Which the U.S States Have the Best and Worst Internet?

Wondering what state has the best and worst Internet? A robust and reliable internet connection is essential these days. While having a fast Internet connection is even more critical because buffering and late search results can be really frustrating. The broadband Internet is defined by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as Internet services with 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed. But in the U.S, even the lowest average Internet speed is about twice this number.

Internet availability is not equal across the U.S. The speed and quality of Internet access vary significantly state by state. Some U.S. states are blessed with the fastest and most reliable Internet in the world while others are getting pretty ordinary Internet service. Moreover, the number says that 24 million Americans still don’t have Internet at home. The average Internet speed in the U.S across all 50 states is 99.3 Mbps with every state having an internet speed above 50 Mbps.

Read the article to know which U.S states have the best and worst Internet.

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U.S. states with the best Internet

Urban and highly populated states are leading in Internet speed over rural areas, and this division was made even more apparent in the COVID period. However, internet speeds in the U.S. are only getting better every year. Here are the top five U.S states with the best Internet:

Rhode Island 129.0 Mbps
New Jersey 120.4 Mbps
Delaware 119.1 Mbps
Maryland 118.2 Mbps
District of Columbia (D.C.) 117.7 Mbps

U.S. states with the worst Internet

Rural states like Montana, Iowa, West Virginia, and Maine have the slowest internet speeds, averaging only about 55 Mbps. Maine has one of the slowest internet speeds, even though it is on the East Coast like many of the fastest states. Here are the five U.S states with the worst Internet:

Montana 54.4 Mbps
West Virginia 55.2 Mbps
Idaho 55.4 Mbps
Maine 56.3 Mbps
Wyoming 60.0 Mbps

National Trends of Internet Speed across the U.S State

The state-by-state analysis of the Internet can be helpful if you are looking to move to a new state. Moreover, the main motive behind this analysis is to identify national trends. The analysis reveals that the population density of a state plays a significant role in internet access within a state. Montana has a population density of seven people per square mile and has the worst internet service in the U.S., while New Jersey has 1,195 people per square mile which is one of the best internet states.

Large, rural states have less Internet access and slower speeds than small, highly-populated states of the U.S. Furthermore, State’s wealth also plays a huge role in internet availability. The wealthier states have average-to-high levels of internet coverage, like, Washington is the wealthiest state and comes at number 14 in terms of Internet speed. However, the citizens of poor states are ten times less likely to have an Internet connection at home.

Internet providers invest more in wealthy and densely populated areas because it is always a safer option. However, not everyone has the best wifi service, even in rich states. New York State has Verizon FIOS gigabit internet and many fast business ISPs. But a lot of upstate residents are using slow Verizon DSL with sub-10Mbps connections.

How Do U.S. Internet Speeds Compare to Other Countries?

According to Ookla’s Speedtest.net, American people currently receive around 204 Mbps of download speed and 74 Mbps of upload speed through their fixed Internet connections. In 2021, America have the 13th fastest Internet speed in the world, while Monaco is leading the list. The “fast internet speeds” are typically referred to as any downloading speed above 100 Mbps, and America is doing quite well by this measure. This is a fantastic improvement within just six years when the U.S. had an average download speed of just 31 Mbps.

Lastly,

In the modern era, the Internet is a must-have service. The economy, education, employment, and health of every nation depend on Internet speed and coverage. The digital divide in America continues to rise, but overall, the speed performance of the Internet is getting better every year. Rhode Island and New Jersey are the states with the best Internet while Montana has the worst Internet.

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