A cache of statistics about Americans’ usage of the internet and their thoughts about its value are highlighted in a new report titled “Internet Statistics in 2025” from HighSpeedInternet.com. The statistics cover internet access, speed, cost, reliability, connections, and more, based on data gathered last year.
Nearly ubiquitous, 333.1 million people (97% of Americans) said they use the internet. This number has increased by 51 million in roughly 10 years. Almost 25% of internet users said the longest they can go without needing internet access is four hours. Another nearly 20% of people said 24 hours is their maximum amount of time without needing the internet.
Perhaps because internet is a critical infrastructure sector — like electricity, gas, and water — a large majority of Americans (85%) consider the internet a utility like those others, the report found.
The report noted that internet speeds are getting faster, and faster internet equates to smoother browsing, streaming, game playing, and more. The reported average download speed in the U.S. is 209.01 Mbps, and the average upload speed is 61.98 Mbps.
The states with the fastest internet speeds are Connecticut, New Jersey, and Florida. Internet connection type is a major factor in establishing speeds. The states with the slowest speeds re Alaska, West Virginia, and Montana. Internet-speed-by-state data was issued in another report from HighSpeedInternet.com last month.
Citing U.S. Census Bureau and FCC reports, this report explained that approximately 10 million U.S. households (7.8% of households) didn’t have a home internet connection in 2023. Further, that 99.98% of all areas studied have access to broadband speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.
“There’s a pretty big gap between the percentage of households that could get fast internet and the percentage of households that do get it, but it points to a larger truth. For everyday Americans, internet access is complicated by cost, availability, and tech skills,” the report stated.
HighSpeedInternet.com’s data shows that:
- 92% of Americans subscribe to a home internet service
- 96% of Americans have access to a home computer
- 92% of people have access to a smartphone, and 9.9% use only that smartphone to connect to the internet
- 64% of people have access to a tablet, and 0.7% use only that tablet to connect to the internet
Of the five main types of home internet connections — fiber, cable, fixed wireless, DSL, and satellite — American internet users connect as follows: 76.3% connect through broadband, fiber or DSL; 86.8% have a cellular data plan, with 11.9% having only a cellular data plan (no home internet); 11.2% have fixed wireless internet; 6.6% have satellite internet; and 0.1% use dial-up internet.
The average monthly cost of all advertised internet plans in the U.S. is $77. When viewed by connection type, some average rates exceeded the national average while some came in under it, as shown here:
- DSL: $60
- 5G: $67
- Fixed wireless: $72
- Cable internet: $59
- Fiber internet $85
- Satellite internet: $121
The report said that city-dwellers and suburbanites pay slightly less for their high-speed internet — because infrastructure is better and there is more competition — than people who live in rural areas, who actually pay more for lower-quality connections.
The most expensive internet connection for households in rural areas is satellite internet, costing 2.8% of average household income before taxes. The cheapest connection for households in cities and suburbs is cable, costing 0.84% of average household income before taxes.
Remarkably, 8.25 million people don’t know how much they are paying for their internet connection.
The publisher described its report as one that “covers the most important internet trends and statistics based on thousands of proprietary speed tests, custom surveys, official government data, and academic research.”
