A fast internet connection can make or break your Work at home experience, especially now that most meetings take place on video calls. With slow internet speeds, you will also struggle to stream content online during your downtime.
Although there are ways to get a faster internet connection at home for free, HighSpeedInternet.com has put together a new report highlighting the states with the fastest and slowest internet speeds. This data could be especially useful if you plan to move to a state with a cheaper cost of living now that you’ve secured a job that allows you to work remotely.
To determine which states have the best and worst internet speeds, the site used speed tests conducted in 2,733 US cities between February and March of this year. HighSpeedInternet.com (opens in a new tab) required a minimum of 100 speed tests for each city to include in its dataset of over 1.4 million speed test results; incomplete, duplicate, and cell phone data was filtered out to show what most people were working with on their laptops and desktops.
Although the national average internet speed is 119.03 Mbps according to the site’s report, some states have slightly higher speeds while others offer internet speeds that are about half of the national average.
Stick to the east coast for the best internet speeds
If you want to live in a state with the fastest internet speeds, you’ll probably want to move to an East Coast state. Delaware had the highest average download speed at 145.8 Mbps, followed by New Jersey at 144.7 Mbps and Maryland at 144.3 Mbps. However, other East Coast states, including Virginia (139.6 Mbps), Massachusetts (138.1 Mbps), Rhode Island (134.5 Mbps), Georgia (128 Mbps), and Florida ( 127.79 Mbps) was also on HighSpeedInternet.com’s list of states with the best download speeds.
The two outliers on the list were California, with download speeds of 131 Mbps, and Texas, with even faster average download speeds of 133.7 Mbps. The number of tech giants and startups in both states explains why they would have faster internet speeds despite the lack of infrastructure available on the US East Coast.
You might want to think twice before moving to the countryside
After being locked down to work remotely in an apartment during the pandemic, many Americans have made the choice to move to the countryside where there is more space and fewer crowds. However, with these benefits comes a huge downside – significantly slower internet speeds.
Among the 50 states in the United States, West Virginia has the slowest average download speed of 60.7 Mbps as tested by HighSpeedInternet.com. Montana is not far behind with 63.4 Mbps followed by Wyoming with 69.9 Mbps. Maine (71.8 Mbps), Idaho (75.1 Mbps), Arkansas (82.3 Mbps), New Mexico (82.7 Mbps), South Dakota (83.1 Mbps) , Iowa (85 Mbps) and Wisconsin (85.1 Mbps) made up the rest of the ten states. with the worst internet speeds in the US
If you want a bit more space without sacrificing your internet speed, South Carolina and North Carolina might be a better choice with download speeds of 110.8 Mbps and 110.7 Mbps respectively.
| State | Average download speed |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 99.7 Mbps |
| Alaska | 88.0 Mbps |
| Arizona | 98.8 Mbps |
| Arkansas | 82.3 Mbps |
| California | 131.0 Mbps |
| Colorado | 125.0 Mbps |
| Connecticut | 112.6 Mbps |
| Delaware | 145.8 Mbps |
| Florida | 127.79 Mbps |
| Georgia | 128.0 Mbps |
| Hawaii | 90.2 Mbps |
| Idaho | 75.1 Mbps |
| Illinois | 122.8 Mbps |
| Indiana | 110.5 Mbps |
| Iowa | 85.0 Mbps |
| Kansas | 101.8 Mbps |
| Kentucky | 94.5 Mbps |
| Louisiana | 101.4 Mbps |
| Maine | 71.8 Mbps |
| Maryland | 144.3 Mbps |
| Massachusetts | 138.1 Mbps |
| Michigan | 104.6 Mbps |
| Minnesota | 96.6 Mbps |
| Mississippi | 94.4 Mbps |
| Montana | 63.4 Mbps |
| Nebraska | 98.8 Mbps |
| Nevada | 116.6 Mbps |
| New Hampshire | 127.7 Mbps |
| New Jersey | 144.7 Mbps |
| New Mexico | 82.7 Mbps |
| New York | 121.8 Mbps |
| North Carolina | 110.7 Mbps |
| North Dakota | 88.0 Mbps |
| Ohio | 92.4 Mbps |
| Oklahoma | 101.2 Mbps |
| Oregon | 111.4 Mbps |
| Pennsylvania | 119.0 Mbps |
| Rhode Island | 134.5 Mbps |
| Caroline from the south | 110.8 Mbps |
| South Dakota | 83.1 Mbps |
| Tennessee | 115.6 Mbps |
| Texas | 133.7 Mbps |
| Utah | 111.3 Mbps |
| Vermont | 89.6 Mbps |
| Virginia | 60.7 Mbps |
| Washington | 124.34 Mbps |
| West Virginia | 60.7 Mbps |
| Wisconsin | 85.1 Mbps |
| Wyoming | 69.9 Mbps |
Bridging the digital divide
With many states registering slower internet speeds than the national average, the US government has put in place several plans to try to tackle the digital divide, including the Biden administration. Affordable Connectivity Program. This program aims to make it easier and cheaper for low-income Americans to access high-speed broadband.
The Biden administration also recently secured commitments from 20 of the nation’s major internet service providers to increase speeds or reduce prices under the Affordable Connectivity Program. The US government has even launched a new site called GetInternet.gov, designed to make it easier to sign up for the program and find participating ISPs.
If your household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, you may qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program and pay only $30 per month or maybe even less for high-speed Internet, which which the FCC defines as a minimum download speed of 25 minutes. Mbps and a minimum download speed of 3 Mbps. However, FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel called for both minimums to be raised, especially as more and more aspects of our daily lives now take place online.
How to Get Faster, More Reliable Rural Internet
For those who live in a rural area or who have recently moved to the countryside during the pandemic, you can still get relatively fast and reliable internet, even if the area you live in does not have the necessary network infrastructure.
To get fast rural internet in places without traditional coverage, you’ll need to turn to a satellite internet provider like Starlink, HughesNet or Viasat. Stellar Link is the fastest currently available at 50-500 Mbps, followed by Viasat with download speeds of 12-100 Mbps. HughesNet only goes up to 25 Mbps.
Still, these satellite internet providers can be a boon to those living in rural areas who previously had to rely on a Mobile hotspot to bring their devices online. Meanwhile, Verizon and Amazon recently announced a new strategic collaboration to use the e-commerce giant Kuiper Project to provide enhanced connectivity to rural and remote communities in the United States using its constellation of 3,326 satellites in low Earth orbit.
