Data Centers in North Carolina

North Carolina – Strategic Tax and Power Advantages

Executive Summary

North Carolina is a prime market for enterprises seeking cost-effective and highly scalable data center operations outside of the congested Northern Virginia corridor. The state's aggressive tax incentives directly lower operational expenses, creating a superior total cost of ownership. This financial advantage, combined with robust power infrastructure, makes it a strategic hub for delivering low-latency services across the Eastern United States.

North Carolina: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

North Carolina’s connectivity landscape is solid, serving as a key secondary market to the primary East Coast hubs in Virginia and Georgia.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The state features a healthy ecosystem with over 25 unique network carriers available in key metro areas as of September 2025. This ensures competitive pricing and resilient connectivity options within carrier-neutral facilities.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Direct, dedicated on-ramps to major cloud providers are not currently available within North Carolina as of September 2025. Businesses connect to cloud regions by leveraging the rich carrier ecosystem to establish private network extensions (PNI or wave) to the primary interconnection hub in Ashburn, Virginia.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public and private peering is available at exchanges located in major markets like Charlotte and the Research Triangle. These IXPs improve regional traffic routing, reduce latency for local users, and lower transit costs.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are readily available from multiple providers. Deployments can be sourced from providers like Hivelocity and phoenixNAP, offering direct access to the region's network infrastructure.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity rates in North Carolina typically range from $0.07 to $0.09/kWh as of September 2025. This competitive pricing significantly reduces the total cost of ownership for power-intensive deployments like high-performance computing and AI.

Power Grid Reliability: The state’s power grid benefits from a diverse generation mix, including a significant share from nuclear and natural gas, which provides stable baseload power. Major data center corridors in Charlotte and the Research Triangle Park feature well-engineered infrastructure with multi-substation support, ensuring high levels of uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are strategically located near North Carolina's major economic centers. This includes the financial and banking hub in Charlotte and the world-renowned Research Triangle Park (RTP), home to leading technology, biotechnology, and research institutions.

Regional Market Reach: From North Carolina, organizations can effectively serve a large population across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. It provides an excellent geographical alternative for disaster recovery or primary workloads for businesses targeting markets from Florida to Washington, D.C.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: North Carolina offers substantial tax advantages, including specific exemptions on sales and use tax for data center equipment and electricity. These incentives are designed to dramatically lower the capital and operational expenses for qualifying facilities.

Natural Disaster Risk

North Carolina has a Low natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 14.70 as of September 2025. The primary environmental threats are atmospheric and manageable with standard facility hardening. Key risks include hurricanes, strong winds, tornados, and seasonal ice storms.