U.S. states with the fastest average internet speed 2018

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.