Living in an area without access to broadband can be very frustrating, yet it is still common in the U.S., as new research has found that 2.9% of the country don’t have access to broadband.  But which states have the worst WiFi coverage and the highest percentage of the population without access to broadband?  

The broadband experts at Uswitch have analyzed FCC Open Data to reveal the U.S. states with the highest percentage of the population without access to ADSL, cable, or fibre broadband connections, even at the lowest speed level. 

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You can view the full research here: https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/studies/the-us-broadband-index/.

The states with the worst broadband coverage

• Wyoming is the state with the most internet blackspots, with 10.28% of Wyoming’s population not having access to ADSL, cable, or fibre connections. 

• Idaho has the 2nd worst coverage in the USA. It sees a population blackout percentage of 8.64%, with around 155,000 Idaho residents without access to ADSL, cable, or fibre providers.

• The state with the third-highest rate of internet blackout is Mississippi, with just over 7% of Mississippi’s population reportedly without at least 1 provider of ADSL, cable, or fibre. 

States with the best broadband coverage

Connecticut is the state with the best broadband and WiFi coverage in the USA, with only 0.33% of the population without at least one provider. It seems the east coast is well connected New York and Maine making up the rest of the top 3. 

Further Study insights:

• California ranks in top place for the cheapest average fibre optic cost in the US, with a mean average fibre optic cost of just $0.04 per megabit per second.

• Massachusetts is the state with the best value for money broadband with an overall connection score of 9.23 out of 10.

• Texas offers the cheapest cable broadband in the US by far, under half the price of the runner-up on this list. Texas offers cable at an average of $0.12 per Mbps. South Carolina is the best state to be in for cheap DSL broadband. South Carolina offers DSL at an average rate of $0.60 per Mbps.

• Delaware earns the top spot for fastest download speed in the US, with speeds reaching an average of 59.48 megabits per second.