Stargate flagship campus
Crusoe / Oracle for OpenAI
Who lives here?
Income: City median household income is below the national figure; poverty is about 15%.
Race: Abilene is majority non-Hispanic White with substantial Hispanic and Black populations.
Comparison class: Middle-income, racially mixed regional city
What the community may receive
Thousands of construction workers, 357 committed full-time jobs and large announced capital investment.
What the community may carry
Rapid rent increases and shelter pressure have been reported; an 85% property-tax abatement and valuation appeal raise questions about public return.
Power, water and infrastructure
The eight-building campus uses closed-loop cooling and combines grid power with on-site gas generation.
Government response
A proposed extra 600 MW expansion was dropped in 2026; the original eight-building campus continues.
Equity finding
Abilene is neither an affluent enclave nor an overwhelmingly nonwhite frontline community. Its experience highlights housing and fiscal risk in a lower-cost regional market.