Delaware County, Ohio: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Delaware, Orange Township and Liberty Township
Delaware County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Delaware County. Delaware County is home to Delaware, Orange Township, Liberty Township and Genoa Township. 2 projects are on the Delay Watchlist, including Amazon Data Services Sunbury data center campus. Employers here counted 100,816 jobs in 2025, up 11.4% from 2019 (the 6th fastest growth of 88 Ohio counties). 9 MW has retired here since 2019, including O'Shaughnessy Hydro (hydro, 5 MW, 2025).
Cities and towns in Delaware County
Delaware County is home to Delaware, Orange Township, Liberty Township and Genoa Township.
And 4 smaller places.
- Columbus also extends into Franklin County, Fairfield County.
- Westerville also extends into Franklin County.
- Dublin also extends into Franklin County, Union County.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Kilbourne, Radnor.
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 Delaware County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Ohio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 215,181 | 242,032 | ▲ 12.5% | 11th of 88 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 90,527 | 100,816 | ▲ 11.4% | 6th of 88 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $57,489 | $75,804 | ▲ 31.9% | — |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 744 | 768 | ▲ 3.2% | — |
| Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 59 | 93 | ▲ 57.6% | — |
| Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 99 | 149 | ▲ 50.5% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.2% | 3.1% | ▼ 0.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 1 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 9 MW | — |
1 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. 242,032 people live here, up 12.5% since 2020. Electrical contractors employ 768, up 3.2% since 2019 against up 37.0% statewide, at an average $150,003 a year. Its power plants have 1 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. Ohio Power Co is the largest utility serving Delaware County, one of 9 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 19.33¢/kWh in 2024, above the 15.40¢ median for Ohio utilities. Unemployment was 3.1% in August 2026, against 3.2% in 2019.
Who powers Delaware County
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: −8 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in Delaware County
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,339,232 | 19.33¢ | 22% |
| Ohio Edison Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 957,780 | 16.18¢ | 18% |
| Duke Energy Ohio Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 693,435 | 15.00¢ | 26% |
| Dayton Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 478,741 | 15.32¢ | 20% |
| Licking Rural Electric Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 25,820 | 16.88¢ | 7% |
| Consolidated Cooperative | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,897 | 16.11¢ | 24% |
| City of Westerville - (OH) | Municipal | Bundled | 15,713 | 13.19¢ | 58% |
| Union Rural Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 11,812 | 15.67¢ | 17% |
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 1
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 1 MW | 100% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertiv Solar | Onsite Partners Projectco, LLC | Solar | 1 MW | 2024 |
Retired since 2019
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| O'Shaughnessy Hydro | Hydro | 5 MW | 2025 |
| Battery Utility of Ohio | Battery storage | 4 MW | 2023 |
The Delaware County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 100,816 | $75,804 | 1.00 |
| Electrical contractors | 768 | $150,003 | 1.06 |
| Power and communication line construction | 93 | $66,030 | 0.57 |
| Electric utilities | 89 | $128,323 | 0.33 |
| Data processing and hosting | 149 | $130,649 | 0.48 |
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 Delaware County
4 data centers in Delaware County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map.
Delay Watchlist 2
| Project | Status | Cause | MW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Data Services Sunbury data center campus | pending review | — | ||
| Amazon Data Services Sunbury Campus | proposed amid local moratorium and ballot fight | — |
Delaware County and its neighbors
Of the 6 counties that border Delaware County, Franklin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware County | 242,032 | ▲ 11.4% | 1 MW | — | 4 | — |
| Franklin County | 1,361,536 | ▲ 3.4% | 15 MW | 400 MW | 56 | 1 |
| Knox County | 64,002 | ● 0.0% | — | — | — | — |
| Licking County | 185,564 | ▲ 18.7% | 3 MW | 350 MW | 32 | — |
| Marion County | 65,115 | ▼ 5.9% | 114 MW | — | — | — |
| Morrow County | 36,305 | ▼ 2.5% | — | — | — | — |
| Union County | 73,446 | ▲ 9.8% | 565 MW | 50 MW | 7 | — |
More of Ohio
Delaware County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Delaware County, Ohio?
9 utilities have service territory in Delaware County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Ohio Power Co, Ohio Edison Co, Duke Energy Ohio Inc, Dayton Power & Light Co. The largest, Ohio Power Co, charged residential customers 19.33¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What county is Delaware, OH in?
Delaware is in Delaware County, Ohio. About 46,636 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What county is Orange Township, OH in?
Orange Township is in Delaware County, Ohio. About 41,832 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What county is Liberty Township, OH in?
Liberty Township is in Delaware County, Ohio. About 40,625 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What power plants are in Delaware County?
1 operating plant with 1 MW of capacity. The largest is Vertiv Solar (1 MW, solar).
Are there data centers in Delaware County?
Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Delaware County.
Is Delaware County adding jobs?
Employers counted 100,816 jobs in 2025 against 90,527 in 2019 (+11.4%, BLS QCEW).
Does Delaware County have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Delaware County. Ohio has 105 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.