Data Centers in Austin

Austin – Central Texas Connectivity Hub

Austin is a strategic hub for enterprises requiring low-latency access to Central and South Texas without the higher costs of the Dallas market. Its balanced risk profile, favorable business climate, and growing connectivity make it a primary location for disaster recovery and edge deployments serving millions of end-users.

Austin: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Austin's connectivity landscape is robust and expanding, offering excellent options for reaching end-users throughout Texas and the south-central United States.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The Austin market is served by over 27 network providers as of September 2025. Numerous carrier-neutral facilities provide competitive interconnection options, preventing vendor lock-in and ensuring resilient network design.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: As of September 2025, Austin does not have dedicated public cloud on-ramps for major providers. Businesses connect to cloud regions in Dallas via private network interconnects, dedicated fiber, or wavelength services, achieving low-latency access without a local presence.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is limited within Austin itself. Most traffic exchange occurs through private peering arrangements within local data centers or via the major IXPs located in Dallas, which serve as the primary peering point for the region.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are widely available from multiple providers in the Austin market. This allows businesses to deploy dedicated compute resources for performance-sensitive applications.

Power Analysis

Austin provides a favorable power environment for data center operations, balancing cost with a diverse energy portfolio.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity rates in the Austin area are estimated to be between $0.07 and $0.09 per kWh as of September 2025. This competitive pricing helps manage the significant operational expenses associated with high-density computing. The power mix is dominated by natural gas (~50%) and includes a substantial renewable component from wind (~25%).

Power Grid Reliability: The power grid supporting Austin's primary data center zones is well-engineered for high availability. Facilities typically have access to redundant power feeds from separate substations, ensuring uptime during maintenance or utility disruptions.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Austin's strategic location and pro-business environment make it an attractive data center market.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in Austin are located near the city's thriving technology sector, often called Silicon Hills, as well as the central business district. This proximity provides low-latency connectivity for local tech, finance, and government organizations.

Regional Market Reach: From Austin, organizations can effectively serve the major Texas metropolitan areas of San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The location is a key interconnection point for traffic flowing south into Mexico and across the Gulf Coast.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Texas offers a significant tax incentive with a state sales and use tax exemption on equipment purchased for qualified data centers. This program directly reduces the capital expenditure required to build out and refresh technology infrastructure.

Natural Disaster Risk

Austin has a moderate natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 43.46 out of 100 as of September 2025. The location avoids the primary threats from earthquakes and coastal flooding that affect other major markets.

Key environmental risks for the Austin area are primarily weather-related and include:

• Drought
• Severe Storms (Hail, Lightning, Winter Weather)
• Heat Wave
• Riverine Flooding
• Wildfire