Data Centers in North Dakota

North Dakota – Low-Cost Energy and Middle-Continent Security

Executive Summary

North Dakota serves as a strategic destination for enterprises requiring high-density compute and secure disaster recovery sites. This market provides some of the lowest industrial power rates in the United States, allowing for significant long-term operational savings and physical security for mission-critical infrastructure.

North Dakota: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 5. There are approximately 5–10 carriers providing service as of September 2025. Regional providers dominate the landscape, offering purpose-built paths that connect local agricultural and financial hubs to national backbones.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions. As of September 2025, no direct on-ramps exist within the state. Traffic typically routes via private transport or wave services to Minneapolis for access to AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), or Microsoft Azure.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public IXPs are limited in this region. Most peering occurs through private interconnects or via the Midwest Internet Cooperative Exchange in Minneapolis.

Bare Metal: General availability exists through local providers, with broader options available through regional partners like Hivelocity or phoenixNAP as of September 2025.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is $0.08/kWh as of May 2025. This pricing provides a major advantage for high-density compute users who find coastal energy costs prohibitive. The generation mix includes 36% wind and 55% coal, providing a balance of renewable energy and baseload stability.

Power Grid Reliability: The grid is well-engineered and utilizes a diversified supply to maintain stability. Redundant transmission lines support the primary data center corridors in Fargo, ensuring consistent delivery for critical workloads as of September 2025.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are centrally located near the Fargo business corridor. This proximity supports a growing technology sector and established financial services firms that require localized compute power.

Regional Market Reach: North Dakota serves as a critical bridge between the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes. It provides low-latency access for the Upper Midwest and Central Canada.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: The state offers a significant sales and use tax exemption for qualified data center equipment and construction materials. This incentive directly reduces the total cost of ownership for large-scale deployments and infrastructure refreshes as of September 2025.

Natural Disaster Risk

North Dakota maintains a Moderate risk profile with a score of 71.78 as of December 2025. While the state is safe from coastal threats, facilities are engineered to handle intense seasonal patterns.

• Cold Wave: High risk; facilities utilize specialized insulation and HVAC systems.
• Tornado: Moderate risk; structural engineering often exceeds standard building codes.
• Ice Storm: Moderate risk; managed through redundant utility feeds and on-site generation.
• Winter Weather: Moderate risk; localized to seasonal snow and ice accumulation.
• Strong Wind: Moderate risk; common across the plains but rarely impacts hardened structures.
• Hail: Moderate risk; primarily an asset protection concern for external equipment.

Other natural hazards are minor or not material to data center operations as of September 2025.