Study Highlights Economic and Fiscal Impacts of a Data Center in Washington County
- Commissioned by Maryland Tech Council, Sage Policy Group study shows data center development would support permanent jobs and boost tax revenue for Hagerstown and Washington County.
- A single data center would generate more than 5 times more tax revenue than a warehouse
Rockville, Maryland (October 28, 2026) – As Maryland’s local governments navigate structural budget challenges and seek to create employment opportunities for residents, the Maryland Tech Council this week released a report showing the meaningful economic and fiscal benefits of developing a data center in Washington County, Maryland.
MTC’s report, prepared by Sage Policy Group, analyzed the impacts of a hypothetical 660,000 square-foot data center.
Economic Impact Findings:
- The hypothetical data center would support more than 4,000 direct and secondary jobs during construction.
- The project would generate $243 million in employee compensation statewide during construction.
- Once operational, the data center would support 256 direct and secondary jobs, including 86 at the facility.
Fiscal Impact Findings:
- The data center would generate $7.1 million in real property tax revenue annually for the City of Hagerstown once operational, and $5.5 million in real property tax revenue annually for Washington County.
- The report found that Washington County would have to build more than 2,100 new residential homes – plus the costly infrastructure to support them – to generate the same amount of tax revenue as a single data center.
- The $7.1 million in annual real property tax revenue generated by such a data center significantly outperforms the tax contributions of a warehouse (estimated $1.3 million annually.)
The report comes at an important moment in Maryland. The state faces $9 billion in cumulative budget deficits over the next three fiscal years. State aid to local governments was reduced in the most recent state budget, and may be under consideration again in Fiscal 2028. Further, Maryland lost nearly 14,000 jobs in the year ending September 30, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The data is clear: Maryland is facing significant economic and fiscal headwinds. We have an obligation to Maryland workers and families and strengthen our private sector, create high-paying jobs, and boost tax revenue to help pay for world-class schools. This new report shows that digital infrastructure like data centers are a generational opportunity to strengthen our economy, and strengthen our working families.”
Read the full study at this link.
About the Maryland Tech Council
The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) is a collaborative community that is actively engaged in building strong technology and life science industries by supporting the efforts of our individual members. We are the largest technology and life sciences trade association in the state of Maryland, and we provide value by giving members a forum to learn, share, and connect. MTC brings the region’s community together into a single, united organization that empowers our members to achieve their business goals through advocacy, networking, and education. The vision for the Maryland Tech Council is to propel Maryland to become the number one innovation economy for life sciences and technology in the country. Follow us at mdtechcouncil.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
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