After comparing cities with at least 100 speed tests taken in 2021, we saw many metros improve the average download speeds their citizens can get. But others still lagged behind the rest of the country. This is a huge deal, especially since many of us moved to more rural areas once working from home became an option. If you haven’t moved yet but are thinking of relocating to a quieter home, here are the top cities to consider—plus a handful you might want to avoid if you rely on the internet to get work done. But now, cities like Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix (well, what Arizona city isn’t?) and Alliance, Ohio, located near Akron, lead the pack. The best news is, each of these cities averaged download speeds of more than 200 Mbps. We typically recommend folks start with 100 Mbps download speeds and aim for faster speeds depending on how many people live in their home. Speeds of 200 Mbps are ideal for a small to mid-sized family who likes to stream, game, and work from home. **City population data retrieved from 2020 US Census reports. Thankfully, new technology, like fixed wireless and low-earth-orbit satellites, is building out to bring internet into rural areas where your typical cable, fiber, and DSL providers haven’t gone. The unfortunate part is that these average download speeds are far too slow to access modern-day websites, let alone stream video, hop on Zoom calls, or take part in online learning. We hope to see these towns get more internet options with faster speeds in the near future. **City population data retrieved from 2020 US Census reports unless otherwise noted. †Ibapah, UT population retrieved from Utah Division of Indian Affairs: Confederated Tribes of the Goshutes. But not every part of a big city is home to speedy internet. While some of this may be due to customers choosing internet plans with slower speeds, it’s also partly due to faster speeds being offered in the most densely populated locations. So folks in the suburbs or poorer, less populated parts of town may not have an option of 500 Mbps download speeds. Here’s some of the US’s largest metros look when you compare the slowest recorded download speed to the fastest recorded download speed. Many folks in the US have only one provider to choose from. This leaves them high and dry if that provider decides to charge more, offer lackluster support, or worse, eliminate network infrastructure. That’s why we’ve taken a look at which cities have the most internet providers to choose from. Granted, larger cities may still see residents with fewer choices in certain areas, so take these numbers with a grain of salt. Next, we averaged download speeds for each city to determine the fastest and slowest cities in 2021. We also compared results for January and December to determine which cities saw the most improvement in internet speed over the year. We used 2020 US Census data to determine city population where available, unless otherwise noted. Lastly, we tallied the number of internet providers represented in each city to see which ones offer the most ISP choices.
