Turns out they did—the national average download speed was 57 Mbps in 2020 and it almost doubled to 119 Mbps in 2021. That’s great news for those of us still spending a lot of time online at home. (And even if you don’t, we expect faster internet speeds are something you’d never turn down.) Whether you’re planning a move and want to know which states and cities have the fastest internet or if you’re shopping for a new, faster ISP in your area, we’re here to help. Here’s what we found when we analyzed speed test results from 2021.
New Jersey boasted the fastest average download speed in the nation (142 Mbps). West Virginia’s average download speed was the slowest out of all 51 states. (69 Mbps) Alaska saw the biggest improvement in download speed, jumping from an average of 24 Mbps in 2020 to 101 Mbps in 2021. (That’s a 322% increase!)
Surprisingly, towns in California and Utah saw the slowest average download speeds. Both states are typically home to fast speeds—but apparently some cities were left behind.
Goodyear, Arizona, had the fastest average download speed of 365 Mbps, followed closely by Needham, Massachusetts (337 Mbps), and Norton, Massachusetts (330 Mbps). McCloud, California, was home to the slowest average download speed of 4 Mbps, followed by Ibapah, Utah (7 Mbps), Iowa Park, Texas (10 Mbps), and Capac, Michigan (10 Mbps).
Olympia, Washington, saw the biggest difference in slowest average download speeds (115 Mbps) and fastest average download speeds (401 Mbps). Sacramento, California, saw the next biggest gap in slowest average download speeds (76 Mbps) and fastest average download speeds (359 Mbps). Chicago, Illinois, also landed in the top three cities with the biggest gap in slowest average download speeds (50 Mbps) and fastest average download speeds (276 Mbps).
Smaller internet providers like Giggle Fiber are topping the charts when it comes to these three factors. (But larger ISPs like Xfinity aren’t too far behind.)
Giggle Fiber (California) topped the charts with a weighted score of 59 out of 100. Crossroads Fiber (Massachusetts) and Connect2First (Arkansas) both boasted the fastest average download speed of 230 Mbps. Point Broadband (multiple states) had the fastest average upload speeds of 516 Mbps. SilverIP (Illinois) had an astoundingly low average latency of 7 milliseconds (ms).
To make sure we included all factors that affect an internet provider’s performance, we used a weighted speed score that represents 70% of an ISP’s average download speed, 20% of its average upload speed, and 10% of its average latency. Xfinity and Cox both ranked in the overall list of top five fastest ISPs above. Optimum, Spectrum, and WOW! all squeezed into the top five when we narrowed our list down to internet providers that are available in more than a handful of cities and serve more than 5 million households. Many of the cities sporting the fastest average download speeds, like Needham, Massachusetts, and Mercer Island, Washington, have three or more internet providers to choose from. Others, like Goodyear, Arizona, and Norton, Massachusetts, still have two providers to choose from. More internet choices can influence average internet speeds by creating a competitive atmosphere for providers that serve the same areas. That’s likely why you’ll see some of the fastest average download speeds in cities with more internet choices.
Atlanta, Georgia, has 23 ISPs to choose from, the most of any city. Los Angeles, California followed close behind with 22 ISPs to choose from. Minneapolis and Paul, Minnesota and New York, New York, also topped the charts with 19 different ISPs to choose from each.
We expect 2022 to continue that trend. We’ve already seen many ISPs bump up the download speeds they’re offering (like AT&T’s 5 Gbps plan). And we’re hoping more transparency and improved infrastructure move the needle in terms of upload speeds as well. We then averaged download speeds for cities and states and compared January to December averages as well. To determine population data, we used 2020 US Census reports where available, unless otherwise noted. For internet service providers, we calculated a weighted score. 70% of each weighted score represents an ISP’s average download speed, 20% of its average upload speed, and 10% of its average latency.
