Chippewa County, Michigan: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Sault Ste. Marie, Kinross Township and Soo Township
Chippewa County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Construction employs 759, up 126.6% since 2019. Chippewa County is home to Sault Ste. Marie, Kinross Township, Soo Township and Bruce Township. Electrical contractors employ 49, up 36.1% since 2019 against up 23.2% statewide, at an average $71,216 a year. 5 MW has retired here since 2019, including Dafter (petroleum, 5 MW, 2021). 15 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly petroleum.
Cities and towns in Chippewa County
Chippewa County is home to Sault Ste. Marie, Kinross Township, Soo Township and Bruce Township.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Brimley, Kincheloe.
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 Chippewa County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Michigan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 36,793 | 36,081 | ▼ 1.9% | 44th of 83 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 12,333 | 12,796 | ▲ 3.8% | 24th of 83 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,433 | $56,789 | ▲ 40.5% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 335 | 759 | ▲ 126.6% | 1st of 69 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 36 | 49 | ▲ 36.1% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.1% | 5.3% | ▼ 0.8pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 15 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 5 MW | — |
Unemployment was 5.3% in August 2026, against 6.1% in 2019. Employers here counted 12,796 jobs in 2025, up 3.8% from 2019. Its power plants have 89 MW of capacity, 73% of it hydro. Cloverland Electric Co-op is the largest utility serving Chippewa County. Its residential customers paid an average 14.37¢/kWh in 2024, below the 16.89¢ median for Michigan utilities. 36,081 people live here, down 1.9% since 2020.
Who powers Chippewa County
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: +10 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in Chippewa County
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloverland Electric Co-op | Cooperative | Bundled | 36,086 | 14.37¢ | 40% |
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 5
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hydro | 66 MW | 73% |
| Petroleum | 17 MW | 19% |
| Solar | 7 MW | 8% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edison Sault | Cloverland Electric Co-op | Hydro | 42 MW | 1901 |
| Saint Marys Falls | USACE-Detroit District | Hydro | 24 MW | 1932 |
| Dafter | Cloverland Electric Co-op | Petroleum | 11 MW | 1960 |
| Pickford Solar | Heritage Sustainable Energy. LLC | Solar | 7 MW | 2021 |
| Detour | Cloverland Electric Co-op | Petroleum | 6 MW | 1973 |
Retired since 2019
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dafter | Petroleum | 5 MW | 2021 |
The Chippewa County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 12,796 | $56,789 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 759 | $96,420 | 1.12 |
| Electrical contractors | 49 | $71,216 | 0.53 |
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 Chippewa County
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Chippewa County. Michigan has 91 local measures on record statewide.
Chippewa County and its neighbors
None of the 2 counties bordering Chippewa County has a data center, a power plant or planned generation on record.
| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chippewa County | 36,081 | ▲ 3.8% | 89 MW | — | — | — |
| Luce County | 6,339 | ▲ 6.8% | — | — | — | — |
| Mackinac County | 11,236 | ▲ 4.7% | — | — | — | — |
More of Michigan
Chippewa County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Chippewa County, Michigan?
1 utility has service territory in Chippewa County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Cloverland Electric Co-op. The largest, Cloverland Electric Co-op, charged residential customers 14.37¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What county is Sault Ste. Marie, MI in?
Sault Ste. Marie is in Chippewa County, Michigan. About 13,083 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What power plants are in Chippewa County?
5 operating plants with 89 MW of capacity. The largest is Edison Sault (42 MW, hydro).
Are there data centers in Chippewa County?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Chippewa County.
Is Chippewa County adding jobs?
Employers counted 12,796 jobs in 2025 against 12,333 in 2019 (+3.8%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 335 to 759.
Does Chippewa County have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Chippewa County. Michigan has 91 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.