# Brown County, Ohio: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Pleasant Township, Sterling Township and Perry Township

Brown County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Brown County is home to Pleasant Township, Sterling Township, Perry Township and Georgetown. Next door, Clinton County has 3 data centers and 300 MW of planned generation. Unemployment was 3.8% in August 2026, against 4.9% in 2019. 200 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 205 MW of capacity, 98% of it solar.

205 MW
of operating power plants, mostly solar

+2.3%
total jobs since 2019, now 8,026

15.00¢
per kWh for Duke Energy Ohio Inc residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Brown County

Brown County is home to Pleasant Township, Sterling Township, Perry Township and Georgetown.

Pleasant Township5,671 residents
Sterling Township4,804 residents
Perry Township4,729 residents
Georgetown4,450 residents
Mount Orab4,418 residents
Pike Township4,166 residents
Green Township3,659 residents
Clark Township2,993 residents
Union Township2,783 residents
Huntington Township2,526 residents
Lewis Township2,473 residents
Washington Township2,273 residents
Jackson Township1,756 residents
Franklin Township1,739 residents
Ripley1,597 residents
Aberdeen1,551 residents
Jefferson Township1,393 residents
Eagle Township1,353 residents
Scott Township1,333 residents
Sardinia1,101 residents
Byrd Township746 residents
Russellville548 residents
Hamersville503 residents
Fayetteville318 residents

And 1 smaller places.

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Lake Lorelei, Lake Waynoka, St. Martin.

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 Brown County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Ohio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 43,684 | 44,397 | ▲ 1.6% | 55th of 88 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,848 | 8,026 | ▲ 2.3% | 37th of 88 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $34,448 | $45,542 | ▲ 32.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.9% | 3.8% | ▼ 1.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 200 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

Employers here counted 8,026 jobs in 2025, up 2.3% from 2019. Duke Energy Ohio Inc is the largest utility serving Brown County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.00¢/kWh in 2024, below the 15.40¢ median for Ohio utilities. 44,397 people live here, up 1.6% since 2020.

## Who powers Brown County

### Utilities with service territory in Brown County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy Ohio Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 693,435 | 15.00¢ | 26% |
| Dayton Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 478,741 | 15.32¢ | 20% |
| South Central Power Company | Cooperative | Bundled | 117,469 | 14.87¢ | 14% |
| Adams Rural Electric Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — |
| Village of Georgetown - (OH) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Village of Hamersville - (OH) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Village of Ripley - (OH) | — | — | — | — | — |

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 | 200 MW | 98% |
| Other technologies | 5 MW | 2% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest Solar | Hillcrest Solar I, LLC | Solar | 200 MW | 2021 |
| Brown County LFGTE Power Station | Energy Developments, Inc d/b/a EDL | Other technologies | 5 MW | 2017 |

## The Brown County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 8,026 | $45,542 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 284 | $65,068 | 0.67 |

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 Brown County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Brown County. Ohio has 105 local measures on record statewide, and 2 neighboring counties have one: [Adams County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/adams-county), [Highland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/highland-county).

## Brown County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Brown County, Clinton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County | 44,397 | ▲ 2.3% | 205 MW | — | — | — |
| Adams County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/adams-county) | 27,865 | ▲ 17.4% | — | — | — | 2 |
| Bracken County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/bracken-county) KY | 8,511 | ▲ 27.7% | 105 MW | — | — | — |
| Clermont County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/clermont-county) | 216,977 | ▲ 5.6% | 84 MW | — | — | — |
| Clinton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/clinton-county) | 42,301 | ▲ 5.4% | 50 MW | 300 MW | 3 | — |
| Highland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/highland-county) | 43,823 | ▲ 3.5% | 667 MW | 200 MW | — | 1 |
| Mason County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kentucky/mason-county) KY | 16,936 | ▼ 6.0% | 1,608 MW | — | 1 | — |

## More of Ohio

[All Ohio countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio)[Clermont County216,977 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/clermont-county)[Highland County43,823 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/highland-county)[Clinton County42,301 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/clinton-county)[Adams County27,865 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/adams-county)

## Brown County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Brown County, Ohio?

7 utilities have service territory in Brown County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Duke Energy Ohio Inc, Dayton Power & Light Co, South Central Power Company, Adams Rural Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Duke Energy Ohio Inc, charged residential customers 15.00¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Brown County?

2 operating plants with 205 MW of capacity. The largest is Hillcrest Solar (200 MW, solar).

### Are there data centers in Brown County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Brown County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Clinton County.

### Is Brown County adding jobs?

Employers counted 8,026 jobs in 2025 against 7,848 in 2019 (+2.3%, BLS QCEW).

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

No county-level measure is on record for Brown County. Ohio has 105 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/brown-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/).