# Highland County, Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to McDowell

No data center or power plant project is on record in Highland County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Employers here counted 613 jobs in 2025, up 32.7% from 2019 (the 2nd fastest growth of 133 Virginia counties). Highland County is home to Monterey. Its power plants have 6 MW of capacity, 100% of it petroleum. Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop is the largest utility serving Highland County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.81¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.39¢ median for Virginia utilities. Unemployment was 3.2% in August 2026, against 3.6% in 2019.

+32.7%
total jobs since 2019, now 613

1.4×
the U.S. share of jobs in construction

6 MW
of operating power plants, mostly petroleum

## Cities and towns in Highland County

Highland County is home to Monterey.

Monterey162 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): McDowell.

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 Highland County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Virginia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 2,242 | 2,318 | ▲ 3.4% | 133rd of 133 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 462 | 613 | ▲ 32.7% | 2nd of 133 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $31,417 | $49,684 | ▲ 58.1% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 39 | 47 | ▲ 20.5% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.6% | 3.2% | ▼ 0.4pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

2,318 people live here, up 3.4% since 2020.

## Who powers Highland County

### Utilities with service territory in Highland County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 85,281 | 13.81¢ | 22% |
| BARC Electric Coop Inc | — | — | — | — | — |

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 |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum | 6 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey Diesel Generation Facility | Old Dominion Electric Coop | Petroleum | 6 MW | 2016 |

## The Highland County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 613 | $49,684 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 47 | $33,811 | 1.45 |

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 Highland County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Highland County. Virginia has 13 local measures on record statewide.

## Highland County and its neighbors

Of the 4 counties that border Highland County, Bath 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland County | 2,318 | ▲ 32.7% | 6 MW | — | — | — |
| Augusta County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/augusta-county) | 78,940 | ▲ 9.6% | 8 MW | 11 MW | — | — |
| Bath County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/bath-county) | 4,076 | ▲ 2.9% | 2,867 MW | — | — | — |
| Pendleton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/pendleton-county) WV | 5,826 | ▲ 1.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Pocahontas County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/pocahontas-county) WV | 7,602 | ▼ 5.5% | — | — | — | — |

## More of Virginia

[All Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia)[Augusta County78,940 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/augusta-county)[Bath County4,076 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/bath-county)

## Highland County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Highland County, Virginia?

2 utilities have service territory in Highland County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop, BARC Electric Coop Inc. The largest, Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop, charged residential customers 13.81¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Highland County?

1 operating plant with 6 MW of capacity. The largest is Monterey Diesel Generation Facility (6 MW, petroleum).

### Are there data centers in Highland County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Highland County.

### Is Highland County adding jobs?

Employers counted 613 jobs in 2025 against 462 in 2019 (+32.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 39 to 47.

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

No county-level measure is on record for Highland County. Virginia has 13 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/virginia/highland-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/).