# Oktibbeha County, Mississippi: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Starkville The data center boom is not abstract in Oktibbeha County: it is on the ground here. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Oktibbeha County, 7% of Mississippi's total. Oktibbeha County is home to Starkville. Unemployment was 3.4% in August 2026, against 6.0% in 2019. Construction employs 482, up 24.5% since 2019. Its power plants have 26 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 7% of Mississippi's 26 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas 12.88¢ per kWh for 4-County Electric Power Assn residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Oktibbeha County Oktibbeha County is home to Starkville. Starkville25,754 residents Maben469 residents · 61% of the city Sturgis205 residents - Maben also extends into [Webster County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/webster-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Longview, Mississippi State. 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 Oktibbeha County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Mississippi | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 51,697 | 51,896 | ▲ 0.4% | 15th of 82 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 20,589 | 20,613 | ▲ 0.1% | 37th of 82 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,157 | $49,033 | ▲ 28.5% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 387 | 482 | ▲ 24.5% | 20th of 45 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 73 | 56 | ▼ 23.3% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.0% | 3.4% | ▼ 2.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | 4-County Electric Power Assn is the largest utility serving Oktibbeha County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.88¢/kWh in 2024. Employers here counted 20,613 jobs in 2025, up 0.1% from 2019. 51,896 people live here, up 0.4% since 2020. Electrical contractors employ 56, down 23.3% since 2019 against up 33.2% statewide, at an average $53,732 a year. ## Who powers Oktibbeha County ### Utilities with service territory in Oktibbeha County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 4-County Electric Power Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 41,076 | 12.88¢ | 29% | | City of Starkville | Municipal | Bundled | 12,632 | 12.08¢ | 64% | 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 | 26 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Mississippi State University | Mississippi State University | Natural gas | 26 MW | 2005 | ## The Oktibbeha County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 20,613 | $49,033 | 1.00 | | Construction | 482 | $49,609 | 0.44 | | Electrical contractors | 56 | $53,732 | 0.38 | 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 Oktibbeha County 1 data center in Oktibbeha County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Oktibbeha County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Oktibbeha County, Lowndes 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oktibbeha County | 51,896 | ▲ 0.1% | 26 MW | — | 1 | — | | Choctaw County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/choctaw-county) | 8,048 | ▼ 0.1% | 2,263 MW | — | — | — | | Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/clay-county) | 18,238 | ▲ 21.4% | 250 MW | — | — | — | | Lowndes County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/lowndes-county) | 57,346 | ▲ 2.7% | 1,380 MW | 504 MW | 1 | — | | Noxubee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/noxubee-county) | 9,798 | ▼ 11.3% | — | — | — | — | | Webster County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/webster-county) | 10,167 | ▲ 4.8% | — | — | — | — | | Winston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/winston-county) | 17,473 | ▲ 2.1% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Mississippi [All Mississippi countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi)[Lowndes County57,346 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/lowndes-county)[Clay County18,238 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/clay-county)[Winston County17,473 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/winston-county)[Webster County10,167 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/webster-county)[Noxubee County9,798 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/noxubee-county) ## Oktibbeha County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi? 2 utilities have service territory in Oktibbeha County in the EIA-861 2024 report: 4-County Electric Power Assn, City of Starkville. The largest, 4-County Electric Power Assn, charged residential customers 12.88¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Starkville, MS in? Starkville is in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. About 25,754 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Oktibbeha County? 1 operating plant with 26 MW of capacity. The largest is Mississippi State University (26 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Oktibbeha County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Oktibbeha County. ### Is Oktibbeha County adding jobs? Employers counted 20,613 jobs in 2025 against 20,589 in 2019 (+0.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 387 to 482. ### Does Oktibbeha County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Oktibbeha County. Mississippi has 1 local measure statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/oktibbeha-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/).