Data Centers in Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Cost-Effective Midwest Colocation Hub

Executive Summary

Milwaukee is a strategic colocation market for businesses that require a solid Midwest presence without the premium costs of Chicago. Its reliable connectivity and moderate disaster risk profile make it an excellent choice for disaster recovery and secondary production workloads, protecting revenue and ensuring uptime.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Milwaukee provides a dependable and well-connected environment for digital infrastructure, serving as a key secondary hub to nearby Chicago.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality The Milwaukee market is served by 9 providers across 10 data centers, offering access to over 10 unique carriers, as of September 2025. This ensures competitive pricing and resilient network options through carrier-neutral facilities.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps There are no direct public cloud on-ramps located within Milwaukee itself, as of September 2025. Businesses connect to all major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), and Microsoft Azure, via low-latency network extensions to the dense interconnection ecosystem in Chicago. Private network connections are the standard for achieving secure, high-performance cloud access.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) Public peering is limited within the immediate market. Most network peering is conducted through private interconnects or via the major Internet Exchange Points located in Chicago, ensuring efficient traffic exchange with national and global networks.

Bare Metal Bare metal server options are available from providers that can service the Milwaukee market. Deployments are typically provisioned from data centers in the region, with providers like Hivelocity and ColoCrossing offering dedicated compute for performance-sensitive applications.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power Industrial power pricing in the Milwaukee area ranges from approximately $0.08 – $0.11/kWh, as of September 2025. These rates provide a significant operational cost advantage compared to more expensive power markets on the East and West Coasts.

Power Grid Reliability The power grid supporting the Milwaukee area is well-engineered. Data center operators typically leverage redundant feeds from multiple substations to ensure high levels of uptime and fault tolerance for mission-critical operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers in Milwaukee provide low-latency connectivity to the region's strong manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services industries. The market also serves as an ideal disaster recovery location for companies headquartered in Chicago, just 90 miles south.

Regional Market Reach From Milwaukee, businesses can effectively serve end-users across Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and the broader Upper Midwest. This geographic advantage makes it a valuable point of presence for content delivery and application hosting.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers Wisconsin provides a sales and use tax exemption for qualified data centers on IT equipment and software. This state-level incentive significantly lowers the total cost of ownership for large-scale deployments and technology refreshes.

Natural Disaster Risk

Milwaukee has a moderate natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 60.48, as of September 2025. The primary environmental threats are atmospheric, including tornadoes, strong winds, winter weather, and hail. The region is not exposed to major seismic, hurricane, or coastal flooding risks, making it a stable location for critical infrastructure.