Data centers have become a point of focus in Midwest reporting. You’ll often see stories of how these massive sites with broad computing capabilities, called hyperscale data centers, affect our land use, water and community growth. But behind the scenes of every new data center is a workforce that’s actually building them – quietly generating a new boom in blue-collar labor.

“I’ve been in the trade approximately 25 years now, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City area,” says Matt Resor, a journeyman and business manager for IBEW Local 405. “I’ve never seen it like this. I’ve never seen just the massive investment, the massive amount of work in the construction field right now.”

From August 2025 to August 2026, construction jobs grew by 7.1% in Wisconsin, 6.7% in Nebraska and 5.6% in Illinois and Kansas. These rates outpace the growth of other local industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing, and are often credited to data center construction.

But construction work is temporary, usually racing against a contractor’s tight schedule. The skilled trade workers who build these hyperscale sites only see the data center for a fraction of its lifetime – at its very beginnings. The operating crew, composed of highly skilled IT technicians and engineers, is minimal compared to peak construction activity. 

According to Microsoft, operational data center buildings require only about 50 technicians a day, working in shifts. Compare that number to the thousands of peak construction jobs, and that’s a real labor discrepancy.

And it’s an emerging pattern for labor across five Midwest hyperscale sites. Take a look at peak construction workforces compared to the  permanent jobs that follow them: 

West Des Moines, Iowa: Microsoft

Construction on the Microsoft campus in West Des Moines began in 2009, and it has since grown into a hyperscale site. Currently housing three operational sites, each with multiple data centers, it was among the first hyperscale campuses in the country. Construction is still underway on Ginger West and East, the fourth and fifth buildings on campus, and planning for a sixth site has already begun. 

The figures below represent the five operational and developing sites.

Temporary construction jobs: 1,660+

Permanent operational roles: 540+

Estimated size of campus: 650+ acres

Construction cost: $6 billion+

Time to completion: 19+ years* 

*Ginger West and East are scheduled to be finished by summer 2028. Construction plans for the newest site have not yet been announced.

Port Washington, Wisconsin: Oracle and OpenAI

The Vantage Lighthouse Campus is currently in the first phase of construction, which includes four data centers. It’s part of the Oracle and OpenAI Stargate Project, a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence data centers across the globe. At a $15 billion price tag, the campus is one of the largest private investments in Wisconsin history.

Because construction has been underway for only 10 months, the figures below are projections:

Temporary construction jobs: 4,000+

Permanent operational roles: 1,000

Estimated size of campus: 670+ acres

Construction cost: $15 billion

Time to completion: December 2025 to 2028, expected (about three years)

Northland Kansas City, Missouri: Meta

Meta’s Kansas City site, housing three data center buildings, went live in August 2025 after three years of construction. Diode Ventures, the site’s initial developer, described it as a first-of-its-kind hyperscale center in the Kansas City market, raising potential for future technology growth in the region. 

The figures below represent the three data centers:

Temporary construction jobs: 1,500+

Permanent operational roles: 100+

Estimated size of campus: 880+ acres 

Construction cost: $1 billion+

Time to completion: 2022 to August 2025 (about three years)

Fort Wayne, Indiana: Google

Google’s Project Zodiac in Fort Wayne represents a massive, hyperscale site that will be built in phases over several years, similar to Microsoft’s West Des Moines model. The first phase became operational in December 2025 and includes one data center building. Additional phases are already approved for development.

The figures below represent phase one of Project Zodiac:

Temporary construction jobs: 1,000+

Permanent operational roles: 200+

Estimated size of campus: 455 of 850+ acres

Construction cost: $2 billion

Time to completion: April 2024 to December 2025 (one year, eight months)

Saline Township, Michigan: Oracle and OpenAI

In addition to the  Wisconsin campus, Oracle and OpenAI are constructing another hyperscale data center in Michigan as part of the Stargate Project. Representing $16 billion in investment, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer described the project as the largest economic investment in the state’s history. The site will house three data centers, each spanning approximately 550,000 square feet.

As construction is only three months underway, the figures below are projections:

Temporary construction jobs: 2,500+

Permanent operational roles: 450+

Total estimated size of campus: 250 acres

Construction cost: $16 billion

Time to completion: June 2026 to the end of 2027 (1½  years)

The path forward

“In the construction world, no job is permanent,” says Stephen Coxe, a journeyman and business manager for IBEW Local 347 in Des Moines, Iowa. “A goal when you’re a construction worker is to finish a project.”

The construction industry is cyclical by nature – that issue isn’t unique to data centers. But without long-term job security, what’s in it for temporary construction workers?

For some laborers in the Midwest, the answer is simple: money. Some are even seeing a 7% pay premium in “data center hotspots,” according to Gusto Insights.

With a short timeline for data center construction, though, it’s unclear yet whether this blue-collar boost will become a sustainable workforce or a temporary wave for workers to ride.