Data Centers in Philadelphia

Philadelphia – High Performance Infrastructure for the Mid-Atlantic

Executive Summary

Philadelphia is the essential corridor for enterprises needing a resilient, low-latency alternative to the high-cost markets of New York and Northern Virginia. It offers sub-millisecond connectivity to major financial centers while providing significant tax relief for large-scale infrastructure deployments.

Philadelphia: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Philadelphia is a critical peering point for the Eastern United States, anchored by massive carrier hotels like 401 North Broad Street. The city facilitates massive traffic flows between major northern and southern markets.

• Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 30. With roughly 50 to 60 distinct network operators, the market offers a highly neutral and competitive environment for bandwidth procurement as of September 2025.
• Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 2, enabling access to 1 cloud region, as of September 2025. This includes specific direct on-ramps for AWS, reducing latency for hybrid cloud deployments.
• Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Regional exchanges provide central peering points that lower transit costs and improve local performance.
• Bare Metal: Sturdy infrastructure options are readily available from providers like Hivelocity and ColoCrossing, as of September 2025.

Power Analysis

Energy in the region is managed through the PJM Interconnection, ensuring a well-engineered and redundant supply for mission-critical facilities.

• Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is approximately $0.07–$0.10/kWh, as of September 2025. The generation mix is diverse, with natural gas and nuclear keeping rates stable compared to neighboring coastal cities.
• Power Grid Reliability: Facilities typically benefit from multi-substation support and redundant utility feeds, ensuring high uptime for large-scale deployments.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Philadelphia provides immediate access to a massive talent pool and a large consumer base within the I-95 corridor.

• Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are centrally located near University City and Center City, providing support for the healthcare, education, and financial services sectors.
• Regional Market Reach: The market effectively serves a population of over 6 million people in the greater metro area and acts as a gateway to the broader Northeast megalopolis.
• Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Pennsylvania offers a sales and use tax exemption for computer data center equipment. This incentive provides a significant financial benefit by removing taxes on critical hardware for qualifying facilities.

Natural Disaster Risk

Philadelphia carries a High (83.99 percentile) risk score, as of September 2025. While the city is inland, its location in the Mid-Atlantic makes it susceptible to certain atmospheric events.

• Hurricane: Direct and indirect tropical systems can bring significant rain and wind.
• Riverine Flooding: Proximity to the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers requires purpose-built drainage and site elevation.
• Winter Weather: Snow and ice storms can impact external logistics and fuel deliveries.
• Strong Wind: Frequent coastal and seasonal wind events necessitate resilient building envelopes.
• Heat Wave: Extreme summer temperatures can place temporary stress on facility cooling systems.