Amazon’s $1.8 trillion bet on America didn’t happen by accident

Oxford Economics studied 20 years of data and found that five years after Amazon opens a large fulfillment center in a county, on average, 3,900 additional jobs are created beyond our direct hires, 6,000 new small businesses open, 12,000 fewer people are unemployed, and about 6,000 fewer people rely on Medicaid — saving taxpayers roughly $45 million annually. These are measured outcomes, repeated across communities nationwide.

We’re seeing similar dynamics with our data centers. Since 2011, Amazon has invested more than $156 billion in data center infrastructure across the United States, supporting more than 37,000 jobs annually and contributing more than $51 billion to the nation’s GDP. Those investments are helping strengthen local energy infrastructure in communities across the country. Research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows data center growth can reduce pressure on electricity rates by spreading grid costs across a larger customer base. A separate analysis by E3 — which we commissioned to evaluate our own footprint — found our data centers pay their own way, and help fund grid modernization and reliability improvements that benefit neighboring households and small businesses.

But that’s only part of the equation. What works is a deliberate commitment to the people who make our business work. Over the past year, we’ve raised pay and reduced healthcare costs for hundreds of thousands of front-line employees, a commitment totaling more than $1 billion. Our average hourly wage is more than three times the federal minimum — over $30 an hour, including benefits that start on Day One. Since 2019, we’ve spent $2.5 billion redesigning how our facilities operate. For example, we’re deploying robotic systems that reduce heavy lifting and repetitive strain, which are behind the most common causes of injury. We’re actively innovating to ensure safety isn’t a metric, but a promise.

The garage next door

We want to see American companies — founded in a neighborhood garage, just like ours — thrive. When I talk to policymakers and business leaders, I often get asked why Amazon would invest in helping other companies succeed. The answer is straightforward: when sellers succeed, customers get more selection and better prices, which makes our marketplace stronger. That alignment has driven our approach from the beginning.

One pivotal moment at Amazon was when we opened our store to independent sellers, helping them reach customers directly. Today, independent sellers account for more than 60% of all items sold in Amazon’s store and, in 2024, provided more than $100 billion in wages for their U.S. employees.

Today, it means expanding access to AI tools, skills training, and the kind of cloud infrastructure that lets a startup in rural Ohio compete on the same footing as a Fortune 500 company. Between 2011 and 2024, we invested $184 billion in building that backbone. We believe the best ideas can come from anywhere, and they deserve the same infrastructure as the biggest ones. That’s how you keep U.S. technology at the front of the global pack.

Small towns, big numbers

There’s a persistent assumption that corporate investment flows to the coasts and stops there. We’ve made a different bet. Since 2010, more than $450 billion has been allocated to over 1,000 small towns and rural areas. Two out of 5 operations jobs we’ve created in the past five years were in towns with populations under 50,000.

By the end of 2026, more than 200 delivery stations will serve rural America — a $4 billion buildout estimated to create more than 100,000 new jobs, driving opportunities that would’ve been unrealistic in those locations before. We think long-term, and small towns deserve the same commitment as larger locals.

What three decades teaches

Thirty years of building has taught us that sustained investment compounds. It compounds in trust, capability, and the kind of workforce and infrastructure that make the next generation of American innovation possible.

Somewhere right now, someone is starting a company out of a garage. The question for the rest of us — companies, communities, and policymakers — is whether we’re building the kind of country where that idea has a chance to succeed.

We’ve been investing in the U.S. for decades because we believe in American innovation, workers, and communities. It’s fundamental to who we are as a company. And we’re just getting started.

David Zapolsky is Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer.