A new report from Ookla ranks the best- and worst-performing U.S. states based on their delivery of the FCC’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds to the highest percentage of users in the state. The analysis used Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data collected in the first half of 2024 to compare the median speeds of Speedtest users in all 50 states.
The current definition of broadband is 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. It was upgraded by the FCC in March 2024 from the previous standard of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, where it had been set since the standard was first established in 2015.
Many U.S. households still lack basic high-speed broadband, Ookla noted in the report, even though it is essential for people to do things such as take online classes, obtain access to health care, register for government services, conduct online banking, and more.
The report’s top nine states based on Speedtest Intelligence data have the highest percentage of users that meet the FCC’s current minimum standard. All nine of these states have received final approval for both phases of BEAD funding. However, Ookla said that approval doubtfully played a role here since BEAD funding isn’t expected to start affecting broadband deployment projects until 2025, at the soonest.
The top nine states are:
- Connecticut 65.8% of Speedtest users achieving broadband speeds
- North Dakota 65.5%
- Maryland 63.7%
- Delaware 63.3%
- Rhode Island 62.7%
- Tennessee 62.2%
- Utah 61.8%
- New Hampshire 60.5%
- Virginia 60.1%
Ookla’s report, “How the 50 U.S. States Stack up in Broadband Speed Performance: 1H 2024,” also identifies the states that need the most improvement. It shows that many states still struggle to make broadband service available to all of their residents, chiefly because many areas are not profitable for providers to serve.
Washington, Alaska, Illinois, and Oregon are the most digitally divided states in the entire country. They were found to have the greatest gap between the percentage of rural Speedtest users and the percentage of urban Speedtest users who receive FCC’s minimum standard of broadband speeds.
Specifically, fewer than 40% of the Speedtest users in Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming are receiving the minimum broadband speeds. These states also happen to be the top three least densely populated in the U.S.
New Mexico, Arizona, and Minnesota recorded the greatest improvement in the percentage of Speedtest users getting the FCC’s minimum standard speeds between the first half of 2023 and the first half of 2024. In particular, New Mexico and Arizona have made tremendous strides, the report indicated.
The top 10 U.S. states with greatest year-over-year increase in Speedtest users achieving standard fixed broadband speeds are:
- New Mexico 50% increase in Speedtest users obtaining broadband speeds
- Arizona 45%
- Nevada 37%
- Minnesota 38%
- Colorado 35%
- Washington 35%
- Oregon 32%
- Wyoming 32%
- Maine 30%
- Utah 29%
While broadband speeds are improving, more work is needed, Ookla said. It added that BEAD funding will make a difference once it is put to use.
