The 10 Fastest and Slowest States for Internet Speeds in 2026

HighSpeedInternet.com’s internet speed test data for last year shows the national average internet speed in 2025 was 172Mbps. That’s about a 20% decrease compared to the previous year’s 214Mbps.

Internet performance didn’t improve year-over-year as it typically has, and our Fastest Internet Providers Report shows the pace of improvement has been slowing down over the last two years. As noted in our report, a decrease doesn’t directly indicate internet providers are getting worse, but rather could be an indication of household internet needs changing and customers opting for cheaper and slower plans.

We’ll go over the fastest and slowest internet speeds across the U.S. and what the national average speed decrease could indicate.

Internet speeds across America

The average download speed in the U.S. fell to 172Mbps, demonstrating a 20% decrease year-over-year compared to 2024’s 214Mbps.

Although the national average download speed decreased, the fastest speeds are still found in densely populated states, and the slowest speeds are still in more rural states.

The fastest internet speeds are found in West Virginia (216.96Mbps), Florida (216.14Mbps), and Maryland (213.63Mbps), keeping the fastest speeds concentrated on the East Coast of the U.S.

The slowest speeds are found in Hawaii (90.9Mbps), Alaska (102.09Mbps), and Montana (122.62Mbps), where there are more limitations to high-speed options.

States with the fastest and slowest internet speeds

Every year, we rank states by speed to get a clear picture of national internet access. In 2025, 25 states fall below the national average, and 25 states (plus the District of Columbia) have download speeds above the national average.

There are fewer states that fall below the national average in 2025 compared to 2024’s 36 states. In 2024, there were 15 states above the national average, while in 2025, we see that number jump up to 25 states (plus the District of Columbia) with download speeds higher than the national average.

Top 10 states with the fastest internet speeds

The states with the fastest internet speeds are found mainly in the Northeast and Southeast of the U.S. Higher population density typically results in better infrastructure and more high-speed plan and provider options.

West Virginia sits at the top spot with average download speeds of 216.96Mbps, but the top ten states all boast download speeds of 198Mbps or faster.

Top 10 states with the slowest internet speeds

There’s a larger variance in speeds with the slowest states compared to the fastest states. There’s only about an 18Mbps difference in speeds with the fastest states, but a 64Mbps gap between the ten slowest states. The slowest state, Hawaii, averages download speeds of 90.9Mbps—almost half the national average.

Region, demographics, and internet speed variance

In general, more densely populated cities have more options for fast internet plans and providers. With higher demand, typically comes more infrastructure investments from providers, leading to better average speeds.

In the last few years, there has been a bigger focus on rural areas from satellite internet providers like Starlink. But in comparison to metro areas, rural regions don’t see anywhere near as much expansion from national internet providers.

Speed averages shift with customer needs and demands, not just provider offerings. If most households are opting for the cheapest and slowest plans, this will decrease the overall average speeds.

Every household’s internet needs will vary depending on the online activities and how many devices will be connected. See our full guide to internet speeds for more information on what your household needs.

Investments could lead to faster internet speeds

Federal initiatives like the BEAD program aim to improve and build infrastructure to support high-speed internet for every American. Many national cable internet providers have rolled out DOCSIS 4.0 to bring multi-gigabit speeds to customers, while fiber providers continue to expand networks.

On the satellite internet side, providers like Starlink are continually growing satellite constellations to improve speeds and expand connectivity, especially in more rural regions. Next-gen technologies will continue to raise overall speeds and broaden accessibility to high-speed internet. Internet performance across the U.S. can continue to become more reliable and connect more Americans, even when average speeds decrease year-over-year.

Average internet download speeds of all states

Consult our methodology for more information about the data we used for this article.