Data Centers in Washington DC

Washington DC – High-Stakes Infrastructure for Global Hubs

Executive Summary

Washington DC is the essential choice for organizations requiring immediate proximity to federal agencies and international financial institutions. This market provides a secure, high-density extension of the Northern Virginia ecosystem, ensuring low-latency access to the most influential regulatory and public sector networks in the world.

Washington DC: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Washington DC serves as a critical junction for global traffic, functioning as a vital extension of the Northern Virginia data center corridor.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 10. This market offers a selection of approximately 10–15 carriers as of December 2024, providing redundant paths for mission-critical data.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of December 2024. While no direct on-ramps sit within these specific facilities, they utilize high-speed private network interfaces and wavelength services to reach the massive cloud clusters in Ashburn.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Most peering occurs via major regional exchanges in Northern Virginia as of December 2024, which facilitate rapid traffic handoffs between global networks.

Bare Metal: High-performance bare metal options are available through providers like Hivelocity or phoenixNAP as of December 2024, offering dedicated compute power without virtualization overhead.

Power Analysis

Energy availability in the district and surrounding Maryland suburbs is characterized by high-capacity infrastructure built for heavy industrial demand.

Average Cost Of Power: $0.07/kWh as of December 2024. This pricing remains favorable compared to national averages, directly reducing the total cost of ownership for power-hungry deployments.

Power Grid Reliability: The grid is well-engineered with multi-substation support from the PJM interconnection as of December 2024. This setup provides the reliable energy flow required for 24/7 uptime in a high-density environment.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Operating infrastructure in Washington DC provides distinct advantages for those serving the Mid-Atlantic and global government sectors.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers here are located near the highest concentration of federal government agencies, lobbying firms, and international NGOs as of December 2024. This closeness is essential for services requiring immediate physical or low-latency network access to regulatory centers.

Regional Market Reach: This location effectively serves the entire Northeast corridor, reaching millions of users from Richmond to Baltimore with sub-10ms latency as of December 2024.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Maryland and the District provide specific financial benefits like 15-year tax abatements for major facility developments as of December 2024. These programs help stabilize long-term operational costs for infrastructure-heavy enterprises.

Natural Disaster Risk

The FEMA National Risk Index identifies the Washington DC area with a score of 91.57, which is categorized as High as of December 2024. The risk profile is primarily driven by atmospheric and regional water events.

Risk Rubric: High (91.57 percentile) as of December 2024.

Hurricane: Represents a primary risk due to the potential for high winds and regional flooding.

Riverine Flooding: A significant hazard for facilities located near the Potomac or Anacostia watersheds.

Ice Storm: Winter weather events can challenge external infrastructure and site access.

Strong Wind: Frequent during seasonal transitions and severe thunderstorms.

Coastal Flood: While inland, the region remains sensitive to indirect tidal surges and sea-level impacts.