Amazon has announced plans to invest several billion dollars in Missouri to construct a new data center campus in Montgomery County, marking the company's most significant infrastructure commitment to the state since it established a presence there in 2017.

The project is expected to generate over 400 full-time data center positions, thousands of construction jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue, while also delivering a package of direct community investments totaling more than USD 7 million.

A Growing Footprint in Missouri

Amazon's history in Missouri stretches back to 2017, and the company currently employs more than 10,000 Missourians directly, with another 10,000 jobs supported in adjacent industries including construction, logistics, and professional services.

Since 2010, Amazon has contributed more than USD 9 billion to the state's gross domestic product. The company operates fulfillment centers, delivery stations, Whole Foods Market locations, and a solar farm across the state, and more than 1,000 employees have participated in its free education and skills training programs since 2019.

Independent sellers based in Missouri, most of them small and medium-sized businesses, have sold more than 43 million items through Amazon's store.

The new Montgomery County campus represents a substantial expansion of that footprint. It will support cloud computing technologies that underpin services used by millions of Americans daily, including remote work platforms, video streaming, hospital records systems, and financial transactions.

Community Investments and Local Partnerships

Amazon detailed several specific community commitments tied to the Montgomery County project.

The company will provide USD 3 million to support local emergency dispatch services, and more than $1 million will go toward the construction of a new community gathering space at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

A newly established community fund will also provide grants for local projects, with the total package of community contributions exceeding USD 7 million. David Zapolsky, Amazon's Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer, emphasized the company's intent to function as a long-term local partner.

"We're building data centers that will create hundreds of new jobs, support educators and students, and strengthen local infrastructure," Zapolsky said in the announcement. He added that Amazon's investment carries the most meaning when the surrounding community directly benefits from it.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe welcomed the announcement, framing it as an economic development milestone for both Montgomery County and the broader region.

"Projects like this create lasting benefits for local communities by supporting critical infrastructure improvements, generating new tax revenue for schools and public services, and strengthening the foundation for future economic growth," Kehoe said.

Infrastructure Improvements and Ratepayer Protections

The data center campus is expected to require and enable improvements to both road and water infrastructure in the Montgomery County area.

Amazon stated it will build the water infrastructure necessary for its facilities and, once construction is complete, will donate the entire system to Montgomery County Public Water Supply District No. 1 at no cost.

The Water District will then be free to use the infrastructure to extend water service to other parts of the community.

On the energy side, Amazon worked with local utility Ameren Missouri to structure the arrangement so that costs associated with the new campus will not be passed on to existing ratepayers.

According to the company, the rates Amazon pays are designed to cover the full cost of its energy use, shielding Ameren's current customers from any additional charges on their electric bills related to powering the data centers.

Amazon also pointed to an existing carbon-free energy project in Missouri that generates 138 megawatts of power, which the company said is enough to power more than 28,000 homes.

The project is described as helping to increase the overall energy supply and support long-term electricity affordability across the region.

Water and Cooling Efficiency

Amazon addressed environmental considerations around water usage, a frequent point of scrutiny for large-scale data center developments.

The company said its facilities in the Montgomery County area are designed to use water for cooling only about 7 percent of the year or less, a figure it attributed to the local geography.

For approximately 90 percent of operating time, Amazon said its data centers rely on what it described as free air cooling, a process that draws in outside air, passes it through server areas to absorb heat, and then exhausts it back outside without consuming water.

At full operational capacity, Amazon stated the campus will consume less than 0.1 percent of the local aquifer's annual recharge volume from typical annual rainfall.

The company described its data centers as designed to be exceptionally water efficient, framing the Montgomery County site's cooling profile as well suited to the regional climate.

Job Creation and Economic Impact

The project is projected to create more than 400 full-time jobs directly tied to data center operations, in addition to thousands of construction jobs during the build phase.

The announcement did not specify salary ranges or a detailed construction timeline, but the company indicated the investment would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the state and local governments.

Amazon's announcement comes as the company continues to expand its cloud infrastructure nationally, with the Montgomery County campus positioned as a facility serving the underlying technology needs of Amazon Web Services and related platforms that businesses and consumers across the country depend on.