Data Centers in Portland

Portland – Pacific Northwest Edge & Connectivity Hub

Portland is a primary North American data center market, engineered for high-density workloads and low-latency connectivity. Its combination of direct subsea cable access, abundant renewable energy, and significant tax incentives makes it an ideal location for enterprises connecting the U.S. West Coast to Asia-Pacific. This market delivers exceptional performance and total cost of ownership advantages.

Portland: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Portland, particularly the Hillsboro sub-market, is one of the most connected locations on the U.S. West Coast. It serves as a major network gateway between North America and Asia.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality Portland offers access to over 35 unique network carriers, as of September 2025. The region's 40 data centers provide extensive options for creating resilient, multi-carrier network architectures.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps With over 4 dedicated cloud on-ramps serving 3 cloud regions, the market provides low-latency private connections to major hyperscalers. Direct access is available to AWS and Google Cloud (GCP), as of September 2025.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) The Northwest Access Exchange (NWAX) is the primary peering hub in the region, enabling efficient local traffic exchange and reducing reliance on more distant IXPs in Seattle or the Bay Area.

Bare Metal Bare metal server options are readily available from multiple providers in Portland. Providers like phoenixNAP offer dedicated server solutions for workloads requiring maximum performance and control.

Power Analysis

Portland's power infrastructure is a key competitive advantage, characterized by low costs, a high percentage of renewables, and solid reliability.

Average Cost Of Power Industrial electricity rates are estimated between $0.07 and $0.09 per kWh, as of September 2025. This competitive pricing, driven by a grid powered by approximately 62% renewables, reduces operational expenses for high-density deployments.

Power Grid Reliability The power grid, especially in the Hillsboro data center corridor, is well-engineered with redundant feeds from multiple substations. This design provides the high degree of uptime required for mission-critical applications.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Portland’s business environment offers compelling financial and geographic benefits for data center operators and their customers.

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers are concentrated in Hillsboro, the heart of Oregon's Silicon Forest. This places critical infrastructure adjacent to the region's semiconductor, software, and advanced manufacturing industries.

Regional Market Reach Portland provides low-latency digital services to the entire Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and surrounding areas. It is also a strategic location for reaching markets in Northern California and across the Pacific.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers Oregon's tax structure is exceptionally favorable for data center investment. The complete absence of a state sales tax provides immediate savings on all hardware purchases, while specific programs offer property tax abatements for up to 15 years.

Natural Disaster Risk

Portland has a high natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 89.82 out of 100, as of September 2025.

The area's primary risks are geologic, stemming from its location within the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Key hazards for consideration include:

• Earthquake
• Volcanic Activity
• Wildfire
• Ice Storm
• Winter Weather
• Riverine Flooding