—even Altoona’s feel-good narrative could shift. National opposition to data centers is increasingly described as “sustained and intensifying.” Altoona may simply be behind the curve.

For Now, a Model Story

For the moment, Altoona remains the example Meta loves to highlight: a small Midwestern city that largely embraced the massive server farms next door. Whether that story holds into the 2030s—when many tax agreements expire—remains the central question.