The Bastrop County Story Your Community's Future
A community that preserves its historic character and natural beauty while becoming a globally recognized center of innovation.
A Pivotal Moment in History
Bastrop County is currently at a pivotal moment in its history. Located just minutes east of Austin, this vibrant community of historic downtowns, majestic pine forests, and deep Texas roots is rapidly emerging as one of the most dynamic growth corridors in the state.
The county is not simply growing: it is being fundamentally transformed by a convergence of advanced technology, massive investment, and generational opportunity that very few rural communities ever get to experience.
Monumental Investment & Impact
The scale of this new investment is staggering. EdgeConneX, a leading global data center developer, is currently building a $5 billion data center campus in Bastrop County. The campus will feature multiple buildings spread across hundreds of acres near Cedar Creek, representing one of the largest infrastructure investments in the region's history. This is a world-class technology campus that permanently places Bastrop County on the map in the global data economy.
These campuses generate massive, stable, long-term property tax revenue for local governments. This is the exact revenue that directly funds the public schools where our children learn, the police and emergency services that protect our neighborhoods, and the infrastructure improvements that make the community more livable for everyone.
Even when standard tax abatements are utilized to attract this investment, the net fiscal contribution of a billion-dollar facility to a rural county's tax base is profoundly transformative.
The 6x Multiplier Effect
While data centers themselves are not highly labor-intensive in the traditional manufacturing sense, their economic impact echoes far beyond the building's walls. Research has shown that data centers provide a remarkable 6x multiplier of indirect and induced jobs for every direct position. This means that for every highly trained technician inside, six additional jobs are supported in construction, ongoing maintenance, catering, transportation, and crucial local services.
EdgeConneX Investment
$5B
4 buildings across 140 acres near Cedar Creek.
A Powerful Ecosystem
Bastrop County is quickly becoming the home to a powerful cluster of the world's most innovative technology companies, driving a virtuous cycle of massive growth:
- Tesla Manufacturing & HQ
- xAI Artificial Intelligence
- Starlink Satellite Internet
- The Boring Company
- Neuralink
Broadband Expansion
$43M
Grant secured to deliver fast countywide gigafiber connecting all residents.
The Complete Financial Case
What a $5 billion closed-loop data center campus would mean for Bastrop County, in the numbers that matter.
One campus. The whole case.
What a $5 billion closed-loop data center campus would mean for Bastrop County, in the numbers that matter. Each figure is explained and sourced in the pages that follow.
The bottom line
Bastrop County is going to grow either way. A closed-loop data center campus is the rare neighbor that pays tens of millions a year, uses less water than a subdivision, brings almost no traffic, and is already governed by a 2025 state law that shields the grid and local bills. Its case rests on the tax base it builds, not on the number of people it employs.
It pays in
Tens of millions a year to schools and emergency services, with little demand on them.
It is low impact
Closed-loop cooling, almost no traffic, and state rules that protect the grid first.
It is governable
Setbacks, noise limits, road repair, and a benefit deal can all be required up front.
The honest tradeoffs. A data center is not a jobs engine; a campus this size keeps roughly 200 permanent staff, though they are well paid and the build employs more than a thousand. It draws meaningful electricity, which is the real debate rather than water, and closed-loop cooling still uses some water. Part of the school tax can be recaptured by the state.
About this overview. Every figure here is explained and sourced in the full briefing. Numbers are modeled at full build-out on benchmark figures for a campus of this scale, and a specific project would refine them.
EdgeConneX Community Engagement
Presentation boards from EdgeConneX's community outreach — sustainability commitments, economic impact data, environmental permitting, noise control standards, and local partnerships.
Envisioning Our Future
"We can envision a remarkably bright future for Bastrop County: an incredible community that has thoughtfully preserved its historic character and breathtaking natural beauty while becoming a recognized global center of innovation. It is a place where the next generation can pursue high-quality, future-proof careers without ever having to leave their hometown, and where world-class schools and public services are generously funded by a booming technology economy."