Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta's Hyperion data center in rural northeast Louisiana more than doubled in size this week, with the company boosting its investment from $10 billion to over $50 billion and expanding the planned facility from 2 gigawatts to 5 GW of compute capacity. The site, spanning roughly 3,200 acres, will become one of the largest AI data centers in the world.
The expansion, announced Monday via a Meta blog post, pushes the project well past the $27 billion joint venture Meta and Blue Owl Capital revealed in October 2024. Construction began in December 2024, and the facility is expected to come online by 2030, with full completion targeted for 2036, according to Meta President Dina Powell McCormick.
What makes this project unusual is how quickly the local economy is feeling the effects. Richland Parish, a community of roughly 20,000 people with a median income of $42,000, has already received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from Meta, CNBC reported. The company plans to spend at least $1 billion more on local roads, water, and wastewater systems.
Teacher bonuses tell the story best. In 2025, Richland Parish educators received $10,000 bonuses tied to tax revenue from Meta's presence.
This year, those checks jumped past $50,000, according to Fox Business.
Richland Parish School District Superintendent Sheldon Jones said the bonuses have transformed hiring.
"This year, for the first time in my 30-year career, every teacher we interviewed was fully certified," Jones said in Meta's announcement.
"With bonuses like that, the best educators come to you."
Second-grade teacher Thomasina Minor described the moment she learned about the bonus.
"My mouth was wide open in shock. I thanked God because it was a big unexpected blessing."
Construction workforce needs jumped 50% to 7,500 workers, and Meta expects the site to support 1,000 permanent jobs once fully operational. Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis said the ripple effects will be larger, pointing to dozens of RFPs already issued to local companies for IT support, electrical work, HVAC, and security services.
Meta is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College for scholarships to train residents for data center jobs. All Richland Parish high school graduates, beginning with the class of 2026, qualify for full scholarships covering any data center-related trade certificate or course through the company's America's Workforce Academy program. The expansion came with government incentives.
In late 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers built before 2029, a move designed to land Meta's project. Landry defended the deal, telling CNBC last year:
"What we know is when you look at the overall package here, it's in the black."
Meta says it will cover the full costs of the energy, water, and infrastructure the data center uses so ratepayers don't bear the burden. The company's agreement with Entergy funds seven new natural gas-fueled generating plants, three grid-scale batteries, and nuclear uprates, and is expected to save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $2 billion over 20 years.
Local businesses are already seeing the math work. Scott Holmes, owner of Mayo Tours, said his company grew from 40 coaches to 102, with most drivers now earning over $80,000 a year in a region where the median income is $42,000.
Tim and Lindsey Allen started Holy Tacos specifically because Meta was coming to town. It now feeds hundreds of customers daily.
Meta's Hyperion campus, spanning more than 3,200 acres, more than four times the size of New York City's Central Park, puts Louisiana at the center of the AI infrastructure race. Landry said the state has secured more than $150 billion in new investment over the past two years.
"Projects like this don't just grow our state's economy, they ensure America continues to lead in the technologies that will define the next generation," he said.
