# Gaines County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Seminole and Seagraves The build-out shows up in Gaines County as work for the electrical trades. Construction employs 1,186, up 43.4% since 2019, and construction is 3.1 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Gaines County is home to Seminole and Seagraves. Electrical contractors employ 315, up 52.9% since 2019 against up 24.0% statewide, at an average $89,343 a year. Next door, Lea County, New Mexico, has 721 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 7,244 jobs in 2025, up 9.1% from 2019. +52.9% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 315 3.1× the U.S. share of jobs in construction +9.1% total jobs since 2019, now 7,244 ## Cities and towns in Gaines County Gaines County is home to Seminole and Seagraves. Seminole7,730 residents Seagraves2,352 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Loop. 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 Gaines County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 21,699 | 23,956 | ▲ 10.4% | 105th of 254 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 6,638 | 7,244 | ▲ 9.1% | 91st of 254 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $55,226 | $65,778 | ▲ 19.1% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 827 | 1,186 | ▲ 43.4% | 40th of 155 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 206 | 315 | ▲ 52.9% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.6% | 3.3% | ▲ 0.7pts | — | Unemployment was 3.3% in August 2026, against 2.6% in 2019. 23,956 people live here, up 10.4% since 2020. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC is the largest utility serving Gaines County, one of 4 with territory here. It delivers power that customers buy from competing retail providers. ## Who powers Gaines County ### Utilities with service territory in Gaines County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 3,477,215 | — | — | | Southwestern Public Service Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 222,146 | 13.35¢ | 25% | | Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 9,021 | 8.99¢ | 42% | | Lea County Electric Coop, Inc - (NM) | Cooperative | Bundled | 1,989 | 9.82¢ | 70% | 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 Gaines County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere. ## The Gaines County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 7,244 | $65,778 | 1.00 | | Construction | 1,186 | $77,966 | 3.09 | | Electrical contractors | 315 | $89,343 | 6.03 | 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 Gaines County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Gaines County. Texas has 25 local measures on record statewide. ## Gaines County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Gaines County, Lea 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Gaines County | 23,956 | ▲ 9.1% | — | — | — | — | | Andrews County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/andrews-county) | 18,914 | ▼ 2.6% | 1,298 MW | 223 MW | — | — | | Dawson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/dawson-county) | 11,776 | ▼ 5.8% | 464 MW | — | — | — | | Lea County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/lea-county) NM | 74,749 | ▲ 3.1% | 1,844 MW | 721 MW | — | — | | Martin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/martin-county) | 5,284 | ▼ 0.6% | 120 MW | — | — | — | | Terry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/terry-county) | 11,720 | ▼ 15.0% | — | — | — | — | | Yoakum County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/yoakum-county) | 7,438 | ▼ 12.7% | 1,016 MW | 507 MW | — | — | ## More of Texas [All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Andrews County18,914 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/andrews-county)[Dawson County11,776 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/dawson-county)[Terry County11,720 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/terry-county)[Yoakum County7,438 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/yoakum-county)[Martin County5,284 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/martin-county) ## Gaines County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Gaines County, Texas? 4 utilities have service territory in Gaines County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, Southwestern Public Service Co, Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc, Lea County Electric Coop, Inc - (NM). ### Are there data centers in Gaines County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Gaines County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Lea County. ### Is Gaines County adding jobs? Employers counted 7,244 jobs in 2025 against 6,638 in 2019 (+9.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 827 to 1,186. ### Does Gaines County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Gaines County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/gaines-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/).