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

Home to Wooster, Green Township and Chippewa Township

Wayne 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. Wayne County is home to Wooster, Green Township, Chippewa Township and Orrville. Construction employs 2,648, up 17.7% since 2019. Next door, Stark County has 4 data centers. 1 MW has retired here since 2019, including Wooster Renewable Energy (other technologies, 1 MW, 2021). Its power plants have 95 MW of capacity, 63% of it coal.

1 MW
of generating capacity retired since 2019

95 MW
of operating power plants, mostly coal

-2.4%
total jobs since 2019, now 48,168

## Cities and towns in Wayne County

Wayne County is home to Wooster, Green Township, Chippewa Township and Orrville.

Wooster27,115 residents
Green Township12,277 residents
Chippewa Township9,853 residents
Orrville8,461 residents
Sugar Creek Township7,151 residents
East Union Township6,959 residents
Rittman6,004 residents
Canaan Township5,099 residents
Baughman Township4,759 residents
Wooster Township4,603 residents
Salt Creek Township4,508 residents
Congress Township4,460 residents
Franklin Township4,233 residents
Wayne Township4,002 residents
Paint Township3,498 residents
Clinton Township3,170 residents
Doylestown3,085 residents
Plain Township3,068 residents
Chester Township3,038 residents
Milton Township2,957 residents
Creston2,057 residents · 96% of the city
Dalton1,921 residents
Shreve1,495 residents
West Salem1,430 residents

And 7 smaller places.
- Rittman also extends into [Medina County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/medina-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Kidron, New Pittsburg, Sterling.

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 Ohio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 116,899 | 116,758 | ▼ 0.1% | 24th of 88 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 49,335 | 48,168 | ▼ 2.4% | 60th of 88 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $47,277 | $59,569 | ▲ 26.0% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,250 | 2,648 | ▲ 17.7% | 20th of 51 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.6% | 3.0% | ▼ 0.6pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 1 MW |  | — |

Unemployment was 3.0% in August 2026, against 3.6% in 2019. Employers here counted 48,168 jobs in 2025, down 2.4% from 2019. Ohio Power Co is the largest utility serving Wayne County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 19.33¢/kWh in 2024, above the 15.40¢ median for Ohio utilities. 116,758 people live here, down 0.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,339,232 | 19.33¢ | 22% |
| Ohio Edison Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 957,780 | 16.18¢ | 18% |
| Lorain-Medina R E C, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 15,234 | 17.26¢ | 14% |
| Holmes-Wayne Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,714 | 16.52¢ | 28% |
| City of Orrville - (OH) | Municipal | Bundled | 6,314 | 10.96¢ | 23% |
| Village of Marshallville - (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 60 MW | 63% |
| Natural gas | 28 MW | 29% |
| Petroleum | 5 MW | 6% |
| Solar | 2 MW | 2% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orrville | City of Orrville - (OH) | Coal | 84 MW | 1949 |
| Orrville Peaking | American Mun Power-Ohio, Inc | Petroleum | 5 MW | 1999 |
| Morton Salt Rittman | Morton Salt Inc | Natural gas | 2 MW | 2015 |
| DG AMP Solar Orrville 3 | DG AMP Solar, LLC | Solar | 2 MW | 2018 |

### Retired since 2019

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wooster Renewable Energy | Other technologies | 1 MW | 2021 |

## The Wayne County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 48,168 | $59,569 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 2,648 | $68,968 | 1.04 |
| Electric utilities | 37 | $121,908 | 0.28 |

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. Ohio has 105 local measures on record statewide.

## Wayne County and its neighbors

Of the 5 counties that border Wayne County, Summit 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 | 116,758 | ▼ 2.4% | 95 MW | — | — | — |
| Ashland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/ashland-county) | 52,523 | ▼ 3.5% | — | — | — | — |
| Holmes County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/holmes-county) | 44,970 | ▲ 10.4% | — | — | — | — |
| Medina County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/medina-county) | 185,025 | ▲ 3.1% | 36 MW | — | 2 | — |
| Stark County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/stark-county) | 373,771 | ▼ 1.2% | 2 MW | 150 MW | 4 | — |
| Summit County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/summit-county) | 538,376 | ▼ 2.8% | 20 MW | — | 7 | — |

## More of Ohio

[All Ohio countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio)[Summit County538,376 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/summit-county)[Stark County373,771 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/stark-county)[Medina County185,025 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/medina-county)[Ashland County52,523 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/ashland-county)[Holmes County44,970 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/holmes-county)

## Wayne County, answered from the record

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

6 utilities have service territory in Wayne County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Ohio Power Co, Ohio Edison Co, Lorain-Medina R E C, Inc, Holmes-Wayne Electric Coop Inc. The largest, Ohio Power Co, charged residential customers 19.33¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What county is Wooster, OH in?

Wooster is in Wayne County, Ohio. About 27,115 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What county is Green Township, OH in?

Green Township is in Wayne County, Ohio. About 12,277 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What power plants are in Wayne County?

4 operating plants with 95 MW of capacity. The largest is Orrville (84 MW, coal).

### Are there data centers in Wayne County?

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

### Is Wayne County adding jobs?

Employers counted 48,168 jobs in 2025 against 49,335 in 2019 (-2.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 2,250 to 2,648.

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

No county-level measure is on record for Wayne 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/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/).