Middle-class Americans are paying for the data center and AI boom with higher electric bills and even food costs, Goldman Sachs warns

A woman on the street holding a carboard sign reading, "We say NO to the data center" (Credit: Jim West—UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Data center deals crested above $61 billion in 2025 as hyperscalers rushed to expand their computational power in the AI race. But middle-class Americans aren’t the only ones footing a chunk of the bill to power these centers. The trickle-down inflation from higher business production costs are likely going to bump up the prices of food, transportation, and even clothing, according to Goldman Sachs analysts—putting already cash-strapped Americans in an even bigger pinch.

In a note to clients on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analysts Manuel Abecasis and Hongcen Wei forecasted that consumer electricity inflation would jump 6% from 2026 to 2027 before decelerating to 3% the following year owing to lower natural gas prices. But larger electric bills for businesses like hospitals and restaurants mean more costs being passed down to consumers, Goldman Sachs warned—it’s called inflation. “Higher power prices will also put upward pressure on core inflation by raising business production costs,” Abecasis and Wei wrote.