# Fannin County, Georgia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Blue Ridge and McCaysville Fannin County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Fannin County is home to Blue Ridge and McCaysville. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “Data center moratorium extended through Dec. 31, 2026”. Employers here counted 7,675 jobs in 2025, up 14.9% from 2019. Construction employs 407, up 16.0% since 2019. Unemployment was 3.2% in August 2026, against 4.0% in 2019. +14.9% total jobs since 2019, now 7,675 24 MW of operating power plants, mostly hydro 12.41¢ per kWh for Amicalola Electric Member Corp residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Fannin County Fannin County is home to Blue Ridge and McCaysville. Blue Ridge1,297 residents McCaysville1,180 residents Morganton296 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Epworth, Mineral Bluff. 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 Fannin County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Georgia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 25,451 | 26,111 | ▲ 2.6% | 76th of 159 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 6,677 | 7,675 | ▲ 14.9% | 34th of 159 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $34,402 | $45,821 | ▲ 33.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 351 | 407 | ▲ 16.0% | 69th of 97 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.0% | 3.2% | ▼ 0.8pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 24 MW of capacity, 100% of it hydro. Amicalola Electric Member Corp is the largest utility serving Fannin County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.41¢/kWh in 2024, below the 13.61¢ median for Georgia utilities. 26,111 people live here, up 2.6% since 2020. ## Who powers Fannin County ### Utilities with service territory in Fannin County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Amicalola Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 50,337 | 12.41¢ | 15% | | Blue Ridge Mountain EMC - (GA) | Cooperative | Bundled | 30,599 | 14.02¢ | 35% | | Tri-State Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 13,123 | 14.03¢ | 36% | 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 | |---|---|---| | Hydro | 24 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Blue Ridge | Tennessee Valley Authority | Hydro | 24 MW | 1931 | ## The Fannin County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 7,675 | $45,821 | 1.00 | | Construction | 407 | $74,745 | 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 Fannin County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | Data center moratorium extended through Dec. 31, 2026 | In force | 2026-09 | ## Fannin County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Fannin County, Murray 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Fannin County | 26,111 | ▲ 14.9% | 24 MW | — | — | 1 | | Cherokee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-carolina/cherokee-county) NC | 30,830 | ▼ 1.8% | 168 MW | — | 1 | — | | Dawson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/dawson-county) | 35,365 | ▲ 21.5% | — | — | — | — | | Gilmer County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/gilmer-county) | 33,894 | ▲ 20.0% | — | — | — | — | | Lumpkin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/lumpkin-county) | 36,178 | ▲ 15.5% | — | — | — | — | | Murray County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/murray-county) | 41,607 | ▼ 1.1% | 1,702 MW | — | — | 1 | | Polk County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/polk-county) TN | 18,592 | ▲ 15.1% | 164 MW | — | — | — | | Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/union-county) | 27,859 | ▲ 13.3% | 16 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Georgia [All Georgia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia)[Murray County41,607 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/murray-county)[Lumpkin County36,178 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/lumpkin-county)[Dawson County35,365 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/dawson-county)[Gilmer County33,894 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/gilmer-county)[Union County27,859 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/union-county) ## Fannin County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Fannin County, Georgia? 3 utilities have service territory in Fannin County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Amicalola Electric Member Corp, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC - (GA), Tri-State Electric Member Corp. The largest, Amicalola Electric Member Corp, charged residential customers 12.41¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Fannin County? 1 operating plant with 24 MW of capacity. The largest is Blue Ridge (24 MW, hydro). ### Are there data centers in Fannin County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Fannin County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Cherokee County. ### Is Fannin County adding jobs? Employers counted 7,675 jobs in 2025 against 6,677 in 2019 (+14.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 351 to 407. ### Does Fannin County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Fannin County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/fannin-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/).