Data Centers in Hawaii

Hawaii, USA – Strategic Mid-Pacific Interconnection Hub

Hawaii serves as a critical mid-Pacific hub for organizations requiring low-latency connectivity between North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Its unique geographic position makes it an essential location for disaster recovery, content delivery networks, and global logistics operations that depend on reliable trans-Pacific data exchange. For businesses targeting either continent, Hawaii offers a strategic foothold to improve application performance and user experience.

Hawaii, USA: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Hawaii's connectivity is defined by its role as a nexus for trans-Pacific subsea cables. This makes it a surprisingly powerful, if concentrated, interconnection market.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The market features over 5 carriers as of September 2025. Carrier-neutral facilities in Honolulu provide access to the primary networks connecting the islands and landing international traffic.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There is over 1 major public cloud on-ramp available, enabling direct access to 1 cloud region as of September 2025. This includes a local zone for AWS, which significantly reduces latency for cloud workloads deployed in the Pacific.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The DRFortress IX in Honolulu is the primary hub for peering in Hawaii. It facilitates the efficient exchange of traffic between local internet service providers, content providers, and enterprises, keeping local traffic from having to transit to the mainland.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are available from providers focused on edge and regional deployments. Companies like Hivelocity offer dedicated server solutions for workloads that demand single-tenancy and direct hardware control.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power costs are estimated between $0.25 and $0.35/kWh as of September 2025, which is higher than the U.S. mainland average. These rates reflect the state's reliance on imported fossil fuels, though the grid is actively incorporating more renewable sources.

Power Grid Reliability: The power grid is engineered to manage the unique demands of an island state. Major data center facilities are supported by redundant power feeds, robust UPS systems, and on-site generation to ensure high uptime for critical infrastructure.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are located primarily on the island of O'ahu, in close proximity to Honolulu's central business district. This supports government, military, healthcare, and international business operations concentrated in the state's capital.

Regional Market Reach: Hawaii provides the lowest-latency connection point between North America and key Asia-Pacific markets. It is an ideal location for caching content, hosting gaming servers, and running financial applications that serve users on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Hawaii offers significant financial incentives to attract technology investment. The state's green infrastructure financing program supports sustainable projects, while proposed legislation aims to provide specific tax credits and exemptions for qualifying data center operators.

Natural Disaster Risk

Hawaii has a High natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 87.69 as of September 2025. This score reflects the state's exposure to multiple, significant environmental hazards.

Key risks include hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Additional considerations are wildfires, droughts, and landslides. Data center selection in Hawaii demands facilities built to withstand these specific threats, featuring seismic retrofitting and designs that account for severe weather events.