Data Centers in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky – Cost-Effective & Central Colocation

Executive Summary

Louisville is a strategic secondary market for businesses requiring a low-cost, low-risk footprint in the central United States. Its aggressive power pricing and minimal disaster risk make it a compelling choice for disaster recovery, backup, and latency-tolerant applications that serve the Midwest and South. This market delivers reliable infrastructure without the high operational expenses of primary hubs.

Louisville, Kentucky: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Louisville provides a capable and growing connectivity ecosystem well-suited for regional enterprise needs. The market is defined by cost-effective access rather than extreme carrier density.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The Louisville market is served by 8 facilities from 11 providers, as of September 2025. This offers sufficient choice for redundant network architectures.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct public cloud on-ramps within Louisville, as of September 2025. Businesses connect to cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure via dedicated circuits to primary hubs such as Chicago or Nashville.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is limited within Louisville itself. Most interconnection is handled privately between carriers or routed through major regional exchanges in nearby cities.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are available, providing a cost-effective alternative to public cloud. Providers like ColoCrossing offer dedicated servers in the region, suitable for workloads requiring physical hardware control.

Power Analysis

Kentucky's power landscape is a primary driver of its value for data center operations, offering both low costs and a reliable supply.

Average Cost Of Power: At $0.06/kWh for industrial users as of 2023, Louisville's electricity rates are among the most competitive in the nation. This low cost directly reduces the total cost of ownership for high-density deployments. The grid is primarily supplied by coal (~70%) and natural gas (~25%).

Power Grid Reliability: The power grid supporting the Louisville area is well-engineered for industrial use. Data centers in the region typically have access to redundant power feeds from separate substations, ensuring high levels of uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Louisville combines a strategic geographic location with a favorable business environment, making it an attractive colocation market.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in Louisville are situated to support the region's strong logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors. The city is a major shipping hub, making it ideal for companies dependent on supply chain efficiency.

Regional Market Reach: From Louisville, organizations can effectively serve a large portion of the U.S. population in the Midwest and South with low latency. It provides a strategic midpoint between larger markets like Chicago, Atlanta, and Nashville.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Kentucky provides strong, data center-specific tax incentives. These programs offer significant sales and use tax exemptions on the purchase of servers, networking gear, and other critical infrastructure.

Natural Disaster Risk

Louisville has a moderate natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 37.13 out of 100, as of September 2025. This "Very Low" national percentile ranking means it avoids the significant coastal and seismic risks of other regions.

The main environmental threats are primarily meteorological. Key risks for consideration include tornado, riverine flooding, severe wind, hail, and earthquake.