# Thurston County, Nebraska: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Winnebago Township, Blackbird Township and Pender Township No data center or power plant project is on record in Thurston County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Thurston County is home to Winnebago Township, Blackbird Township, Pender Township and Pender. Unemployment was 2.9% in August 2026, against 4.6% in 2019. Next door, Woodbury County, Iowa, has 2 data centers. Employers here counted 3,331 jobs in 2025, up 9.7% from 2019. Its power plants have 5 MW of capacity, 100% of it petroleum. +9.7% total jobs since 2019, now 3,331 5 MW of operating power plants, mostly petroleum 10.63¢ per kWh for Nebraska Public Power District residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Thurston County Thurston County is home to Winnebago Township, Blackbird Township, Pender Township and Pender. Winnebago Township1,999 residents Blackbird Township1,275 residents Pender Township1,262 residents Pender1,106 residents Omaha Township1,039 residents Winnebago909 residents Walthill713 residents Dawes Township297 residents Flournoy Township266 residents Perry Township229 residents Rosalie156 residents Anderson Township126 residents Thurston118 residents Emerson117 residents · 14% of the city Thayer Township107 residents Bryan Township85 residents Merry Township67 residents - Emerson also extends into [Dixon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county), [Dakota County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dakota-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Macy. 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 Thurston County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Nebraska | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 6,759 | 6,752 | ▼ 0.1% | 43rd of 93 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,036 | 3,331 | ▲ 9.7% | 11th of 93 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $44,127 | $60,545 | ▲ 37.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.6% | 2.9% | ▼ 1.7pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Nebraska Public Power District is the largest utility serving Thurston County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 10.63¢/kWh in 2024. 6,752 people live here, down 0.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Thurston County ### Utilities with service territory in Thurston County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Nebraska Public Power District | Political Subdivision | Bundled | 73,650 | 10.63¢ | 28% | | Northeast Power | Political Subdivision | Bundled | 6,846 | 9.73¢ | 61% | | Burt County Public Power Dist | — | — | — | — | — | | Cuming County Public Pwr Dist | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Emerson - (NE) | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Pender - (NE) | — | — | — | — | — | | Village of Walthill - (NE) | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | |---|---|---| | Petroleum | 5 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Pender | City of Pender - (NE) | Petroleum | 5 MW | 1953 | ## The Thurston County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 3,331 | $60,545 | 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 Thurston County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Thurston County. Nebraska has 23 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Woodbury County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/woodbury-county). ## Thurston County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Thurston County, Woodbury 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Thurston County | 6,752 | ▲ 9.7% | 5 MW | — | — | — | | Burt County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/burt-county) | 6,678 | ▼ 2.9% | 4 MW | 75 MW | — | — | | Cuming County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cuming-county) | 8,823 | ▲ 3.9% | 10 MW | 2 MW | — | — | | Dakota County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dakota-county) | 21,687 | ▲ 11.9% | 4 MW | — | — | — | | Dixon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county) | 5,602 | ▼ 3.1% | 324 MW | — | — | — | | Monona County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/monona-county) IA | 8,539 | ▼ 1.4% | — | — | — | — | | Wayne County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/wayne-county) | 10,020 | ▼ 5.9% | 710 MW | — | — | — | | Woodbury County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/woodbury-county) IA | 106,649 | ▼ 1.7% | 1,284 MW | — | 2 | 1 | ## More of Nebraska [All Nebraska countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska)[Dakota County21,687 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dakota-county)[Wayne County10,020 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/wayne-county)[Cuming County8,823 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cuming-county)[Burt County6,678 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/burt-county)[Dixon County5,602 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county) ## Thurston County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Thurston County, Nebraska? 7 utilities have service territory in Thurston County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Nebraska Public Power District, Northeast Power, Burt County Public Power Dist, Cuming County Public Pwr Dist. The largest, Nebraska Public Power District, charged residential customers 10.63¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Thurston County? 1 operating plant with 5 MW of capacity. The largest is Pender (5 MW, petroleum). ### Are there data centers in Thurston County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Thurston County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Woodbury County. ### Is Thurston County adding jobs? Employers counted 3,331 jobs in 2025 against 3,036 in 2019 (+9.7%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Thurston County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Thurston County. Nebraska has 23 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/thurston-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/).