The State of Broadband in New Jersey, 2020
Written by the BroadbandNow team. Last updated
9/1/2020.
New Jersey ranks number one in America for the best broadband access in the country. Due to its combination of broad coverage, high-speeds, and low pricing, New Jersey is the most well-connected state in the US. Over 99% of New Jerseyans have access to a wired connection with speeds of 100 Mbps or faster, and 67% of the state’s population has access to fiber-optic internet services, which is well over double the national average of 25% of Americans with access to fiber. Average download speeds in New Jersey hover around 174.3 Mbps.
The Digital Divide in New Jersey
The digital divide - the technological gap between those who have access to high-speed, low-priced internet and those who don’t - is increasingly slim in New Jersey. This is seen in the fact that every county in the state enjoys between 94 to 100% access to 25 Mbps high-speed broadband coverage. Additionally, affordability data reveals that 78.4% of New Jerseyans have access to a low-priced internet plan ($60/month or less), which is significantly higher than the nationwide average of 51.5% of consumers with access to the same.
However, some areas of New Jersey remain underserved. Studies show that 77,000 people in New Jersey do not have a wired connection capable of 25 Mbps speeds, and 46,000 people do not have access to a wired connection at all at their place of residence. Further, while 135 internet providers operate in New Jersey, 147,000 residents have access to only one provider at their home, making it impossible to switch should they be dissatisfied with their current provider.
Best-Connected Cities
New Jersey is the best-connected state in the country; that being said, there are a few cities with the most outstanding mix of internet speed, cost, and coverage. The five cities with the best internet in New Jersey are Paterson, Basking Ridge, Bayonne, Ridgewood, and Asbury Park, with Paterson topping the list as the highest ranking in the state and the second-highest-ranking city in the nation.
Worst-Connected Cities
While most of the state excels in the area of broadband services, there remain a few poorly connected cities within New Jersey. The five cities with the worst connection in New Jersey are Vienna, New Gretna, Juliustown, Leesburg, and Schooleys, with Vienna ranking lowest in the state.
See what makes New Jersey outrank the other states nationwide here.
Governmental Initiatives
Since 2010, the New Jersey Office of Information Technology has been the grantee of nearly $5 million in federal grants to further broadband data mapping and development within the state.
Another $39,638,152 in federal grant funding has gone toward the expansion of broadband infrastructure throughout New Jersey.
The information above is taken from a mix of public and private datasets. More about our data here.