# Houston County, Alabama: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Dothan, Ashford and Taylor Houston County sits inside the data center build-out. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Houston County, 3% of Alabama's total. Houston County is home to most of Dothan (70,465 of its 72,060 residents), Ashford, Taylor and Kinsey. Its power plants have 1,785 MW of capacity, 100% of it nuclear, the 8th largest fleet in Alabama. Employers here counted 51,288 jobs in 2025, up 4.6% from 2019. Alabama Power Co is the largest utility serving Houston County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 16.77¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.24¢ median for Alabama utilities. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 3% of Alabama's 1,785 MW of operating power plants, mostly nuclear +4.6% total jobs since 2019, now 51,288 ## Cities and towns in Houston County Houston County is home to most of Dothan (70,465 of its 72,060 residents), Ashford, Taylor and Kinsey. Dothan70,465 residents · 98% of the city Ashford2,470 residents Taylor2,353 residents Kinsey2,291 residents Rehobeth2,217 residents Cowarts2,064 residents Webb1,340 residents Cottonwood1,104 residents Columbia720 residents Avon471 residents Gordon309 residents Madrid263 residents - Dothan also extends into [Dale County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/dale-county). Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Houston County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Alabama | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 107,306 | 110,318 | ▲ 2.8% | 12th of 67 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 49,036 | 51,288 | ▲ 4.6% | 24th of 67 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $43,712 | $56,334 | ▲ 28.9% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.2% | 3.6% | ▲ 0.4pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Unemployment was 3.6% in August 2026, against 3.2% in 2019. 110,318 people live here, up 2.8% since 2020. ## Who powers Houston County ### Utilities with service territory in Houston County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Alabama Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,332,911 | 16.77¢ | 26% | | City of Dothan - (AL) | Municipal | Bundled | 26,752 | 10.72¢ | 43% | | Wiregrass Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 22,401 | 15.45¢ | 20% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Nuclear | 1,776 MW | 100% | | Petroleum | 9 MW | 0% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Joseph M Farley | Alabama Power Co | Nuclear | 1,776 MW | 1977 | | Crestwood Dothan | Crestwood Corp | Petroleum | 9 MW | 1995 | ## The Houston County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 51,288 | $56,334 | 1.00 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Houston County 1 data center in Houston County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Houston County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Houston County, Jackson County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Houston County | 110,318 | ▲ 4.6% | 1,785 MW | — | 1 | — | | Dale County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/dale-county) | 49,912 | ▲ 4.6% | 11 MW | — | — | — | | Early County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/early-county) GA | 10,455 | ▼ 15.8% | 194 MW | — | 1 | — | | Geneva County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/geneva-county) | 27,554 | ▲ 9.4% | — | — | — | — | | Henry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/henry-county) | 18,394 | ▲ 10.8% | — | — | — | — | | Jackson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/jackson-county) FL | 49,629 | ▼ 0.6% | 228 MW | 75 MW | — | 2 | | Seminole County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/seminole-county) GA | 9,162 | ▼ 2.6% | 2 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Alabama [All Alabama countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama)[Dale County49,912 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/dale-county)[Geneva County27,554 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/geneva-county)[Henry County18,394 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/henry-county) ## Houston County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Houston County, Alabama? 3 utilities have service territory in Houston County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Alabama Power Co, City of Dothan - (AL), Wiregrass Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Alabama Power Co, charged residential customers 16.77¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Dothan, AL in? Most of Dothan is in Houston County: 70,465 of its 72,060 residents, or 98%. The rest of the city lies in Dale County. ### What power plants are in Houston County? 2 operating plants with 1,785 MW of capacity. The largest is Joseph M Farley (1,776 MW, nuclear). ### Are there data centers in Houston County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Houston County. ### Is Houston County adding jobs? Employers counted 51,288 jobs in 2025 against 49,036 in 2019 (+4.6%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Houston County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Houston County. Alabama has 18 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/houston-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).