Data Centers in Lehigh Valley

Lehigh Valley – Cost-Effective Mid-Atlantic Colocation

Executive Summary

The Lehigh Valley data center market is a strong choice for enterprises needing a strategic colocation site with low-latency access to the major financial and population hubs of New York City and Philadelphia. It provides a compelling, cost-effective alternative for production workloads and disaster recovery without the premium expense of Tier 1 markets. This location is ideal for businesses focused on optimizing operational costs while serving the densely populated Northeast corridor.

Lehigh Valley: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality

The Lehigh Valley market is served by over 10 network carriers, as of September 2025. This provides sufficient diversity for redundant network architectures in carrier-neutral facilities, ensuring reliable connectivity for production and secondary sites.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps

There are no direct public cloud on-ramps within Lehigh Valley, as of September 2025. Access to hyperscale cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), and Microsoft Azure is achieved through private network connections to primary interconnection hubs in Philadelphia and Northern New Jersey.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

Public peering is limited within the immediate Lehigh Valley area. The majority of network peering is handled privately between carriers or occurs through IXPs located in nearby major markets, primarily Philadelphia and the New York metro area.

Bare Metal

Bare metal server options are available from providers in the region. Companies like ColoCrossing offer dedicated server solutions, allowing businesses to deploy physical hardware without the capital expense of owning and managing their own equipment.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power

Industrial electricity rates in the Lehigh Valley typically range from $0.07 to $0.09/kWh, as of September 2025. This competitive pricing is driven by Pennsylvania's diverse power grid, which relies heavily on natural gas and nuclear energy. These stable power costs offer a significant operational expense advantage compared to more volatile energy markets.

Power Grid Reliability

The power grid serving the region is well-engineered and reliable. Data center corridors are supported by a sturdy transmission infrastructure with access to diverse generation sources, which contributes to high levels of uptime for critical facilities.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts

Lehigh Valley offers strategic proximity to the major business centers of Philadelphia and New York City. This makes it an excellent location for disaster recovery sites or for companies in logistics, healthcare, and light manufacturing that serve the broader Mid-Atlantic region.

Regional Market Reach

From Lehigh Valley, businesses can effectively serve the entire Northeast corridor, from Washington, D.C. to Boston. The location provides low-latency connectivity to one of the most densely populated and economically significant regions in the United States.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers

Pennsylvania provides a valuable sales and use tax exemption for equipment used in qualified data centers. This incentive directly reduces the capital expenditure required for building a new facility or executing a major hardware refresh, lowering the total cost of ownership.

Natural Disaster Risk

The Lehigh Valley has a High natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 84.00 out of 100, as of September 2025. The primary threats are atmospheric and geological, demanding that facilities be built to modern resiliency standards.

Key risks for the area include:

• Hurricane and Strong Wind
• Winter Weather and Ice Storms
• Riverine Flooding
• Tornado
• Drought