Micron's $50 Billion Boise Expansion Creates 17,000 Jobs as AI Memory Boom Lifts Stock 670%
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Micron's $50 Billion Boise Expansion Creates 17,000 Jobs as AI Memory Boom Lifts Stock 670%
2 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Summary
Two new Micron fabs in Boise are expected to create more than 17,000 local jobs, including 3,500 at the company, turning the city into a major beneficiary of AI-driven memory demand.
AI servers' need for high-bandwidth memory has tightened global DRAM supply—76% of Micron's revenue last quarter—helping push the stock up nearly 670% over the past year and past a $1 trillion market value.
That wealth surge is spilling into Boise through home purchases, restaurant spending and retail sales, but it is also driving strains: rents rose 4.3% in a year and median home sale prices climbed 2.9%, outpacing national trends.
Micron plans to bring the first Boise fab online in 2027 as the first U.S. front-end plant for leading-edge memory, part of a broader goal to produce 40% of its DRAM domestically with $250 billion in spending through 2035.
The boom still carries risk for Boise because memory remains cyclical: Micron shares plunged 29% in July before rebounding 14% in August, reviving local memories of the dot-com-era crash.