# Brewster County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Alpine

Brewster 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. Construction employs 316, up 49.8% since 2019, and construction is 1.3 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Brewster County is home to Alpine. Next door, Pecos County has 3 data centers and 1,098 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 4,529 jobs in 2025, up 10.1% from 2019. 73 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly battery storage.

+10.1%
total jobs since 2019, now 4,529

1.3×
the U.S. share of jobs in construction

123 MW
of operating power plants, mostly battery storage

## Cities and towns in Brewster County

Brewster County is home to Alpine.

Alpine5,989 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Marathon, Study Butte, Terlingua.

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 Brewster County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 9,561 | 9,458 | ▼ 1.1% | 168th of 254 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 4,115 | 4,529 | ▲ 10.1% | 85th of 254 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,642 | $55,520 | ▲ 36.6% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 211 | 316 | ▲ 49.8% | 34th of 155 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.6% | 3.2% | ▲ 0.6pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 73 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

Its power plants have 123 MW of capacity, 59% of it battery storage. Unemployment was 3.2% in August 2026, against 2.6% in 2019. AEP Texas North Company is the largest utility serving Brewster County, one of 2 with territory here. It delivers power that customers buy from competing retail providers. 9,458 people live here, down 1.1% since 2020.

## Who powers Brewster County

### Utilities with service territory in Brewster County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEP Texas North Company | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 157,455 | — | — |
| Rio Grande Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 9,298 | 18.51¢ | 23% |

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 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery storage | 73 MW | 59% |
| Solar | 50 MW | 41% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House Mountain | House Mountain | Battery storage | 73 MW | 2024 |
| SolaireHolman Solar Project | SolaireHolman 1, LLC | Solar | 50 MW | 2017 |

## The Brewster County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 4,529 | $55,520 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 316 | $87,645 | 1.32 |

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 Brewster County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Brewster County. Texas has 25 local measures on record statewide.

## Brewster County and its neighbors

Of the 4 counties that border Brewster County, Pecos 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster County | 9,458 | ▲ 10.1% | 123 MW | — | — | — |
| Jeff Davis County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/jeff-davis-county) | 1,711 | ▼ 7.9% | — | — | — | — |
| Pecos County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/pecos-county) | 14,560 | ▼ 5.0% | 3,731 MW | 1,098 MW | 3 | — |
| Presidio County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/presidio-county) | 5,433 | ▼ 5.7% | 10 MW | — | — | — |
| Terrell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/terrell-county) | 702 | ▼ 4.4% | — | — | — | — |

## More of Texas

[All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Pecos County14,560 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/pecos-county)[Presidio County5,433 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/presidio-county)[Jeff Davis County1,711 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/jeff-davis-county)[Terrell County702 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/terrell-county)

## Brewster County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Brewster County, Texas?

2 utilities have service territory in Brewster County in the EIA-861 2024 report: AEP Texas North Company, Rio Grande Electric Coop, Inc.

### What power plants are in Brewster County?

2 operating plants with 123 MW of capacity. The largest is House Mountain (73 MW, battery storage).

### Are there data centers in Brewster County?

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

### Is Brewster County adding jobs?

Employers counted 4,529 jobs in 2025 against 4,115 in 2019 (+10.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 211 to 316.

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

No county-level measure is on record for Brewster County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/brewster-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/).