# Lauderdale County, Mississippi: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Meridian and Marion The data center boom is not abstract in Lauderdale County: it is on the ground here. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Lauderdale County, 7% of Mississippi's total. Lauderdale County is home to Meridian and Marion. Unemployment was 3.3% in August 2026, against 5.5% in 2019. Construction employs 1,184, up 21.1% since 2019. Electrical contractors employ 224, up 21.1% since 2019 against up 33.2% statewide, at an average $67,832 a year. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 7% of Mississippi's +21.1% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 224 -6.3% total jobs since 2019, now 30,730 ## Cities and towns in Lauderdale County Lauderdale County is home to Meridian and Marion. Meridian33,370 residents Marion1,721 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Collinsville, Lauderdale, Meridian Station, Nellieburg, Toomsuba. 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 Lauderdale County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Mississippi | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 72,678 | 70,317 | ▼ 3.2% | 9th of 82 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 32,802 | 30,730 | ▼ 6.3% | 62nd of 82 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,347 | $50,007 | ▲ 30.4% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 978 | 1,184 | ▲ 21.1% | 21st of 45 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 185 | 224 | ▲ 21.1% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.5% | 3.3% | ▼ 2.2pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 58 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | 58 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Employers here counted 30,730 jobs in 2025, down 6.3% from 2019. Its power plants have 108 MW of capacity, 53% of it solar. Mississippi Power Co is the largest utility serving Lauderdale County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.47¢/kWh in 2024, above the 12.78¢ median for Mississippi utilities. 70,317 people live here, down 3.2% since 2020, 9th of 82 Mississippi counties by population. ## Who powers Lauderdale County ### Utilities with service territory in Lauderdale County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Mississippi Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 157,437 | 14.47¢ | 30% | | East Mississippi Elec Pwr Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 9,885 | 14.26¢ | 42% | 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 | |---|---|---| | Solar | 58 MW | 53% | | Natural gas | 42 MW | 39% | | Petroleum | 9 MW | 8% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Meridian III | SR Meridian III, LLC | Solar | 52 MW | 2019 | | Sweatt | Mississippi Power Co | Natural gas | 42 MW | 1971 | | Meridian | Tennessee Valley Authority | Petroleum | 9 MW | 1998 | | Meridian II | SR Meridian II, LLC | Solar | 5 MW | 2019 | ## The Lauderdale County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 30,730 | $50,007 | 1.00 | | Construction | 1,184 | $58,770 | 0.73 | | Electrical contractors | 224 | $67,832 | 1.01 | 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 Lauderdale County 1 data center in Lauderdale County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Lauderdale County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Lauderdale County, Kemper 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Lauderdale County | 70,317 | ▼ 6.3% | 108 MW | — | 1 | — | | Choctaw County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/choctaw-county) AL | 11,904 | ▼ 7.9% | 88 MW | — | — | — | | Clarke County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/clarke-county) | 15,102 | ▼ 3.9% | 78 MW | — | — | — | | Jasper County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/jasper-county) | 15,785 | ▼ 4.3% | — | 150 MW | — | — | | Kemper County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/kemper-county) | 8,600 | ▼ 12.2% | 1,212 MW | — | — | — | | Neshoba County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/neshoba-county) | 28,732 | ▲ 5.5% | — | — | — | — | | Newton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/newton-county) | 20,960 | ▼ 10.4% | — | — | — | — | | Sumter County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/sumter-county) AL | 11,588 | ▼ 2.4% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Mississippi [All Mississippi countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi)[Neshoba County28,732 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/neshoba-county)[Newton County20,960 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/newton-county)[Jasper County15,785 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/jasper-county)[Clarke County15,102 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/clarke-county)[Kemper County8,600 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/kemper-county) ## Lauderdale County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Lauderdale County, Mississippi? 2 utilities have service territory in Lauderdale County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Mississippi Power Co, East Mississippi Elec Pwr Assn. The largest, Mississippi Power Co, charged residential customers 14.47¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Meridian, MS in? Meridian is in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. About 33,370 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Lauderdale County? 4 operating plants with 108 MW of capacity. The largest is Meridian III (52 MW, solar). ### Are there data centers in Lauderdale County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Lauderdale County. ### Is Lauderdale County adding jobs? Employers counted 30,730 jobs in 2025 against 32,802 in 2019 (-6.3%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 978 to 1,184. ### Does Lauderdale County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Lauderdale County. Mississippi has 1 local measure statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/lauderdale-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/).