diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e69de29bb2d..702fded3100 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Added default value for `emulators.dataconnect.dataDir` to `init dataconnect`.
diff --git a/src/emulator/initEmulators.ts b/src/emulator/initEmulators.ts
index f289f31a0f3..ac38ed504b8 100644
--- a/src/emulator/initEmulators.ts
+++ b/src/emulator/initEmulators.ts
@@ -46,18 +46,18 @@ export const AdditionalInitFns: AdditionalInitFnsType = {
 
     return mapToObject(additionalConfigs);
   },
-  [Emulators.DATACONNECT] : async () => {
-    
+  [Emulators.DATACONNECT]: async () => {
     const dataDir = await promptOnce({
       name: "dataDir",
       type: "input",
       default: "./postgresData",
-      message: "Where do you want to store Postgres data from the Data Connect emulator? " +
+      message:
+        "Where do you want to store Postgres data from the Data Connect emulator? " +
         "If set, data will be saved between emulator runs. " +
         "Set this to blank if you do not want to persist Postgres data between runs.",
     });
-    return { dataDir }
-  }
+    return { dataDir };
+  },
 };
 
 function mapToObject(map: Map<string, string>): Record<string, string> {
diff --git a/src/init/features/dataconnect/index.ts b/src/init/features/dataconnect/index.ts
index f16ce99a050..9bafd4d4d85 100644
--- a/src/init/features/dataconnect/index.ts
+++ b/src/init/features/dataconnect/index.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ export async function doSetup(setup: Setup, config: Config): Promise<void> {
     isBillingEnabled ? await ensureApis(setup.projectId) : await ensureSparkApis(setup.projectId);
   }
   const info = await askQuestions(setup, isBillingEnabled);
+  // Most users will want to perist data between emulator runs, so set this to a reasonable default.
+  config.set("emulators.dataconnect.dataDir", "./postgresData");
   await actuate(setup, config, info);
 
   const cwdPlatformGuess = await getPlatformFromFolder(process.cwd());