New Albany's population is nearly 10 times smaller than Columbus', but that hasn't stopped businesses from investing billions of dollars.

Last week, Amazon Web Services announced it will invest $7.8 billion into central Ohio to expand and open more data centers. This continues Amazon's streak in the Buckeye State, as earlier this year the tech giant purchased 400 acres of land in New Albany for $117 million. Did we mention this is directly next to Intel's $20 billion project?

The money — and technology — is pouring in, so today we're taking a closer look.

Currently operating

Did you know Facebook, Amazon, and Google all have data centers in New Albany? This is how much each tech giant invested into New Albany, or Licking County, when opening:

Amazon has invested $6.3 billion into its three data centers since 2015.
Facebook has three data centers since 2017, totaling $1.5 billion.
Google opened its $600 million data center in 2019.

New Albany annexed this land from Jersey Township in 2021 in preparation for this project. | Rendering via Intel

Land for sale

"It's a clustering effect," said Licking County Commission President Tim Bubb to NBC4.

That's the best way to describe the recent trends in New Albany. In addition to Amazon's $117 million purchase, Microsoft also bought 183 acres for $57 million. All of this space comes thanks to the city's efforts to annex land from Jersey Township last year. And the city already has their eyes on more from Jersey Township.

The future

Amazon Web Services did not disclose firm plans on where it plans to build in Ohio + added it is considering options for build locations. These data centers are expected to bring hundreds of jobs once opened, in addition to 1,000+ construction jobs during development. Amazon is hopeful this will continue to boost Ohio, as its previous investments have earned the state $2+ billion in revenue.