# Marshall County, Kentucky: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Benton and Calvert City Marshall County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Marshall County, 7% of Kentucky's total. Marshall County is home to Benton, Calvert City and Hardin. Its power plants have 933 MW of capacity, 77% of it natural gas, the 10th largest fleet in Kentucky. Electrical contractors employ 218, at an average $63,136 a year. Unemployment was 4.4% in August 2026, against 5.0% in 2019. 4 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 7% of Kentucky's 933 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas +1.9% total jobs since 2019, now 11,471 ## Cities and towns in Marshall County Marshall County is home to Benton, Calvert City and Hardin. Benton4,718 residents Calvert City2,510 residents Hardin581 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Gilbertsville. 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 Marshall County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kentucky | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 31,689 | 31,659 | ▼ 0.1% | 32nd of 120 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 11,260 | 11,471 | ▲ 1.9% | 73rd of 120 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $51,418 | $62,320 | ▲ 21.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.0% | 4.4% | ▼ 0.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Employers here counted 11,471 jobs in 2025, up 1.9% from 2019. West Kentucky Rural E C C is the largest utility serving Marshall County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.46¢/kWh in 2024. 31,659 people live here, down 0.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Marshall County ### Utilities with service territory in Marshall County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | West Kentucky Rural E C C | Cooperative | Bundled | 32,062 | 13.46¢ | 22% | | Jackson Purchase Energy Corporation | Cooperative | Bundled | 23,979 | 15.64¢ | 55% | | City of Benton - (KY) | Municipal | Bundled | 1,889 | 14.07¢ | 44% | | Tennessee Valley Authority | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 7% | 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 | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 715 MW | 77% | | Hydro | 219 MW | 23% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Marshall Energy Facility | Tennessee Valley Authority | Natural gas | 688 MW | 2002 | | Kentucky Dam | Tennessee Valley Authority | Hydro | 219 MW | 1944 | | Calvert City | DTE Calvert City LLC | Natural gas | 27 MW | 2000 | ## The Marshall County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 11,471 | $62,320 | 1.00 | | Electrical contractors | 218 | $63,136 | 2.64 | 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 Marshall County 4 data centers in Marshall County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Marshall County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Marshall County, McCracken 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Marshall County | 31,659 | ▲ 1.9% | 933 MW | — | 4 | — | | Calloway County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/calloway-county) | 39,421 | ▼ 4.2% | — | — | 1 | — | | Graves County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/graves-county) | 37,050 | ▲ 4.4% | — | — | — | — | | Livingston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/livingston-county) | 8,863 | ▲ 35.9% | 76 MW | — | — | — | | Lyon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/lyon-county) | 9,123 | ▲ 0.8% | 216 MW | — | — | 1 | | McCracken County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/mccracken-county) | 67,553 | ▲ 5.4% | 1,695 MW | 400 MW | 4 | — | | Trigg County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/trigg-county) | 14,512 | ▼ 4.0% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Kentucky [All Kentucky countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky)[McCracken County67,553 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/mccracken-county)[Calloway County39,421 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/calloway-county)[Graves County37,050 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/graves-county)[Trigg County14,512 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/trigg-county)[Lyon County9,123 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/lyon-county) ## Marshall County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Marshall County, Kentucky? 4 utilities have service territory in Marshall County in the EIA-861 2024 report: West Kentucky Rural E C C, Jackson Purchase Energy Corporation, City of Benton - (KY), Tennessee Valley Authority. The largest, West Kentucky Rural E C C, charged residential customers 13.46¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Marshall County? 3 operating plants with 933 MW of capacity. The largest is Marshall Energy Facility (688 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Marshall County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Marshall County. ### Is Marshall County adding jobs? Employers counted 11,471 jobs in 2025 against 11,260 in 2019 (+1.9%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Marshall County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Marshall County. Kentucky has 44 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/marshall-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/).