Data centers and jobs in Prineville
Prineville is known for its data centers. This page repeats only what the companies and the City state in their own documents. It makes no promise about jobs, and the numbers below come from different sources that count different things.
What the City says
The City of Prineville's comprehensive plan, in its Chapter 5 on the economy, says that since 2008 the city added 946 jobs, many of them related to the growth of data centers, which it says currently employ approximately 700 people. The plan says growth in data centers is a driving factor in raising average wages in Crook County from nearly $34,700 in 2008 to more than $70,200 in 2022. It also says the city expanded or changed its urban growth boundary six times between 2012 and 2017, mainly for data center development, and that data centers on large industrial sites have been and likely will continue to be critical drivers of the city's economy and employment. The plan notes that Heartland Forward ranked Prineville ninth on its 2022 list of the Most Dynamic Micropolitan cities, citing the diversification that followed the construction of its data centers.
What Meta says
Meta's Prineville Data Center fact sheet lists these figures:
- $2B+ data center investment in Oregon.
- 2010 the year it broke ground on the Prineville Data Center.
- 350+ operational jobs supported.
- 1,000 skilled trade workers on site at peak construction.
- $5.7M+ direct funding to Crook County-area schools and nonprofits.
- 400+ grants and sponsorships provided locally since 2011.
The sheet also says Meta pays the full cost of water and wastewater service from the City of Prineville for its data center, and that its operational data center buildings achieve LEED Gold certification. The fact sheet is Meta's own document, and it does not give a date.
What Apple says
Apple's job-creation page says it first opened its Prineville data center in 2013 and has more than doubled its size since. The page gives no job count for Prineville. It lists 701 Apple employees for Oregon as a whole.
What the Census counts
Census ZIP Code Business Patterns counted 555 business establishments with paid employees in ZIP 97754 in 2023, with 6,089 paid employees. That count includes every industry in the ZIP code and does not single out data centers.