An analysis of average internet speeds across U.S. states in 2025, highlighting the fastest and slowest regions.

The statistic shows the average internet connection speed in the United States from 2007 to 2017. In the first quarter of 2017, the average internet connection speed was ***** Mbps.

It is a painful reality for many internet users that not all online connections are created equally – this is something that online users in low-density and rural U.S. states can attest to. According to August 2018 data, New Jersey was the U.S. state with the fastest internet connection with an average connection speed of 52 Mbps. Montana ranked last with an average connection speed of 20.3 Mbps. Internet speed in the United States There are many U.S. cities that are bustling hubs for tech companies and startups and it is no surprise that connectivity and innovation go hand in hand. According to data from the third quarter of 2018, Kansas City, Missouri had access to fixed internet connections with the fastest average download speed in the United States at 159.19 Megabits per second and also scored highest for average upload speed with 127.03 Mbps. In 2011, Kansas City, MO was selected as one of the first cities to receive Google Fiber, Google’s then newly launched broadband internet service. Other notable metro areas in the ranking of the cities with the fastest upload and download speeds include Texas tech heavyweights Austin and San Antonio, as well as San Francisco, California and Boston, Massachusetts. Mobile internet connectivity in the United States As of the first quarter of 2019, over 40 percent of website traffic in the United States was via mobile device. Mobile internet adoption is driven by availability and cost – in 2018, the estimated average price of cellular data per gigabyte in the United States was 4.64 U.S. dollars. However, the cost per mobile GB is projected to decrease to 2.75 U.S. dollars by 2023. In the third quarter of 2018, Minneapolis, Minnesota had access to the fastest average mobile download speed in the United States at 44.92 Megabits per second, and also scored highest for average upload speed with 14.26 Mbps.

This statistic shows the average Wi-Fi network connection speeds in North America until 2020, with projections looking towards 2023 (in Mbps). The average speed in 2020 was 70.7 Mbps, which was a 24 percent increase from 2019. In 2021, it is expected to increase by another 23 percent from 2020 with 58.9 Mbps.

As of May 2025, Singapore had the fastest fixed broadband internet worldwide, with a median download speed of 372.02 Mbps. France ranked second at 315.38 Mbps, while the UAE followed in third. Fixed internet connections deliver broadband to a home, office, or other fixed premises, with fiber connections offering the best quality service.

The statistic shows the average speed of Wi-Fi in the United States from 2016 to 2023. In 2017, the average Wi-Fi speed reached 32.26 megabits per second. It is forecast to get faster and faster, reaching 73.79 megabits per second by 2023.

The internet service providers industry uses wired infrastructure to provide clients with internet access and related services, like web hosting, web page designing and consulting related to internet connectivity. Rising internet usage has benefited industry revenue growth, and government-subsidized network expansion has done the same, increasing the number of US broadband connections. A push toward broadband expansion in rural markets and a climb in demand from business customers has boosted industry revenue, which is poised to incline at an annualized rate of 3.5% to $168.5 billion in 2025, including growth of 4.2% in 2025 as investments and activity mount in line with an improving macroeconomic environment. As households increasingly rely on the internet for streaming, gaming, remote work, and cloud computing, ISPs are scrambling to deliver faster and more reliable service. The rising adoption of cloud computing, which involves accessing data online, has boosted demand for dedicated internet access services sold at a higher profit. With increasing demand, providers have begun launching fiber optic networks, rapidly improving connection speeds. Major enterprises that typically benefit from economies of scale also continue to bundle TV and phone, which includes Voice over Internet Protocol services and high-speed internet into one service package, adopting new technology. Consolidation has swept the industry, with blockbuster mergers—such as T-Mobile’s tie-up with Sprint and Verizon’s multi-billion-dollar acquisition push—reshaping market share and intensifying competition. At the same time, average broadband speeds have more than doubled, but ISPs have faced mounting pressure from cord-cutters, OTT competitors and fierce price wars, often leading to flat or declining revenues per user even as consumer bandwidth use reaches new heights. This competitive environment has led to plummeting profit. Looking ahead, the ISP industry shows no sign of slowing down. Over the next five years, fiber expansion and 5G fixed wireless will reach an even greater share of US households. Providers will continue investing heavily in gigabit networks, edge computing and advanced Wi-Fi to keep pace with the explosion in cloud computing, IoT devices and remote work. Retaining customers will hinge on delivering faster speeds, greater reliability, strong security and innovative value-added services, especially as open-access networks and new entrants threaten to erode traditional market advantages. Continued demand will lead to industry revenue growth, poised to climb at an annualized rate of 4.4% to $208.9 billion in 2030.

As of Spring 2025, T-Mobile US had by far the fastest average 5G download speed among major U.S. network operators at ***** Mbps. It also offered the best typical overall download speed at ***** Mbps. 5G networks offer faster download speeds, lower latency, and greater reliability than previous generations. T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint has enabled it to challenge AT&T and Verizon T-Mobile US, which is majority owned by the German telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom, has made significant investments in its attempts to challenge the dominance of AT&T and Verizon. This has included its 26 billion U.S. dollar merger with Sprint in 2020, which dramatically increased its subscriber share and placed it to challenge its rivals in the 5G space over the coming years. In addition to delivering the fastest 5G download speeds, the operator has also offered the best coverage among U.S. network operators.

The statistic shows the average speed of cellular networks in the United States from 2016 to 2023. In 2017, the average cellular network speed reached 12.65 megabits per second. The speed is forecast to grow to 27.06 megabits per second by 2023.

AT&T and Frontier offered by far the best median fixed broadband upload speeds in the United States in the final quarter of 2023, with AT&T's median speed almost twice that of rival operator Verizon. Sufficient upload speeds are important for a broad range of activities, in particular online gaming, video conferencing, and file sharing.

The statistic shows the countries with the highest average internet connection speed during the first quarter of 2017, measured in Megabits per second. During that quarter, IPv4 internet connections in Norway averaged a connection speed of 23.5 Mbps. The global average IPv4 connection speed was 7.2 Mbps.

Average connection speeds are higher in developed Asian countries; South Korea leads with an average connection speed of 28.6 Mbps. This is a growth of more than 9.3 percent to the first quarter of the previous year.

The U.S. states with the highest average internet connection speed include Delaware, District of Columbia and Utah, with first-ranking D.C. having an average connection speed of some 28.1 Mbps as of the first quarter of 2017.

As of the same period, 83 percent of internet users in South Korea enjoyed a connection speed of over 10 Mbps, which is classed as high broadband connectivity. Next in the 10 Mbps broadband adoption rate ranking are Switzerland and the Singapore with 73 percent of high broadband connectivity each. Both Switzerland and Singapore's relatively small size combined with their wealth are a significant factor in terms of telecommunications infrastructure upgrades.

Up until the beginning of 2014, average connection speeds worldwide were under 4 Mbps and by the fourth quarter of 2016, global connection speed averaged at 7 Mbps.

PDF Map of FCC Form 477 provider reported maximum download speeds by census block for January - June 2020. This map seeks to highlight areas that are undeserved by terrestrial broadband (fiber/cable/dsl on the ground), with "underserved" defined as down/up speeds less than 25/3 Mbps.These data represent a static snapshot of provider reported coverage between January 2020 and June 2020. Maps also depict the locations of federally recognized tribes, Alaskan communities, ANCSA and borough boundaries.Broadband coverage is represented using provider reported speeds under the FCC Form 477 the amalgamated broadband speed measurement category based on Form 477 "All Terrestrial Broadband" as a proxy for coverage. This field is unique to the NBAM platform. These maps do not include satellite internet coverage (and may not include microwave coverage through the TERRA network for all connected areas).This map was produced by DCRA using data provided by NTIA through the NBAM platform as part of a joint data sharing agreement undertaken in the year 2021. Maps were produced using the feature layer "NBAM Data by Census Geography v4": https://maps.ntia.gov/arcgis/home/item.html?id=8068e420210542ba8d2b02c1c971fb20Coverage is symbolized using the following legend:No data avalible or no terrestrial coverage: Grey or transparent< 10 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Red10-25 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Orange25-50 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Yellow50-100 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Light Blue100-1000 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Dark Blue_Description from layer "NBAM Data by Census Geography v4":This layer is a composite of seven sublayers with adjacent scale ranges: States, Counties, Census Tracts, Census Block Groups, Census Blocks, 100m Hexbins and 500m Hexbins. Each type of geometry contains demographic and internet usage data taken from the following sources: US Census Bureau 2010 Census data (2010) USDA Non-Rural Areas (2013) FCC Form 477 Fixed Broadband Deployment Data (Jan - Jun 2020) Ookla Consumer-Initiated Fixed Wi-Fi Speed Test Results (Jan - Jun 2020) FCC Population, Housing Unit, and Household Estimates (2019). Note that these are derived from Census and other data. BroadbandNow Average Minimum Terrestrial Broadband Plan Prices (2020) M-Lab (Jan - Jun 2020)Some data values are unique to the NBAM platform: US Census and USDA Rurality values. For units larger than blocks, block count (urban/rural) was used to determine this. Some tracts and block groups have an equal number of urban and rural blocks—so a new coded value was introduced: S (split). All blocks are either U or R, while tracts and block groups can be U, R, or S. Amalgamated broadband speed measurement categories based on Form 477. These include: 99: All Terrestrial Broadband Plus Satellite 98: All Terrestrial Broadband 97: Cable Modem 96: DSL 95: All Other (Electric Power Line, Other Copper Wireline, Other) Computed differences between FCC Form 477 and Ookla values for each area. These are reflected by six fields containing the difference of maximum, median, and minimum upload and download speed values.The FCC Speed Values method is applied to all speeds from all data sources within the custom-configured Omnibus service pop-up. This includes: Geography: State, County, Tract, Block Group, Block, Hex Bins geographies Data source: all data within the Omnibus, i.e. FCC, Ookla, M-Lab Representation: comparison tables and single speed values

Within the Asia Pacific region, South Korea had the highest average IPv4 internet connection speed at **** megabits per second (Mbps). Considering this, it comes as no surprise that South Korea also had the highest internet penetration rate and the highest 4G download speed  across Asia. This was due to governmental efforts to facilitate the expansion and improvement of internet. 

Current state of internet in Asia 

Although Singapore had the third-fastest average IPv4 connection speed as of 2017, in 2018, it nonetheless had the fastest internet overall with a mean download speed of ***** Mbps, surpassing larger countries such as the U.S. and Germany.  Although India and the Philippines had the lowest average internet connection speeds, its year-on-year growth was higher than the leading countries with respectively **% and **%. In the Philippines, the government carried out a National Broadband Plan (NBP) to increase nationwide internet access. Similarly, the Indian government had also proposed a national broadband network to connect all cities and villages. 

Internet connection speed explained 

Megabits per second (Mbps) refer to the speed with which information can be downloaded or uploaded from and to the internet. For the Federal Communications Commission, a sufficient broadband internet connection requires a minimum of ** Mbps for downloads and * Mbps for uploads. In the world of internet, connection speeds above ** Mbps enable swift web surfing, HD content streaming as well as fast downloads. 

Cox Communications emerged as the front-runner in fixed broadband download speeds in the United States during the final quarter of 2023, delivering a median speed of ****** Mbps. This performance outpaced competitors Spectrum and AT&T Internet, which secured the second and third positions, respectively. The race for faster internet speeds continues to intensify as providers strive to meet growing consumer demands for high-speed connectivity. Fiber Connections Gaining Ground The landscape of fixed internet connections in the U.S. is evolving, with fiber optic networks making significant inroads. Nearly a quarter of all fixed internet connections in the country in 2023 were fiber-based, offering superior speeds and reduced latency compared to traditional cable or DSL services. This shift towards fiber aligns with the global trend of countries investing in advanced internet infrastructure to boost connectivity. Customer Satisfaction and Upload Speeds While download speeds often grab headlines, upload capabilities are increasingly crucial for activities like online gaming, video conferencing, and file sharing. In this arena, AT&T and Frontier stood out, offering the best median fixed broadband upload speeds in the U.S. during the same period. Notably, AT&T's median upload speed was nearly double that of Verizon. This performance aligns with customer satisfaction metrics, as the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked AT&T's fiber internet service highest among surveyed providers, followed by Verizon Fios.

This dataset contains measures of broadband internet access and usage per United States ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) in 2014 through 2018. The data is derived primarily from internet service providers’ Form 477 reports to the Federal Communications Commission. Key variables include the average upload and download speed of fixed broadband connections, the number of internet service providers, and the number of households with broadband.

This is an Australian extract of Speedtest Open data available at Amazon WS (link below - opendata.aws).AWS data licence is "CC BY-NC-SA 4.0", so use of this data must be:- non-commercial (NC)- reuse must be share-alike (SA)(add same licence).This restricts the standard CC-BY Figshare licence.A world speedtest open data was dowloaded (>400Mb, 7M lines of data). An extract of Australia's location (lat, long) revealed 88,000 lines of data (attached as csv).A Jupyter notebook of extract process is attached.A link to Twitter thread of outputs provided.A link to Data tutorial provided (GitHub), including Jupyter Notebook to analyse World Speedtest data, selecting one US State.Data Shows: (Q2)- 3.1M speedtests- 762,000 devices- 88,000 grid locations (600m * 600m), summarised as a point- average speed 33.7Mbps (down), 12.4M (up)- Max speed 724Mbps- data is for 600m * 600m grids, showing average speed up/down, number of tests, and number of users (IP). Added centroid, and now lat/long.See tweet of image of centroids also attached.Versions:v15/16. Add Hist comparing Q1-21 vs Q2-20. Inc ipynb (incHistQ121, v.1.3-Q121) to calc.v14 Add AUS Speedtest Q1 2021 geojson.(79k lines avg d/l 45.4Mbps)v13 - Added three colour MELB map (less than 20Mbps, over 90Mbps, 20-90Mbps)v12 - Added AUS - Syd - Mel Line Chart Q320.v11 - Add line chart compare Q2, Q3, Q4 plus Melb - result virtually indistinguishable. Add line chart to compare Syd - Melb Q3. Also virtually indistinguishable. Add HIST compare Syd - Melb Q3. Add new Jupyter with graph calcs (nbn-AUS-v1.3). Some ERRATA document in Notebook. Issue with resorting table, and graphing only part of table. Not an issue if all lines of table graphed.v10 - Load AURIN sample pics. Speedtest data loaded to AURIN geo-analytic platform; requires edu.au login.v9 - Add comparative Q2, Q3, Q4 Hist pic.v8 - Added Q4 data geojson. Add Q3, Q4 Hist pic.v7 - Rename to include Q2, Q3 in Title.v6 - Add Q3 20 data. Rename geojson AUS data as Q2. Add comparative Histogram. Calc in International.ipynb.v5 - add Jupyter Notebook inc Histograms. Hist is count of geo-locations avg download speed (unweighted by tests).v4 - added Melb choropleth (png 50Mpix) inc legend. (To do - add Melb.geojson). Posted Link to AURIN description of Speedtest data.v3 - Add super fast data (>100Mbps) less than 1% of data - 697 lines. Includes png of superfast.plot(). Link below to Google Maps version of superfast data points. Also Google map of first 100 data points - sample data. Geojson format for loading into GeoPandas, per Jupyter Notebook. New version of Jupyter Notebook, v.1.1.v2 - add centroids image.v1 - initial data load.** Future Work- combine Speedtest data with NBN Technology by location data (national map.gov.au); https://www.data.gov.au/dataset/national-broadband-network-connections-by-technology-type- combine Speedtest data with SEIFA data - socioeconomic categories - to discuss with AURIN.- Further international comparisons- discussed collaboration with Assoc Prof Tooran Alizadeh, USyd.

This dataset contains measures of broadband internet availability, speed, and adoption per United States census tract in 2014 through 2020. The data is derived from internet service providers’ Form 477 reports to the Federal Communications Commission. Key variables include the average upload and download speed of fixed broadband connections, the number of internet service providers, and the number of actual connections per 1000 households.

A curated version of this data is available through ICPSR at http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38567.v1">http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38567.v1

This layer is a composite of five sublayers with adjacent scale ranges showing the broadband score across the U.S. and outlying areas, at five different geographies – State, County, Tract, Block Group and Block. The broadband score is an index based on the FCC’s minimum standard of broadband of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload. A geography with speeds of 25/3 Mbps is awarded 100 points. Each type of geometry contains housing, population, and internet usage data taken from the following sources:US Census Bureau 2010 Census data (2010)USDA Non-Rural Areas (2013)FCC Form 477 Fixed Broadband Deployment Data (January - June 2020)FCC Population, Housing Unit, and Household Estimates (2019). Note that these are derived from Census and other data.BroadbandNow Average Minimum Terrestrial Broadband Plan Prices (2020)Measurement Lab (Jan - Jun 2020)Broadband offering data from each provider for Census Blocks are in a related table Field Names / Record StructureThis layer includes over 150 attributes relating to reported speed and service information. In addition:Each block includes housing unit, household, and population estimates from the FCC.Each block has an attribute named WaterOnly that indicates if it is entirely water (yes/no).Each block has two attributes indicating whether it is urban or rural (CensusUrbanRural and USDAUrbanRural). For units larger than blocks, block count (urban/rural) was used to determine this. Some tracts and block groups have an equal number of urban and rural blocks—so a new coded value was introduced: S (split). All blocks are either U or R, while tracts and block groups can be U, R, or S.Each block has three attributes indicating whether it is part of a Tribal Block Group, is part of an American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Area (AIANNHA) and the AIANNHA name.US Census and USDA Rurality valuesAmalgamated broadband speed measurement categories based on Form 477. These include:99: All Terrestrial Broadband Plus Satellite98: All Terrestrial Broadband97: Cable Modem96: DSL95: All Other (Electric Power Line, Other Copper Wireline, Other)The FCC Speed Values method is applied to all speeds from all data sources within this service. This includes:Geography: State, County, Tract, Block Group, Block,

The statistic presents the average download speed of broadband internet in Latin American countries from July 2023 to June 2024 measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). In that period of time, Uruguay presented the highest broadband internet speed in Latin America, with an average download speed of over *** Mbps.

PDF Map of FCC Form 477 provider reported maximum download speeds by census block for January - June 2020. This map seeks to highlight areas that are undeserved by terrestrial broadband (fiber/cable/dsl on the ground), with "underserved" defined as down/up speeds less than 25/3 Mbps.These data represent a static snapshot of provider reported coverage between January 2020 and June 2020. Maps also depict the locations of federally recognized tribes, Alaskan communities, ANCSA and borough boundaries.Broadband coverage is represented using provider reported speeds under the FCC Form 477 the amalgamated broadband speed measurement category based on Form 477 "All Terrestrial Broadband" as a proxy for coverage. This field is unique to the NBAM platform. These maps do not include satellite internet coverage (and may not include microwave coverage through the TERRA network for all connected areas).This map was produced by DCRA using data provided by NTIA through the NBAM platform as part of a joint data sharing agreement undertaken in the year 2021. Maps were produced using the feature layer "NBAM Data by Census Geography v4": https://maps.ntia.gov/arcgis/home/item.html?id=8068e420210542ba8d2b02c1c971fb20Coverage is symbolized using the following legend:No data avalible or no terrestrial coverage: Grey or transparent< 10 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Red10-25 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Orange25-50 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Yellow50-100 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Light Blue100-1000 Mbps Maximum Reported Download: Dark Blue_Description from layer "NBAM Data by Census Geography v4":This layer is a composite of seven sublayers with adjacent scale ranges: States, Counties, Census Tracts, Census Block Groups, Census Blocks, 100m Hexbins and 500m Hexbins. Each type of geometry contains demographic and internet usage data taken from the following sources: US Census Bureau 2010 Census data (2010) USDA Non-Rural Areas (2013) FCC Form 477 Fixed Broadband Deployment Data (Jan - Jun 2020) Ookla Consumer-Initiated Fixed Wi-Fi Speed Test Results (Jan - Jun 2020) FCC Population, Housing Unit, and Household Estimates (2019). Note that these are derived from Census and other data. BroadbandNow Average Minimum Terrestrial Broadband Plan Prices (2020) M-Lab (Jan - Jun 2020)Some data values are unique to the NBAM platform: US Census and USDA Rurality values. For units larger than blocks, block count (urban/rural) was used to determine this. Some tracts and block groups have an equal number of urban and rural blocks—so a new coded value was introduced: S (split). All blocks are either U or R, while tracts and block groups can be U, R, or S. Amalgamated broadband speed measurement categories based on Form 477. These include: 99: All Terrestrial Broadband Plus Satellite 98: All Terrestrial Broadband 97: Cable Modem 96: DSL 95: All Other (Electric Power Line, Other Copper Wireline, Other) Computed differences between FCC Form 477 and Ookla values for each area. These are reflected by six fields containing the difference of maximum, median, and minimum upload and download speed values.The FCC Speed Values method is applied to all speeds from all data sources within the custom-configured Omnibus service pop-up. This includes: Geography: State, County, Tract, Block Group, Block, Hex Bins geographies Data source: all data within the Omnibus, i.e. FCC, Ookla, M-Lab Representation: comparison tables and single speed values