# Berrien County, Michigan: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Lincoln Township, Niles Township and Benton Township Berrien County hosts some of the generating capacity Michigan runs on. Berrien County is home to Lincoln Township, Niles Township, Benton Township and Niles. Its power plants have 2,312 MW of capacity, 99% of it nuclear, the 4th largest fleet in Michigan. Next door, St. Joseph County, Indiana, has 20 data centers. Construction employs 1,934, down 15.4% since 2019. 1 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly other technologies. 2,312 MW of operating power plants, mostly nuclear -0.9% total jobs since 2019, now 60,632 17.00¢ per kWh for Indiana Michigan Power Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Berrien County Berrien County is home to Lincoln Township, Niles Township, Benton Township and Niles. Lincoln Township14,814 residents Niles Township14,304 residents Benton Township14,228 residents Niles11,665 residents St. Joseph Township9,703 residents Oronoko Township9,074 residents Benton Harbor8,803 residents St. Joseph7,893 residents Royalton Township5,198 residents Coloma Township4,968 residents Berrien Township4,787 residents Buchanan4,143 residents Buchanan Township3,475 residents Lake Township3,348 residents Hagar Township3,173 residents Watervliet Township3,126 residents Baroda Township2,818 residents Chikaming Township2,752 residents Bainbridge Township2,625 residents Bertrand Township2,587 residents New Buffalo Township2,517 residents Three Oaks Township2,281 residents Pipestone Township2,127 residents Bridgman2,040 residents And 15 smaller places. Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Benton Heights, Fair Plain, Lake Michigan Beach, Millburg, New Troy, Paw Paw Lake, Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert. 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 Berrien County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Michigan | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 154,395 | 152,444 | ▼ 1.3% | 16th of 83 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 61,153 | 60,632 | ▼ 0.9% | 53rd of 83 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $49,316 | $58,183 | ▲ 18.0% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,285 | 1,934 | ▼ 15.4% | 66th of 69 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.0% | 4.8% | ▲ 0.8pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 1 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Unemployment was 4.8% in August 2026, against 4.0% in 2019. Indiana Michigan Power Co is the largest utility serving Berrien County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 17.00¢/kWh in 2024. Employers here counted 60,632 jobs in 2025, down 0.9% from 2019. 152,444 people live here, down 1.3% since 2020. ## Who powers Berrien County ### Utilities with service territory in Berrien County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Indiana Michigan Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 112,600 | 17.00¢ | 37% | | Midwest Energy Cooperative - (MI) | Cooperative | Bundled | 29,283 | 19.91¢ | 41% | | City of Niles - (MI) | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | 2,285 MW | 99% | | Hydro | 13 MW | 1% | | Other technologies | 9 MW | 0% | | Solar | 5 MW | 0% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Donald C Cook | Indiana Michigan Power Co | Nuclear | 2,285 MW | 1975 | | Berrien Springs | Indiana Michigan Power Co | Hydro | 7 MW | 1996 | | Southeast Berrien Generating Facility | North American Natural Res | Other technologies | 5 MW | 2009 | | Watervliet PV | Indiana Michigan Power Co | Solar | 5 MW | 2016 | | Buchanan (MI) | Indiana Michigan Power Co | Hydro | 4 MW | 1919 | | Watervliet | Energy Developments, Inc d/b/a EDL | Other technologies | 4 MW | 2013 | ## The Berrien County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 60,632 | $58,183 | 1.00 | | Construction | 1,934 | $71,561 | 0.60 | 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 Berrien County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Berrien County. Michigan has 91 local measures on record statewide, and 2 neighboring counties have one: [Cass County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/cass-county), [St. Joseph County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/indiana/st-joseph-county). ## Berrien County and its neighbors Of the 4 counties that border Berrien County, St. Joseph 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Berrien County | 152,444 | ▼ 0.9% | 2,312 MW | — | — | — | | Cass County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/cass-county) | 51,677 | ▲ 2.0% | 1,174 MW | 150 MW | 2 | 2 | | LaPorte County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/indiana/laporte-county) IN | 111,294 | ▼ 0.4% | 546 MW | — | 3 | — | | St. Joseph County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/indiana/st-joseph-county) IN | 272,861 | ▼ 2.3% | 1,012 MW | — | 20 | 1 | | Van Buren County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/van-buren-county) | 76,071 | ▼ 0.7% | 1,988 MW | 85 MW | — | — | ## More of Michigan [All Michigan countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan)[Van Buren County76,071 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/van-buren-county)[Cass County51,677 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/cass-county) ## Berrien County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Berrien County, Michigan? 3 utilities have service territory in Berrien County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Indiana Michigan Power Co, Midwest Energy Cooperative - (MI), City of Niles - (MI). The largest, Indiana Michigan Power Co, charged residential customers 17.00¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Lincoln Township, MI in? Lincoln Township is in Berrien County, Michigan. About 14,814 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What county is Niles Township, MI in? Niles Township is in Berrien County, Michigan. About 14,304 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What county is Benton Township, MI in? Benton Township is in Berrien County, Michigan. About 14,228 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Berrien County? 7 operating plants with 2,312 MW of capacity. The largest is Donald C Cook (2,285 MW, nuclear). ### Are there data centers in Berrien County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Berrien County. The nearest activity on record is next door in St. Joseph County. ### Is Berrien County adding jobs? Employers counted 60,632 jobs in 2025 against 61,153 in 2019 (-0.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 2,285 to 1,934. ### Does Berrien County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Berrien County. Michigan has 91 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/michigan/berrien-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/).