For the second straight year, New Jersey topped BroadbandNow’s list for states with the best broadband access, affordability, performance, and competition.
BroadbandNow provides data derived from the Federal Communications Commission to find and compare local internet providers.
The Garden State received an overall score of 96.9 as BroadbandNow cited the state for near-universal access and the nation’s best network performance. The state was first in wired/fixed wireless access and median latency. (The time that elapses from the moment a signal is sent to its receipt.) Median download speed, or upload speed, was 137.2 Mbps (megabytes per second), fifth-fastest in the nation and faster than the national average of 107.3.
BroadbandNow’s annual analysis shows that while infrastructure deployment has improved nationwide, an affordability gap threatens to leave millions of rural Americans disconnected despite available service.
The East Coast had nine of the top 10 states for internet. BroadbandNow said they benefit from dense populations that justify infrastructure investment; higher median incomes enabling competitive markets; and proximity between population centers reducing deployment costs.
Eight states west of the Mississippi River were the worst states for internet service. They are hampered by vast geographic distances increasing infrastructure costs; sparse populations limiting provider competition; and lower median incomes reducing purchasing power.
Alaska ranks last with only 0.2% of residents having access to affordable broadband plans
BroadbandNow said broadband infrastructure exists in many areas but remains financially inaccessible to residents. This affordability gap — the difference between physical availability and access to reasonably priced plans — tops 20% in five states: Alaska: 74.0% gap (74.2% have infrastructure, only 0.2% have affordable options); North Dakota: 30.6% gap; South Dakota: 30.1% gap; Montana: 28.0% gap; Wyoming: 22.1% gap.
These are some other findings from the analysis.
- Fiber deployment doesn’t always guarantee better outcomes — states with lower fiber coverage often outperform fiber-rich states.
- The number of broadband providers varies dramatically by state, from 203 in Iowa to just 15 in Delaware and Hawaii (New Jersey has 22). However, its analysis finds no strong correlation between provider count and overall broadband quality.
- Download speeds now average 107.3 Mbps nationally, but 26 million Americans still lack basic broadband access.
