# Benton County, Mississippi: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Lamar

Benton County hosts some of the generating capacity Mississippi runs on. Benton County is home to Ashland. Unemployment was 3.3% in August 2026, against 5.4% in 2019. Employers here counted 1,065 jobs in 2025, up 10.4% from 2019 (the 8th fastest growth of 82 Mississippi counties). Its power plants have 1,004 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas, the 7th largest fleet in Mississippi. City of Holly Springs is the largest utility serving Benton County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.25¢/kWh in 2024, below the 12.78¢ median for Mississippi utilities.

+10.4%
total jobs since 2019, now 1,065

1,004 MW
of operating power plants, mostly natural gas

12.25¢
per kWh for City of Holly Springs residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Benton County

Benton County is home to Ashland.

Ashland527 residents
Hickory Flat489 residents
Snow Lake Shores293 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Lamar.

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 Benton County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Mississippi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 7,667 | 7,502 | ▼ 2.2% | 76th of 82 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 965 | 1,065 | ▲ 10.4% | 8th of 82 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $36,726 | $48,207 | ▲ 31.3% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.4% | 3.3% | ▼ 2.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

7,502 people live here, down 2.2% since 2020.

## Who powers Benton County

### Utilities with service territory in Benton County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Holly Springs | Municipal | Bundled | 9,399 | 12.25¢ | 33% |
| City of New Albany - (MS) | Municipal | Bundled | 8,157 | 12.39¢ | 34% |

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 | 1,004 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnolia Power Plant | Tennessee Valley Authority | Natural gas | 1,004 MW | 2003 |

## The Benton County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 1,065 | $48,207 | 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 Benton County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Benton County. Mississippi has 1 local measure on record statewide.

## Benton County and its neighbors

Of the 5 counties that border Benton County, Hardeman 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | 7,502 | ▲ 10.4% | 1,004 MW | — | — | — |
| Fayette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/fayette-county) TN | 45,071 | ▲ 5.4% | 180 MW | — | — | — |
| Hardeman County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/hardeman-county) TN | 25,274 | ▼ 7.2% | 18 MW | 55 MW | — | — |
| Marshall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/marshall-county) | 34,654 | ▲ 52.9% | 10 MW | 55 MW | — | — |
| Tippah County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/tippah-county) | 21,389 | ▲ 10.0% | — | — | — | — |
| Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/union-county) | 28,459 | ▲ 7.4% | — | — | — | — |

## More of Mississippi

[All Mississippi countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi)[Marshall County34,654 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/marshall-county)[Union County28,459 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/union-county)[Tippah County21,389 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/tippah-county)

## Benton County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Benton County, Mississippi?

2 utilities have service territory in Benton County in the EIA-861 2024 report: City of Holly Springs, City of New Albany - (MS). The largest, City of Holly Springs, charged residential customers 12.25¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Benton County?

1 operating plant with 1,004 MW of capacity. The largest is Magnolia Power Plant (1,004 MW, natural gas).

### Are there data centers in Benton County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Benton County.

### Is Benton County adding jobs?

Employers counted 1,065 jobs in 2025 against 965 in 2019 (+10.4%, BLS QCEW).

### Does Benton County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Benton County. Mississippi has 1 local measure statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/benton-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/).