New data published by ISP Reports, a group founded to provide “accountability for internet service providers,” shows the major U.S. cities with the fastest internet connections.
Why It Matters
According to Statista figures from February 2025, 322 million people in the United States had internet access, out of a total population of approximately 347 million, making it the third-largest internet market in the world, following China and India.
A 2024 survey found 51 percent of American women and 43 percent of men said it was important to them to always have internet access, while 41 percent of Americans said they couldn’t imagine daily living without the internet.
What To Know
The ISP Reports survey provided a list of the 10 American cities with the fastest internet access across multiple categories, including “metropolitan cities” classed as those with over one million residents, and “major cities” with a population of between 500,000 and 999,999.
For metropolitan cities, the fastest was Salt Lake City, Utah, with a speed of 7,215 megabits per second (Mbps), followed by the Bronx, New York, at 6,731 Mbps, and Hartford, Connecticut, at 6,201 Mbps.
Fourth was Kansas City, Missouri, at 6,156 Mbps, followed by Brooklyn, New York, at 5,377 Mbps, Tampa, Florida, with 5,327 Mbps, and New York City itself with 4,999 Mbps.
The top ten metropolitan cities were completed by Raleigh, North Carolina, with 4,679 Mbps, Riverside, California, with 4,569 Mbps, and Rochester, New York, with 4,566 Mbps.
For what ISP Reports classified as “large cities,” Oakland, California, led with 7,884 Mbps, followed by Newark, New Jersey, with 7,628 Mbps, Chula Vista, California, with 6,292 Mbps, and Plano, Texas, with 6,202 Mbps.
These were followed by Long Beach, California, with 5,932 Mbps, Durham, North Carolina, with 5,671 Mbps, and Garland, Texas, with 5,633 Mbps.
The final three were Fort Wayne, Indiana, with 5,416 Mbps, Irving, Texas, with 5,325 Mbps and Lexington, Kentucky, with 4,821 Mbps.
ISP Reports used an average speed metric, which calculated average internet speeds for each block in every city, to provide its data. PR Newswire said the technique provided “unparalleled accuracy.”
According to statistics from Data Pandas in 2022, the five countries with the fastest internet in the world were Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Romania and Switzerland.
Holafly data gathered in August 2024 found that of the world’s major tourist cities, the top three by internet speed were Doha, Qatar, and both Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
In May, Newsweek Vault compiled a list of the best and worst high-speed internet service providers.
Photosbypatrik/GETTY
What People Are Saying
ISP Reports said: “Our rankings are based on a detailed and rigorous methodology that ensures fair and accurate comparisons across different city sizes. We use block-level data to assess internet speeds, accounting for both the availability and the number of people who can access high-speed internet in each area. This approach provides a realistic picture of internet performance in various urban settings.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the current champions of Salt Lake City and Raleigh will keep their crowns or if other cities will surpass them in the future.