More Than 100 NJ Towns Have Banned AI Data Centers: See Updated List

More than 100 towns and cities in New Jersey have banned data centers, a number that reportedly tops any other state in the nation.

Since the start of the year, a wave of New Jersey municipalities have passed bans involving data centers, according to Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN), an advocacy group that opposes their expansion.

Nearly one in four New Jersey residents – more than 2.3 million people – now live somewhere that has banned data centers. The bans cross party and geographic lines, ranging from Democratic strongholds like East Orange and Jersey City to Republican towns like Stafford at the Jersey Shore and Upper Pittsgrove in Salem County.

Data centers have existed since the 1950s and have “generally been harmless” – but the rapidly expanding use of artificial intelligence is changing that, advocates say.

These days, data centers are used for storing information and running software that powers services used by nearly everyone: making online purchases, streaming shows, sending emails, processing credit cards.

Supporters of data centers say they’re needed to keep pace in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry. But critics allege that they consume too much power and water – jacking up utility bills and straining the local electricity grid.

Here are the New Jersey municipalities that have rolled out full or partial bans on data centers as of Oct. 19, according to CRAN (article continues below):

1. Alexandria (Hunterdon)
2. Allamuchy (Warren)
3. Alpha (Warren)
4. Andover Township (Sussex)
5. Andover Borough (Sussex)
6. Asbury Park (Monmouth)
7. Bass River (Burlington)
8. Bayonne (Hudson)
9. Berkeley Township (Ocean)
10. Berkeley Heights (Union)
11. Bernards (Somerset)
12. Blairstown (Warren)
13. Burlington Township (Burlington)
14. Carneys Point (Salem)
15. Cherry Hill (Camden)
16. Chesterfield (Burlington)
17. Clark (Union)
18. Clementon (Camden)
19. Collingswood (Camden)
20. Commercial (Cumberland)
21. Cranbury (Middlesex)
22. Cresskill (Bergen)
23. Deerfield (Cumberland)
24. Delanco (Burlington)
25. Delaware (Hunterdon)
26. East Brunswick (Middlesex)
27. East Greenwich (Gloucester)
28. East Orange (Essex)
29. East Windsor (Mercer)
30. Edgewater Park (Burlington)
31. Elizabeth (Union)
32. Elk (Gloucester)
33. Elsinboro (Salem)
34. Estell Manor (Atlantic)
35. Franklin Township (Gloucester)
36. Franklin Township (Somerset)
37. Frelinghuysen (Warren)
38. Galloway (Atlantic)
39. Glassboro (Gloucester)
40. Green (Sussex)
41. Hackettstown (Warren)
42. Hainesport (Burlington)
43. Hamilton Township (Atlantic)
44. Hampton (Sussex)
45. Hardyston (Sussex)
46. Harrison (Gloucester)
47. Highland Park (Middlesex)
48. Holland Township (Hunterdon)
49. Holmdel (Monmouth)
50. Howell (Monmouth)
51. Jackson (Ocean)
52. Jersey City (Hudson)
53. Kingwood (Hunterdon)
54. Knowlton (Warren)
55. Lebanon (Hunterdon)
56. Leonia (Bergen)
57. Liberty (Warren)
58. Logan (Gloucester)
59. Lopatcong (Warren)
60. Madison (Morris)
61. Manchester (Ocean)
62. Mannington (Salem)
63. Mansfield Township (Burlington)
64. Mansfield Township (Warren)
65. Mantua (Gloucester)
66. Medford (Burlington)
67. Millstone (Monmouth)
68. Millville (Cumberland)
69. Monroe Township (Gloucester)
70. Montgomery (Somerset)
71. Neptune Township (Monmouth)
72. New Providence (Union)
73. North Brunswick (Middlesex)
74. North Hanover (Burlington)
75. North Plainfield (Somerset)
76. Old Bridge (Middlesex)
77. Oldmans (Salem)
78. Peapack-Gladstone (Somerset)
79. Pemberton Township (Burlington)
80. Pennsville (Salem)
81. Phillipsburg (Warren)
82. Pilesgrove (Salem)
83. Pittsgrove Township (Salem)
84. Plainfield (Union)
85. Plumsted (Ocean)
86. Pohatcong (Warren)
87. Quinton (Salem)
88. Red Bank (Monmouth)
89. Ridgefield Park (Bergen)
90. Rockaway (Morris)
91. Roselle Park (Union)
92. Sayreville (Middlesex)
93. Shamong (Burlington)
94. South Plainfield (Middlesex)
95. Sparta (Sussex)
96. Stafford (Ocean)
97. Summit (Union)
98. Tinton Falls (Monmouth)
99. Union (Union)
100. Upper Pittsgrove Township (Salem)
101. Upper Township (Cape May)
102. Vernon (Sussex)
103. Warren Township (Somerset)
104. Washington Borough (Warren)
105. Washington Township (Gloucester)
106. Washington Township (Warren)
107. Waterford (Camden)
108. West Amwell (Hunterdon)
109. Woodstown (Salem)

‘PEOPLE HATE DATA CENTERS RIGHT NOW’

Communities across the country are pushing back against data centers, but no one is paying more for them than New Jersey, where electricity bills are rising faster than any other state, CRAN reported.

Need other reasons to support a data center ban? The facilities have been caught polluting the air with unpermitted gas generators, spilling thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into a river, and keeping residents awake around the clock, advocates say.

“I've been to council meetings all over the state and met thousands of people over the last year, and the only ones I’ve heard defend data centers are the ones personally profiting from them,” CRAN executive director Ben Dziobek said.

“I can’t overstate how much people hate data centers right now,” he added.

Dziobek said that the local bans have done a good job of slowing down the expansion of data centers in New Jersey, but it’s an issue that needs to be addressed on the state level.

“If you live somewhere that hasn’t passed a ban, now’s the time,” he said. “There are only so many places left for these things to go.”

In addition to CRAN, other advocacy groups that are supporting a three-year statewide moratorium include the Pinelands Alliance, Food & Water Watch, and Sustain South Jersey.

Other opposition has come from the northern part of the state, including New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, where a ban has been proposed.

“AI data centers exact an enormous toll on the communities where they are built, yet they offer very few long-term benefits, argued the South Ward Environmental Alliance and the Ironbound Community Corporation, two groups that have been supporting a local moratorium in Newark.

“While data centers can serve telecommunications functions – like the one that already exists at 165 Halsey Street – the recent proliferation of AI data centers across the country is a threat to environmental and public health,” advocates added.

‘SIMPLY NOT ROOTED IN FACT OR DATA’

Other experts argue that New Jersey doesn’t need to ban data centers – the state only needs stronger oversight and better planning.

A report from independent research nonprofit Focus NJ found the facilities can have major economic benefits. Data centers contributed more than $31 billion to New Jersey's economy in 2024 – while also supporting more than 172,000 jobs and adding $3.46 billion in state and local tax revenue from the “cross-state spillover effect,” the group reported.

The report challenged claims that data centers are a major cause of higher electricity bills, citing research that suggests large data centers can help lower electricity rates by spreading power grid costs among more customers.

Researchers also said that worries about environmental impacts are overhyped, with newer cooling systems, cleaner energy sources and existing regulations drastically softening the footprint of data centers.

“There is no question that AI data centers face a challenging narrative in New Jersey at this time,” Focus NJ executive director Althea Ford said.

However, while some of the concerns are valid, many others are “simply not rooted in fact or data,” Ford said.

“The central takeaway here is that the appropriate response to the challenges associated with data center development is not withdrawal or a moratorium, but the implementation of smart, balanced, transparent and forward-looking governance,” Ford added.

Read the full report here.

PUBLIC OPINION, LAWSUITS AND GUARDRAILS

The debate over AI data centers continues to strike a chord with many New Jersey residents, with many saying the costs outweigh the benefits, according to a recent poll from Rutgers-Eagleton:

“Asked to weigh the jobs and tax revenue data centers could bring against their use of electricity and water and the prospect of higher utility bills, 55% of New Jerseyans say the costs outweigh the benefits, 11% say the benefits outweigh the costs, and 19% say costs and benefits are about equal. Sixteen percent are unsure.”

The controversy isn’t likely to die down soon, pollsters said.

“AI is uncharted, complex territory, and views on it depend greatly on what you are asking about and how you ask it,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

“A sizeable share of residents uses AI both actively and passively, yet they do not want the data centers that house it built anywhere near them,” Koning said. “That is a difficult place for any new technology to be and a difficult one for policymakers to legislate around.”

While the concept of banning AI data centers has seen strong support in town halls across New Jersey, the possibility of legal challenges is also growing.

Several towns – including Montgomery, Andover and Monroe – have been sued by real estate developers who argue that the bans are based on “public hysteria and political attention” rather than sound land use planning.

Earlier this year, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced a statewide plan to regulate data centers that she said is designed to hold them accountable – while also positioning New Jersey to become a leader in AI innovation.

Sherrill said the measures would establish guardrails to protect communities, strengthen transparency, require investment in New Jersey’s energy infrastructure, and support good-paying jobs.

“By establishing these guardrails, we will hold data centers accountable, ensure they contribute their fair share, and make sure our communities not only benefit from the AI innovation happening in our state, but have a real hand in shaping it,” the governor said.

• Related: Sherrill Targets AI Data Centers In Four Point Plan
• Related: NJ Slaps $1M Fine On Massive South Jersey Data Center

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