North Carolina Internet Coverage & Availability in 2023

North Carolina Internet Facts in 2023

  • North Carolina currently ranks 28th among states in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings of internet coverage, speed and availability.

  • This means that roughly one in ten North Carolina residents are not able to purchase an internet plan of at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload.

  • This means that nearly seven in ten residents are not able to purchase broadband at a price of $60/month or less (excluding promotions and government programs).

  • This means that six in ten residents are unable to purchase a fiber internet plan.

  • The U.S. has more than 2,901 internet service providers, with most covering very small areas. It is worth searching by zip code to see who is available in your town.

At BroadbandNow, we advocate for a definition of broadband internet to be at least 100Mbps, as opposed to the FCC definition of 25Mbps, which would be considered slow for many internet-intensive activities.

North Carolina ranks 16th among all states with 94.4% of people having access to 100Mbps broadband.

In fact, the five counties with the highest rates of residents with access to broadband speeds of at least 100mbps are in metro areas, including Jefferson (99 percent) and Shelby (97 percent) counties, which are both in the Birmingham metro area. Counties in the Huntsville, Montgomery, and Auburn areas round out the top five. On the other hand, Perry County, the state’s least populous, also has the lowest rate of access to high-speed broadband.

Internet Availability by County

100 Mbps Coverage By County, Highest and Lowest

Highest
Mecklenburg 100%
Gaston 99.99%
Forsyth 99.98%
New Hanover 99.93%
Pasquotank 99.92%
Carteret 99.91%
Wake 99.88%
Guilford 99.84%
Davidson 99.62%
Cabarrus 99.59%
Lowest
Lenoir 6.38%
Hyde 6.51%
Martin 9.97%
Edgecombe 16.39%
Pitt 20.24%
Greene 26.97%
Nash 28.25%
Beaufort 34.70%
Jones 42.12%
Craven 43.32%

North Carolina ranks 45th among all states with 42.8% of people have access to 1G broadband.

Internet Coverage by Demographic in North Carolina

Individuals or households with no internet access by characteristic (includes broadband and non-broadband packages)

Percentage of households with and without any type of internet access

  • With: 85%
  • Without: 15%

Type of internet connection

  • Dialup only: <1%
  • Broadband of any type: 85%
  • Cellular data only: 11%
  • Satellite: 6%

Individuals or households with no internet access by characteristic

  • <18: 7%
  • 18-64: 7%
  • 65+ adults: 8%

  • <$20,000: 37%
  • $20,000-$74,999: 16%
  • $75,000+: 4%

  • Black: 9%
  • Native American/Alaska Native: 13%
  • Asian: 3%
  • Mixed race: 5%
  • Hispanic or Latino: 11%
  • White: 6%

  • Employed: 6%
  • Unemployed: 8%

  • Less than high school: 13%
  • Some college or associate degree: 8%
  • Bachelor’s degree: 3%

Internet Speed in Top North Carolina Cities

City Avg. Download Speed No. of Providers
Charlotte 176.9 MBPS 33 Providers
Raleigh 223.1 MBPS 21 Providers
Greensboro 174.4 MBPS 20 Providers
Durham 225.3 MBPS 20 Providers
Winston Salem 195.1 MBPS 19 Providers

Fastest Major Providers in North Carolina

Provider Avg. Download Speed
AT&T Internet 252.9 MBPS
Windstream 172.4 MBPS
Spectrum 166.9 MBPS
Carolina West Wireless 30.2 MBPS
Frontier 8.8 MBPS

Metro & Rural County Coverage

County Name % Broadband Coverage
Alamance 98.8%
Alexander 87.2%
Alleghany 76.9%
Anson 94.5%
Ashe 66.4%
Avery 65.0%
Beaufort 64.9%
Bertie 77.4%
Bladen 78.9%
Brunswick 99.3%
Buncombe 99.1%
Burke 96.8%
Cabarrus 99.8%
Caldwell 97.6%
Camden 96.5%
Carteret 99.9%
Caswell 58.8%
Catawba 99.2%
Chatham 90.9%
Cherokee 84.0%
Chowan 88.2%
Clay 82.9%
Cleveland 95.4%
Columbus 93.3%
Craven 73.2%
Cumberland 99.7%
Currituck 98.8%
Dare 99.5%
Davidson 99.8%
Davie 99.4%
Duplin 68.8%
Durham 99.3%
Edgecombe 57.4%
Forsyth 100.0%
Franklin 90.6%
Gaston 100.0%
Gates 77.0%
Graham 63.3%
Granville 89.6%
Greene 62.2%
Guilford 99.9%
Halifax 84.8%
Harnett 96.9%
Haywood 93.3%
Henderson 94.4%
Hertford 87.1%
Hoke 94.5%
Hyde 29.0%
Iredell 98.5%
Jackson 68.4%
Johnston 96.1%
Jones 67.5%
Lee 99.4%
Lenoir 41.8%
Lincoln 99.2%
McDowell 82.5%
Macon 69.8%
Madison 86.1%
Martin 48.9%
Mecklenburg 100.0%
Mitchell 49.6%
Montgomery 66.9%
Moore 93.2%
Nash 71.3%
New Hanover 99.9%
Northampton 86.9%
Onslow 99.1%
Orange 94.9%
Pamlico 94.0%
Pasquotank 99.9%
Pender 79.9%
Perquimans 87.1%
Person 89.2%
Pitt 61.3%
Polk 88.5%
Randolph 98.0%
Richmond 94.0%
Robeson 84.9%
Rockingham 97.8%
Rowan 98.3%
Rutherford 83.3%
Sampson 79.3%
Scotland 91.1%
Stanly 99.0%
Stokes 97.9%
Surry 99.3%
Swain 69.2%
Transylvania 90.2%
Tyrrell 61.3%
Union 99.3%
Vance 96.4%
Wake 99.9%
Warren 76.7%
Washington 89.2%
Watauga 96.3%
Wayne 95.9%
Wilkes 99.5%
Wilson 98.5%
Yadkin 99.3%
Yancey 51.8%

Internet Providers By City in North Carolina

Aberdeen 98.7% 10 providers
Advance 100.0% 10 providers
Ahoskie 94.6% 10 providers
Albemarle 99.9% 9 providers
Angier 96.6% 12 providers
Apex 99.6% 15 providers
Arden 100.0% 15 providers
Asheboro 99.9% 13 providers
Asheville 100.0% 17 providers
Ayden 51.3% 9 providers
Beaufort 99.9% 8 providers
Belmont 100.0% 13 providers
Benson 91.5% 10 providers
Bessemer City 100.0% 10 providers
Black Mountain 94.4% 13 providers
Boone 99.6% 14 providers
Brevard 95.5% 11 providers
Browns Summit 99.6% 11 providers
Burgaw 69.7% 12 providers
Burlington 98.0% 16 providers
Burnsville 53.4% 13 providers
Butner 100.0% 9 providers
Cameron 94.3% 11 providers
Camp Lejeune 95.9% 9 providers
Candler 99.9% 12 providers
Canton 96.4% 13 providers
Carrboro 100.0% 12 providers
Carthage 87.4% 11 providers
Cary 100.0% 22 providers
Chapel Hill 98.5% 18 providers
Charlotte 100.0% 33 providers
Cherryville 100.0% 10 providers
China Grove 99.8% 11 providers
Claremont 99.4% 12 providers
Clayton 99.9% 12 providers
Clemmons 100.0% 14 providers
Clinton 83.0% 9 providers
Clyde 80.8% 11 providers
Concord 99.9% 14 providers
Connellys Springs 96.2% 12 providers
Conover 99.8% 12 providers
Cornelius 100.0% 15 providers
Creedmoor 95.7% 13 providers
Cullowhee 85.9% 11 providers
Dallas 99.9% 11 providers
Davidson 100.0% 13 providers
Denver 100.0% 11 providers
Dudley 100.0% 10 providers
Dunn 91.1% 10 providers
Durham 99.9% 20 providers
Eden 99.7% 11 providers
Edenton 93.0% 8 providers
Elizabeth City 99.9% 13 providers
Elizabethtown 95.1% 8 providers
Elkin 100.0% 15 providers
Elon 92.0% 12 providers
Fairmont 48.0% 10 providers
Fayetteville 99.7% 15 providers
Fletcher 99.8% 13 providers
Forest City 97.0% 13 providers
Fort Bragg 100.0% 10 providers
Four Oaks 80.3% 11 providers
Franklin 74.2% 12 providers
Franklinton 96.1% 9 providers
Fuquay Varina 99.2% 12 providers
Garner 100.0% 14 providers
Gastonia 100.0% 14 providers
Gibsonville 98.3% 11 providers
Goldsboro 99.4% 15 providers
Graham 99.9% 14 providers
Granite Falls 99.4% 12 providers
Greensboro 100.0% 20 providers
Greenville 61.0% 14 providers
Hamlet 98.1% 11 providers
Hampstead 99.2% 10 providers
Harrisburg 100.0% 12 providers
Havelock 99.9% 12 providers
Henderson 96.9% 13 providers
Hendersonville 93.6% 14 providers
Hertford 91.3% 13 providers
Hickory 99.5% 14 providers
High Point 100.0% 16 providers
Hillsborough 97.6% 14 providers
Holly Springs 98.9% 14 providers
Hope Mills 100.0% 10 providers
Hubert 100.0% 9 providers
Hudson 99.9% 14 providers
Huntersville 100.0% 15 providers
Indian Trail 100.0% 13 providers
Jacksonville 100.0% 12 providers
Jamestown 100.0% 13 providers
Kannapolis 100.0% 11 providers
Kernersville 99.9% 16 providers
Kill Devil Hills 99.9% 7 providers
King 99.9% 11 providers
Kings Mountain 99.8% 11 providers
Kinston 32.7% 10 providers
Knightdale 99.9% 12 providers
La Grange 62.7% 11 providers
Laurinburg 93.9% 11 providers
Leicester 89.6% 12 providers
Leland 98.6% 12 providers
Lenoir 97.0% 13 providers
Lewisville 100.0% 12 providers
Lexington 100.0% 14 providers
Liberty 91.3% 11 providers
Lillington 93.7% 11 providers
Lincolnton 99.8% 11 providers
Louisburg 86.4% 6 providers
Lumberton 95.0% 10 providers
Madison 99.0% 11 providers
Maiden 99.4% 12 providers
Marion 89.1% 14 providers
Marshall 88.1% 13 providers
Marshville 98.4% 11 providers
Matthews 100.0% 15 providers
Maxton 65.4% 11 providers
Mebane 94.4% 15 providers
Mocksville 99.2% 8 providers
Monroe 98.8% 13 providers
Mooresville 100.0% 15 providers
Morehead City 100.0% 11 providers
Morganton 97.4% 13 providers
Morrisville 100.0% 19 providers
Mount Airy 99.8% 12 providers
Mount Holly 100.0% 12 providers
Mount Olive 56.0% 11 providers
Moyock 97.6% 10 providers
Murphy 81.1% 12 providers
Nashville 72.3% 14 providers
New Bern 67.4% 13 providers
Newport 100.0% 8 providers
Newton 99.5% 13 providers
North Wilkesboro 99.7% 9 providers
Oxford 82.4% 9 providers
Pembroke 98.6% 11 providers
Pfafftown 100.0% 10 providers
Pikeville 98.6% 10 providers
Pinehurst 100.0% 9 providers
Pittsboro 92.7% 12 providers
Raeford 96.8% 9 providers
Raleigh 100.0% 21 providers
Randleman 98.3% 13 providers
Red Springs 91.2% 10 providers
Reidsville 91.9% 12 providers
Richlands 96.1% 8 providers
Roanoke Rapids 99.3% 11 providers
Rockingham 97.8% 11 providers
Rockwell 99.4% 10 providers
Rocky Mount 54.3% 12 providers
Rocky Point 89.5% 9 providers
Roxboro 94.0% 12 providers
Rutherfordton 81.8% 15 providers
Saint Pauls 96.3% 9 providers
Salisbury 100.0% 15 providers
Sanford 99.2% 13 providers
Selma 99.1% 11 providers
Shallotte 100.0% 9 providers
Shelby 98.2% 14 providers
Siler City 90.9% 9 providers
Smithfield 99.4% 13 providers
Snow Hill 64.3% 10 providers
Southern Pines 99.3% 10 providers
Southport 100.0% 10 providers
Spring Lake 99.9% 12 providers
Spruce Pine 54.6% 13 providers
Stanley 100.0% 11 providers
Statesville 97.3% 12 providers
Summerfield 100.0% 12 providers
Supply 100.0% 9 providers
Swannanoa 99.7% 13 providers
Swansboro 100.0% 9 providers
Sylva 72.5% 12 providers
Tabor City 96.5% 10 providers
Tarboro 73.6% 10 providers
Taylorsville 91.0% 11 providers
Thomasville 99.7% 11 providers
Trinity 97.4% 11 providers
Vale 92.9% 12 providers
Wadesboro 96.7% 11 providers
Wake Forest 100.0% 14 providers
Wallace 85.2% 9 providers
Walnut Cove 100.0% 9 providers
Washington 57.6% 10 providers
Waxhaw 99.4% 13 providers
Waynesville 95.4% 13 providers
Weaverville 99.6% 16 providers
Wendell 99.7% 12 providers
Whiteville 98.3% 11 providers
Wilkesboro 100.0% 11 providers
Williamston 53.0% 10 providers
Willow Spring 99.0% 11 providers
Wilmington 99.9% 14 providers
Wilson 99.6% 15 providers
Windsor 75.5% 6 providers
Winston Salem 100.0% 19 providers
Winterville 62.8% 10 providers
Yadkinville 99.5% 10 providers
Youngsville 99.7% 11 providers
Zebulon 98.4% 11 providers