Micron Technology's market capitalization has exceeded $1 trillion, driven by AI demand for memory chips. The stock has surged more than tenfold since the end of 2024, making the company a central player in the global AI infrastructure race.
The valuation spike has concentrated wealth in Boise, Idaho, Micron's home. Dave Petso, a wealth manager there since the 1980s, said many Micron employees have become millionaires. Some who held $20,000 in stock now hold hundreds of thousands or millions.
Micron is committing $50 billion to expand production in and around Boise, a city of approximately 250,000 residents. The plan includes two new chip manufacturing facilities and is projected to create over 17,000 new jobs. Of those, 3,500 will be at Micron itself, adding to its existing Boise-area workforce of about 7,000.
The company is also establishing Micron Research Labs in Boise with $10 billion in funding over the next decade. Construction begins next year. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the labs will position the U.S. to lead in semiconductor and memory technology.
The expansion reveals a hard economic reality: AI infrastructure comes with massive fixed costs, and those costs transform local economies in ways that benefit insiders far more than newcomers. Boise's previous advantage—low cost of living—is evaporating. Average rental prices have climbed 4.3 percent over the past year, according to Zillow data, while nationwide rental prices dropped during the same period. Traffic on Interstate 84 has worsened. The influx of new residents, many from California, is altering the city's character.
Jason Crawforth, a Boise tech entrepreneur for nearly 35 years, acknowledged his personal net worth increased from Micron investments but noted that a large segment of the community does not directly benefit from the company's expansion. "The city's competitive advantage of a low cost of living has diminished," he said.
