# White County, Tennessee: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Sparta Local rules on data centers are on the record in White County. Construction employs 230, up 52.3% since 2019. White County is home to Sparta and Doyle. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers with no end date”. Electrical contractors employ 25, up 56.2% since 2019 against up 20.9% statewide, at an average $44,204 a year. Employers here counted 7,059 jobs in 2025, down 3.3% from 2019. -3.3% total jobs since 2019, now 7,059 12.19¢ per kWh for Volunteer Electric Coop residential customers, 2024 29,612 residents, 2025 ## Cities and towns in White County White County is home to Sparta and Doyle. Sparta5,038 residents Doyle540 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Bon Air. 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 White County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Tennessee | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 27,441 | 29,612 | ▲ 7.9% | 52nd of 95 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,303 | 7,059 | ▼ 3.3% | 83rd of 95 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $35,496 | $47,595 | ▲ 34.1% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 151 | 230 | ▲ 52.3% | 14th of 55 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 16 | 25 | ▲ 56.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.0% | 4.1% | ▲ 0.1pts | — | Volunteer Electric Coop is the largest utility serving White County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.19¢/kWh in 2024. 29,612 people live here, up 7.9% since 2020. Unemployment was 4.1% in August 2026, against 4.0% in 2019. ## Who powers White County ### Utilities with service territory in White County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Volunteer Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 104,387 | 12.19¢ | 24% | | Upper Cumberland E M C | Cooperative | Bundled | 45,560 | 12.77¢ | 26% | | Caney Fork Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 29,631 | 12.89¢ | 22% | | City of Sparta | Municipal | Bundled | 2,258 | 11.94¢ | 38% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. No operating power plant is located in White County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere. ## The White County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 7,059 | $47,595 | 1.00 | | Construction | 230 | $65,467 | 0.61 | | Electrical contractors | 25 | $44,204 | 0.49 | 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 White County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers with no end date | In force | 2026-01 | ## White County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border White County, Cumberland 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | White County | 29,612 | ▼ 3.3% | — | — | — | 1 | | Bledsoe County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/bledsoe-county) | 15,920 | ▲ 17.0% | — | — | — | — | | Cumberland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/cumberland-county) | 66,300 | ▲ 8.6% | — | 110 MW | — | — | | DeKalb County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/dekalb-county) | 21,873 | ▼ 8.2% | 156 MW | — | — | — | | Putnam County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/putnam-county) | 86,612 | ▲ 7.5% | — | — | — | — | | Van Buren County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/van-buren-county) | 6,874 | ▲ 9.7% | — | — | — | — | | Warren County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/warren-county) | 43,717 | ▲ 1.7% | 58 MW | — | 1 | 1 | ## More of Tennessee [All Tennessee countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee)[Putnam County86,612 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/putnam-county)[Cumberland County66,300 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/cumberland-county)[Warren County43,717 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/warren-county)[DeKalb County21,873 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/dekalb-county)[Bledsoe County15,920 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/bledsoe-county) ## White County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in White County, Tennessee? 4 utilities have service territory in White County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Volunteer Electric Coop, Upper Cumberland E M C, Caney Fork Electric Coop, Inc, City of Sparta. The largest, Volunteer Electric Coop, charged residential customers 12.19¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### Are there data centers in White County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in White County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Warren County. ### Is White County adding jobs? Employers counted 7,059 jobs in 2025 against 7,303 in 2019 (-3.3%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 151 to 230. ### Does White County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for White County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/white-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/).