# Wayne County, Nebraska: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Wayne No data center or power plant project is on record in Wayne County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Wayne County is home to Wayne. Construction employs 108, up 44.0% since 2019. 688 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly wind. Its power plants have 710 MW of capacity, 97% of it wind, the 8th largest fleet in Nebraska. Employers here counted 4,042 jobs in 2025, down 5.9% from 2019. 710 MW of operating power plants, mostly wind -5.9% total jobs since 2019, now 4,042 9.73¢ per kWh for Northeast Power residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Wayne County Wayne County is home to Wayne. Wayne6,338 residents Winside367 residents Wakefield361 residents · 24% of the city Hoskins273 residents Carroll181 residents - Wakefield also extends into [Dixon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county). 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 Wayne County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Nebraska | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 9,705 | 10,020 | ▲ 3.2% | 27th of 93 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 4,295 | 4,042 | ▼ 5.9% | 79th of 93 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $35,973 | $46,131 | ▲ 28.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 75 | 108 | ▲ 44.0% | 4th of 35 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.7% | 3.0% | ▲ 0.3pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 688 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Northeast Power is the largest utility serving Wayne County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 9.73¢/kWh in 2024, below the 10.86¢ median for Nebraska utilities. Unemployment was 3.0% in August 2026, against 2.7% in 2019. 10,020 people live here, up 3.2% since 2020. ## Who powers Wayne County ### Utilities with service territory in Wayne County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Northeast Power | Political Subdivision | Bundled | 6,846 | 9.73¢ | 61% | | Cedar-Knox Public Power Dist | Political Subdivision | Bundled | 5,556 | 8.44¢ | 50% | | Cuming County Public Pwr Dist | — | — | — | — | — | | Stanton County Public Pwr Dist | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Wakefield - (NE) | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Wayne | — | — | — | — | — | | Village of Winside - (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 | |---|---|---| | Wind | 688 MW | 97% | | Petroleum | 22 MW | 3% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Haystack Wind Project, LLC | Haystack Wind Project, LLC | Wind | 298 MW | 2022 | | Plum Creek Wind Project (NE) | Plum Creek Wind, LLC | Wind | 230 MW | 2020 | | Sholes Wind Energy Center | Sholes Wind Energy Center, LLC | Wind | 160 MW | 2019 | | Wayne IC | City of Wayne (NE) | Petroleum | 22 MW | 1947 | ## The Wayne County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 4,042 | $46,131 | 1.00 | | Construction | 108 | $47,617 | 0.50 | 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 Wayne County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Wayne County. Nebraska has 23 local measures on record statewide. ## Wayne County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Wayne County, Dixon 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Wayne County | 10,020 | ▼ 5.9% | 710 MW | — | — | — | | Cedar County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cedar-county) | 8,373 | ▲ 2.3% | 136 MW | — | — | — | | Cuming County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cuming-county) | 8,823 | ▲ 3.9% | 10 MW | 2 MW | — | — | | Dixon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county) | 5,602 | ▼ 3.1% | 324 MW | — | — | — | | Madison County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/madison-county) | 36,106 | ▼ 0.6% | 18 MW | — | — | — | | Pierce County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/pierce-county) | 7,378 | ▲ 2.7% | 2 MW | — | — | — | | Stanton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/stanton-county) | 5,744 | ▼ 1.6% | — | — | — | — | | Thurston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/thurston-county) | 6,752 | ▲ 9.7% | 5 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Nebraska [All Nebraska countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska)[Madison County36,106 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/madison-county)[Cuming County8,823 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cuming-county)[Cedar County8,373 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cedar-county)[Pierce County7,378 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/pierce-county)[Thurston County6,752 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/thurston-county) ## Wayne County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Wayne County, Nebraska? 7 utilities have service territory in Wayne County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Northeast Power, Cedar-Knox Public Power Dist, Cuming County Public Pwr Dist, Stanton County Public Pwr Dist. The largest, Northeast Power, charged residential customers 9.73¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Wayne County? 4 operating plants with 710 MW of capacity. The largest is Haystack Wind Project, LLC (298 MW, wind). ### Are there data centers in Wayne County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Wayne County. ### Is Wayne County adding jobs? Employers counted 4,042 jobs in 2025 against 4,295 in 2019 (-5.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 75 to 108. ### Does Wayne County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Wayne County. Nebraska has 23 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/wayne-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/).