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Datacenter Sites in North Dakota

North Dakota has 1,020 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 55.7/100 DC Readiness. Substation-Adjacent parcels lead the inventory (453 sites). Most sites interconnect through MISO. The state's candidate sites carry a catalogued aggregate of 71.9k MW and average a 4.3 yrs interconnection-queue wait.

At a glance

North Dakota has 1,020 scored datacenter candidate sites, the 43rd-most of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, averaging 55.7/100 DC Readiness against a national average of 53.0. Its average score ranks 12th among states. The state also has 17 operating datacenters and 6 internet exchange facilities on record.

1,020
Candidate sites
55.7/100
Avg DC Readiness
71.9k MW
Catalogued capacity
theoretical aggregate
4.3 yrs
Avg queue wait
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≥ 7560–7540–60≤ 40
Top 25 in North Dakota

How does North Dakota compare with other states for datacenter sites?

By number of scored candidate sites, North Dakota ranks 43rd of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico (1,020 of 147,272 nationally, 0.7%). Its average DC Readiness of 55.7/100 ranks 12th and is roughly in line with the national average of 53.0. The average interconnection-queue wait at its sites, 4.3-year, is the 23rd-shortest of the group (national 4.2-year).

Across the five headline sub-scores, North Dakota is strongest relative to the nation on natural hazard (79.4 vs 66.8 nationally) and weakest on speed to power (50.9 vs 50.0). Power and speed to power carry 20% of the score each, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.

Which counties in North Dakota have the most datacenter sites?

Benson County (85 sites, average 51.2), Ward County (69 sites, average 54.4), and Cass County (58 sites, average 58.0) hold the largest inventories. Together the top 3 account for 21% of the state's scored sites. Burleigh County has the highest average score among counties with at least 10 sites (60.9/100). 43 counties have five or more scored sites and their own county page.

What kinds of sites and grid regions are in North Dakota?

Substation-Adjacent parcels are the largest category (453, 44%), followed by industrial (281) and greenfield (174). Sites span 3 grid regions; MISO covers 57% of them.

By site type

By grid region

Average sub-score profile

How North Dakota's candidate sites score on each DC Readiness dimension (0–100 average).

Power availability
42.7
Speed-to-power
50.9
Fiber
71.0
Water
79.8
Hazard resilience
79.4

Top 25 datacenter sites in North Dakota

Ranked by DC Readiness.

Top datacenter sites in North Dakota
SiteTypeCountyVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
GRAND FORKSSubstation-AdjacentGrand Forks County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs69.5
ELLENDALESubstation-AdjacentDickey County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs68.2
MAPLE RIVERSubstation-AdjacentCass County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs67.1
UNKNOWN133738Substation-AdjacentGrand Forks County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs66.5
UNKNOWN132925Substation-AdjacentBurleigh County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs66.5
HESKETT 230 KVSubstation-AdjacentBurleigh County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs66.5
SHEYENNESubstation-AdjacentClay County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs66.4
OZ Grand ForksGreenfieldGrand Forks——4.3 yrs66.1
OZ Grand ForksGreenfieldGrand Forks——4.3 yrs66.1
BISONSubstation-AdjacentCass County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs66.0
CENTER 345KV SWITCHYARDSubstation-AdjacentOliver County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.9
BISMARCKSubstation-AdjacentBurleigh County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs65.9
MANDAN JUNCTIONSubstation-AdjacentBurleigh County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs65.7
UNDERWOODSubstation-AdjacentOliver County400 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.7
LELAND OLDS 345 KVSubstation-AdjacentOliver County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.5
UNKNOWN133835Substation-AdjacentMercer County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.5
COYOTESubstation-AdjacentMercer County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.5
UNKNOWN135287Substation-AdjacentMercer County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.5
UNKNOWN134171Substation-AdjacentMercer County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs65.5
FRONTIERSubstation-AdjacentClay County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs65.4
OZ CassGreenfieldCass——4.3 yrs65.1
UNKNOWN132849Substation-AdjacentOliver County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs65.0
FARGOSubstation-AdjacentCass County230 kV300 MW4.3 yrs65.0
JUDSONSubstation-AdjacentWilliams County345 kV600 MW4.3 yrs64.8
OZ CassGreenfieldCass——4.3 yrs64.7

Counties in North Dakota

43 counties with five or more scored sites.

Benson County85 · 51.2Ward County69 · 54.4Cass County58 · 58.0Williams56 · 56.5Rolette County55 · 52.7Burleigh County43 · 60.9McKenzie County43 · 55.6Grand Forks36 · 58.6Mercer County34 · 58.7Mountrail County31 · 56.4Pembina29 · 56.0McLean27 · 57.0Morton County24 · 60.2Dunn County22 · 53.9McHenry County22 · 54.2Burke County20 · 56.9Stark County20 · 55.7Oliver County19 · 60.7Traill County18 · 56.2Sioux County16 · 52.5Stutsman County16 · 56.3Divide County15 · 55.1Renville County15 · 57.1Walsh County15 · 54.6Barnes County14 · 54.8Bottineau County14 · 56.4Cavalier County14 · 55.5Steele County13 · 57.9Wells County13 · 52.0Ramsey County12 · 54.5Richland County12 · 53.9Ransom County11 · 55.4Sargent County11 · 55.3Bowman County10 · 56.6Dickey County9 · 59.9Eddy County9 · 52.0Hettinger County9 · 50.2McIntosh County9 · 56.6Pierce County9 · 56.8Kidder County8 · 58.0Adams County6 · 56.9Logan County6 · 56.8LaMoure County5 · 56.2

Sites in North Dakota counties with fewer than five sites

28 scored sites sit in counties too small for a county page of their own.

Operating datacenters in North Dakota

17 operating datacenter facilities in North Dakota are on record, the 32nd-most of any state. Fargo has the largest cluster (3 facilities). The operators with the most facilities here are Midcontinent Communications (2), Dakota Carrier Network (2), 702 Communications (1). Footprints are recorded for 2 of them, totalling about 2.7 million square feet.

Fargo (3)

Bismarck (1)

Ellendale (1)

Grand Forks (1)

Harwood (1)

Internet exchange and peering facilities in North Dakota

6 peering and colocation facilities in North Dakota are listed in PeeringDB. Fargo has the most (3). The best-connected facility hosts 8 networks; the median facility in the state hosts 1.5 networks.

Fargo (3)

Bismarck (1)

Ellendale (1)

Grand Forks (1)

North Dakota datacenter site selection FAQ

How many datacenter sites are in North Dakota?

GridCensus catalogs 1,020 scored datacenter candidate sites in North Dakota, with an average DC Readiness score of 55.7/100. That is the 43rd-largest inventory of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

How many operating datacenters are in North Dakota?

17 operating datacenter facilities in North Dakota are on record, the 32nd-most of any state. Fargo has the most (3). Midcontinent Communications operates the most facilities in the state (2).

What is the average interconnection-queue wait in North Dakota?

Candidate sites in North Dakota average a 4.3-year interconnection-queue wait, with an average queue depth of 17 projects. The national average across all scored sites is 4.2-year, and North Dakota has the 23rd-shortest average wait of the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

Which county in North Dakota has the most datacenter sites?

Benson County has the most scored candidate sites in North Dakota (85), followed by Ward County (69) and Cass County (58). Among counties with at least 10 sites, Burleigh County has the highest average DC Readiness (60.9/100).

What kind of datacenter sites are most common in North Dakota?

Substation-Adjacent sites are the most common category in North Dakota (453 sites, 44% of the inventory), and most sites fall within the MISO grid region.

How many internet exchange facilities are in North Dakota?

6 peering and colocation facilities listed in PeeringDB are in North Dakota. Fargo has the most (3). The best-connected one hosts 8 networks.

Looking for a specific record? The directory lists every scored datacenter site in North Dakota, A to Z.

More North Dakota infrastructure

About this data

Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published November 12, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: GridCensus, “Datacenter candidate sites in North Dakota”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/north-dakota (data as of November 12, 2026).

Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Go deeper than the public screen

Every site and score for North Dakota is free to browse. Pro adds Watchtower on 25 sites, alerts when new candidate sites, datacenters or interconnection-queue requests appear in your markets, score and capacity history, and CSV export. Enterprise adds team seats, weekly data files for all 147,272 sites, the REST API and an MCP server for AI tools.

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