# Douglas County, Wisconsin: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Superior, Parkland and Amnicon Douglas 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. Douglas County is home to Superior, Parkland, Amnicon and Oakland. Next door, St. Louis County, Minnesota, has 7 data centers. Its power plants have 15 MW of capacity, 100% of it petroleum. Superior Water and Light Co is the largest utility serving Douglas County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.44¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.25¢ median for Wisconsin utilities. Employers here counted 15,643 jobs in 2025, down 0.7% from 2019. 15 MW of operating power plants, mostly petroleum 15.44¢ per kWh for Superior Water and Light Co residential customers, 2024 -0.7% total jobs since 2019, now 15,643 ## Cities and towns in Douglas County Douglas County is home to Superior, Parkland, Amnicon and Oakland. Superior26,397 residents Parkland1,228 residents Amnicon1,213 residents Oakland1,196 residents Lake Nebagamon1,134 residents Summit1,048 residents Hawthorne1,021 residents Wascott912 residents Gordon750 residents Maple704 residents Lakeside688 residents Solon Springs674 residents Superior664 residents Bennett648 residents Poplar626 residents Brule602 residents Oliver409 residents Highland348 residents Cloverland240 residents Dairyland197 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Brule, Gordon. 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 Douglas County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Wisconsin | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 44,351 | 43,990 | ▼ 0.8% | 34th of 72 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 15,757 | 15,643 | ▼ 0.7% | 39th of 72 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $42,026 | $53,570 | ▲ 27.5% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.1% | 4.2% | ▲ 0.1pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Unemployment was 4.2% in August 2026, against 4.1% in 2019. 43,990 people live here, down 0.8% since 2020. ## Who powers Douglas County ### Utilities with service territory in Douglas County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Superior Water and Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 13,072 | 15.44¢ | 12% | | Dahlberg Light & Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 10,939 | 12.62¢ | 18% | | East Central Energy | Cooperative | Bundled | 5,182 | 16.65¢ | 12% | | Bayfield 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 | 15 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Solon Diesel | Dahlberg Light & Power Co | Petroleum | 8 MW | 1988 | | Gordon | Dahlberg Light & Power Co | Petroleum | 7 MW | 1949 | ## The Douglas County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 15,643 | $53,570 | 1.00 | | Power and communication line construction | 21 | $115,104 | 0.83 | 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 Douglas County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Douglas County. Wisconsin has 49 local measures on record statewide, and 3 neighboring counties have one: [Carlton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/carlton-county), [Pine County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/pine-county), [Sawyer County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/sawyer-county). ## Douglas County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Douglas County, St. Louis 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Douglas County | 43,990 | ▼ 0.7% | 15 MW | — | — | — | | Bayfield County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/bayfield-county) | 16,787 | ▲ 2.9% | — | — | — | — | | Burnett County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/burnett-county) | 17,223 | ▲ 12.8% | 11 MW | 2 MW | — | — | | Carlton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/carlton-county) MN | 36,711 | ▼ 0.5% | 182 MW | — | — | 1 | | Pine County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/pine-county) MN | 30,472 | ▼ 5.0% | 28 MW | — | — | 1 | | Sawyer County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/sawyer-county) | 18,846 | ▲ 4.7% | 10 MW | — | — | 1 | | St. Louis County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/st-louis-county) MN | 200,518 | ▼ 3.4% | 269 MW | — | 7 | — | | Washburn County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/washburn-county) | 17,087 | ▼ 5.8% | 3 MW | 2 MW | — | — | ## More of Wisconsin [All Wisconsin countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin)[Sawyer County18,846 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/sawyer-county)[Burnett County17,223 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/burnett-county)[Washburn County17,087 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/washburn-county)[Bayfield County16,787 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/bayfield-county) ## Douglas County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Douglas County, Wisconsin? 4 utilities have service territory in Douglas County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Superior Water and Light Co, Dahlberg Light & Power Co, East Central Energy, Bayfield Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Superior Water and Light Co, charged residential customers 15.44¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Superior, WI in? Superior is in Douglas County, Wisconsin. About 26,397 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Douglas County? 2 operating plants with 15 MW of capacity. The largest is Solon Diesel (8 MW, petroleum). ### Are there data centers in Douglas County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Douglas County. The nearest activity on record is next door in St. Louis County. ### Is Douglas County adding jobs? Employers counted 15,643 jobs in 2025 against 15,757 in 2019 (-0.7%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Douglas County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Douglas County. Wisconsin has 49 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/douglas-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/).