Best & Worst States for Broadband, 2026

New Jersey (#1 – Score: 97.4 | Grade: A) successfully defends its title as the nation’s top broadband market in 2026, holding steady at #1 with near-universal connectivity. The Garden State represents the gold standard of our weighted prerequisite criteria, providing 98.8% of residents with basic wired or fixed wireless access and 98.4% with low-priced plan options. While its fiber-optic footprint expanded by +2.1 percentage points to reach 66.6%, New Jersey’s dominance is cemented by its M-Labs network performance: median download speeds surged by +27.6 Mbps over the past year to reach 164.8 Mbps, while median latency clocked in at a nation-best 7.6 ms, earning perfect quality scores across the board.

Maryland (#2 – Score: 96.4 | Grade: A) maintains its elite #2 national ranking in 2026, driven by intense marketplace competition across 41 active providers. The state excels in fundamental availability, delivering 98.2% wired or fixed wireless coverage and 95.9% low-priced plan access (up +0.6% from 2025). Maryland’s network quality is equally commanding across consumer speed evaluations, where median download speeds jumped by +34.8 Mbps to reach 163.7 Mbps alongside a nation-leading median upload speed of 40.3 Mbps. Supported by a 65.2% fiber-optic service footprint and a highly responsive median latency of 9.8 ms, Maryland remains a premier digital environment for competitive gamers, remote businesses, and streamers.

Connecticut (#3 – Score: 96.3 | Grade: A) rises one position in 2026, overtaking Delaware to capture the #3 spot nationwide. This upward trajectory was powered by aggressive physical infrastructure buildouts, as fiber-optic service availability expanded by +4.9 percentage points to reach 79.7% of state residents (the highest fiber density in New England). This modern network architecture directly satisfied our prerequisite affordability and access criteria, with wired coverage reaching 98.5% and low-priced tier availability hitting 97.8%. Real-world performance followed suit, as median download speeds across M-Labs evaluations surged by +34.3 Mbps to reach an impressive 185.9 Mbps alongside a median round-trip latency of 13.7 ms.

Massachusetts (#4 – Score: 95.5 | Grade: A) climbs two spots in our 2026 rankings, moving up from #6 on the strength of near-universal baseline connectivity and expanding fiber networks. The Commonwealth delivers exceptional access prerequisites, leading the nation with 99% wired or fixed wireless availability and 97.6% access to low-priced broadband plans. While its 51.5% fiber-optic penetration trails regional leaders like Connecticut and Rhode Island, year-over-year fiber growth of +3 percentage points yielded noticeable performance gains. Across state speed test evaluations, Massachusetts residents experienced median download speeds of 135.4 Mbps (a +14.5 Mbps YoY gain), median upload speeds of 35.1 Mbps, and a low median latency of 12.5 ms.

Delaware (#5 – Score: 95.1 | Grade: A) slips two positions from #3 in 2025, yet remains comfortably entrenched in the top five nationwide with an outstanding Grade-A score. The First State continues to deliver robust access prerequisites, providing 98.2% of residents with basic wired coverage and 96.2% with budget-friendly plan options. Although Delaware’s median download speed dipped slightly by -3.1 Mbps to land at 138.5 Mbps, its overall quality metrics remain highly competitive. Supported by a 55.9% fiber-optic footprint (up +2.8% from 2025) and median upload speeds climbing to 36 Mbps, Delaware provides a stable, responsive network environment with a median latency of just 12.3 ms.

New Hampshire (#6 – Score: 92.9 | Grade: A) shifts one spot down from #5 in 2025, but stands out as one of the fastest absolute speed markets in the United States. Fueled by a +7.4 percentage point surge in fiber availability (now reaching 61.6% of residents), New Hampshire generated a blistering median download speed of 210.6 Mbps, representing a massive +45.3 Mbps YoY jump and the highest state download median in our report. Median upload speeds saw an equally impressive +18.4 Mbps increase to reach 57.7 Mbps, while latency improved to 15.0 ms. The state’s overall standing is kept just outside the top five by its affordability prerequisite score, where low-priced plan access sits at 94.1%.

Florida (#7 – Score: 92.6 | Grade: A) advances two positions in 2026, rising from #9 to capture Grade-A status across a massive geographic footprint. The Sunshine State’s growth was driven by rapid physical infrastructure deployment, with fiber-optic availability surging by +9.3 percentage points over the past year to cover 59.9% of the population. This network expansion yielded significant performance gains across M-Labs dataset tests, where median download speeds climbed by +32.9 Mbps to reach 166.3 Mbps and median latency improved by -1.4 ms down to a responsive 12.7 ms. Combined with solid prerequisite metrics, including 95.9% wired availability and 91.9% low-priced plan access, Florida proves that large, diverse states can achieve elite connectivity benchmarks.

Illinois (#8 – Score: 92.2 | Grade: A-) is one of the nation’s most impressive top-tier movers in 2026, leaping +7 spots upward from #15 to break into the top 10. This surge was catalyzed by significant network improvements that elevated its overall score by more than 12 points. While Illinois’s 39.6% fiber footprint remains relatively low compared to coastal leaders, a +6.3 percentage point expansion over 2025 levels drove major quality gains. Across state speed evaluations, median download speeds jumped by +31 Mbps to reach 136.9 Mbps, upload speeds rose to 35.3 Mbps, and round-trip latency sharpened to an elite 8.1 ms (the third-lowest latency in the country). Baseline availability also remains strong, with 96.1% wired coverage and 88.5% low-priced plan access.

New York (#9 – Score: 91.9 | Grade: A-) moves up one position from #10 in 2025, combining high population density with exceptional network responsiveness. The Empire State excels in latency performance, generating a median round-trip time of just 7 ms, the lowest recorded latency of any state evaluated in our report. New York also strengthened its prerequisite foundation over the past 12 months, expanding basic wired coverage to 96.1% and increasing low-priced broadband availability by +0.7 percentage points to reach 92.9%. Supported by a 66.6% fiber-optic footprint, real-world consumer speed tests showed significant progress, with median download speeds jumping +36.5 Mbps to reach 156 Mbps and upload speeds rising to 30 Mbps.

Texas (#10 – Score: 91.5 | Grade: A-) slips three positions from #7 in 2025, but maintains its position inside the top 10 through massive market competition and aggressive infrastructure buildouts. With nearly 200 active broadband providers operating statewide, Texas expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by a robust +8.8 percentage points year-over-year to reach 67.6% of residents. This ongoing modernization translated directly into higher consumer speeds, as median downloads increased by +24.2 Mbps to 147.6 Mbps and upload speeds climbed to 39.3 Mbps alongside a responsive median latency of 12.0 ms. While Texas scores highly in wired availability (95.9%), its overall ranking is constrained slightly by an 84.5% low-priced plan availability rate that trails Northeastern leaders.

Colorado (#11 – Score: 91.2 | Grade: A-) climbs +5 positions in 2026, rising from #16 on the strength of rapid fiber deployment and outstanding latency performance. The Centennial State expanded its fiber-optic availability by +8.3 percentage points over the past year, bringing high-speed infrastructure to 51.4% of the population. This physical buildout yielded immediate quality improvements in M-Labs evaluations: median download speeds increased by +33.9 Mbps to reach 141.6 Mbps, upload speeds rose to 36.3 Mbps, and median latency sharpened to 7.9 ms, ranking among the top five lowest latency states nationwide. Colorado is anchored by 94.9% wired coverage, though an 84.6% low-priced plan access rate leaves room for affordability growth.

Indiana (#12 – Score: 91.1 | Grade: A-) registers one of the nation’s most dramatic upward surges in 2026, vaulting +11 spots from #23 and adding nearly 17 points to its overall score. This transformation was driven by across-the-board network modernization: fiber-optic service availability expanded by +7 percentage points to cover 62.3% of residents, while low-priced plan access rose to 86.5%. Real-world performance benchmarks improved drastically over 2025 levels, as median download speeds surged by +34.6 Mbps (reaching 140.4 Mbps) and median upload speeds jumped by +14.8 Mbps to hit 38.5 Mbps. Crucially, Indiana solved previous latency bottlenecks, improving its median round-trip time from 21.9 ms down to a responsive 13.2 ms.

Pennsylvania (#13 – Score: 90.5 | Grade: A-) slips one spot from #12 in 2025, yet remains a strong, high-performing connectivity leader across the Mid-Atlantic. The Keystone State is anchored by solid prerequisite availability, providing 95.7% of residents with basic wired coverage and 93.2% with access to affordable, low-priced plans. Over the past 12 months, Pennsylvania expanded its fiber-optic footprint by +6 percentage points to reach 56.6% of the population. This ongoing fiber rollout drove solid performance gains across consumer speed evaluations, as median download speeds increased by +25.7 Mbps to 143.4 Mbps, upload speeds climbed to 32.4 Mbps, and median round-trip latency sharpened by -2.8 ms down to 15.3 ms.

Virginia (#14 – Score: 89.6 | Grade: B+) advances +3 positions in 2026, rising from #17 by combining expanding fiber coverage with exceptional network responsiveness. The Commonwealth increased its fiber-optic service footprint by +6 percentage points year-over-year, bringing high-speed infrastructure to 65.6% of state residents. Across M-Labs dataset evaluations, Virginia maintained its elite latency standing with a median round-trip time of 9.6 ms, while median download speeds jumped by +26.6 Mbps to reach 128.3 Mbps and upload speeds rose to 37.5 Mbps. While Virginia’s quality metrics rival the top 10, its overall ranking is moderated by prerequisite availability scores: wired access sits at 90.7% and low-priced plan coverage reaches 83%.

California (#15 – Score: 86.3 | Grade: B) slips two positions from #13 in 2025, shifting slightly down despite steady infrastructure growth. The Golden State remains anchored by exceptional prerequisite availability, providing 96.5% of residents with wired broadband coverage and 91.7% with access to low-priced plan tiers. However, California’s overall rank is capped by a 43% fiber-optic footprint, which (despite growing by +3.3 percentage points over the last 12 months) still trails the national state average of 56.6% by nearly 14 points. Even with this fiber deficit, California’s network responsiveness remains elite, delivering median download speeds of 129.9 Mbps and a responsive median latency of 10.5 ms.

Iowa (#16 – Score: 85.7 | Grade: B) is the breakout success story of our 2026 evaluation, leaping +15 positions upward from #31 in 2025. This dramatic climb was propelled by aggressive physical infrastructure modernization, as fiber-optic service availability surged by +8.7 percentage points year-over-year to reach nearly 70% of state residents. This infrastructure buildout yielded massive performance dividends across statewide speed test benchmarks: Iowa’s median download speed jumped by +45.9 Mbps (reaching 131.9 Mbps), while median upload speeds climbed by +14 Mbps to 43.3 Mbps. Although low-priced plan availability held steady at 78%, Iowa’s rapid fiber deployment has transformed it into one of the fastest-rising digital economies in the Midwest.

District of Columbia (#17 – Score: 85.1 | Grade: B) slips three positions from #14 in 2025, but continues to lead the nation in raw infrastructure density. As an urban district, Washington D.C. achieves the highest prerequisite metrics in America, boasting 99.8% wired or fixed wireless availability, 99.8% low-priced plan access, and an unmatched 86.3% fiber-optic service footprint. However, because our methodology assigns 30% of its total weight to M-Labs speed test quality, D.C.’s overall rank is held back by lower median performance numbers relative to state peers. While download speeds improved by +14.9 Mbps to reach 101.8 Mbps and upload speeds rose to 23.8 Mbps, median round-trip latency increased slightly from 10.6 ms to 14.1 ms.

Missouri (#18 – Score: 84.5 | Grade: B) registers a major upward leap in 2026, climbing +12 spots from #30 on the back of aggressive fiber rollouts and sharp latency improvements. The Show-Me State expanded its fiber-optic footprint by +7.6 percentage points over the past year to reach 61.9% of the population, while baseline wired availability grew by +2.9 percentage points to hit 93.9%. This infrastructure expansion resolved historical latency issues, driving median round-trip time down from 27.2 ms to a responsive 19.1 ms. Consumer speed evaluations reflected similar progress, as median download speeds increased by +23.5 Mbps to 126.9 Mbps and upload speeds surged by +10.4 Mbps to reach 39.9 Mbps.

Rhode Island (#19 – Score: 84.4 | Grade: B) experiences a sharp regression in our 2026 evaluation, tumbling -11 positions down from #8 in 2025. The Ocean State maintains an exceptional physical infrastructure baseline, ranking second nationally with an 85% fiber-optic service footprint alongside 96.9% wired availability and 96.3% low-priced plan access. However, Rhode Island’s drop in the standings was triggered by a noticeable compression in real-world consumer speed test metrics. Across M-Labs evaluations, median download speeds fell by -5.6 Mbps down to 106.1 Mbps, while median upload speeds dropped by -5.3 Mbps to land at 24 Mbps, penalizing its quality score despite a sharp median latency of 13.2 ms.

Nevada (#20 – Score: 84.1 | Grade: B) advances two spots from #22 in 2025, breaking into the top 20 through expanding affordability and rapid fiber deployment. The Silver State excels in foundational access prerequisites, providing 98.9% of residents with basic wired or fixed wireless service and increasing low-priced plan availability by +1.6 percentage points to reach 90.8%. Over the past 12 months, Nevada aggressively expanded its fiber-optic footprint, adding +8.3 percentage points of coverage to reach 38.4% of the population. This buildout boosted consumer speeds, driving median downloads up by +24.9 Mbps to 118.4 Mbps and uploads up to 32.9 Mbps, though median latency increased slightly to 24.9 ms.

Oklahoma (#21 – Score: 83.2 | Grade: B) jumps +7 positions in 2026, rising from #28 by combining strong fiber deployment with improving baseline connectivity. Over the past year, Oklahoma expanded its wired or fixed wireless availability by +2.2 percentage points to reach 93.3% of residents, while fiber-optic service coverage surged by +8.2 percentage points to hit 62.4%. This infrastructure growth yielded noticeable performance gains across M-Labs evaluations: median download speeds increased by +23.2 Mbps to reach 122.1 Mbps and upload speeds climbed by +9.6 Mbps to 33.9 Mbps, alongside a stable latency of 17.4 ms. Oklahoma’s overall rank remains moderated by its affordability prerequisite score, where low-priced plan access sits at 75.8%.

Arkansas (#22 – Score: 83.0 | Grade: B) slips four positions from #18 in 2025, but emerges as one of the nation’s premier markets for raw upload speed performance. Fueled by a +6.6 percentage point increase in fiber-optic availability (now reaching 62.4% of residents), Arkansas recorded a median upload speed of 62.2 Mbps, a massive +26.5 Mbps YoY gain that ranks among the highest in America. Median download speeds experienced an equally dramatic +61.9 Mbps surge to reach 179.8 Mbps alongside a latency of 21.2 ms. Despite these exceptional quality metrics, Arkansas is held back in the overall standings by lower access prerequisites: basic wired availability sits at 88.8% and low-priced plan coverage reaches 78.1%.

Washington (#23 – Score: 82.8 | Grade: B) moves up two spots from #25 in 2025, combining elite network responsiveness with incremental infrastructure growth. The Evergreen State remains a national benchmark for low latency, recording an M-Labs median round-trip time of just 8.0 ms (the second-lowest latency in the country). Over the past 12 months, Washington expanded baseline wired availability to 91.4% and increased low-priced plan coverage to 85.4%. While its 35.9% fiber-optic footprint trails national medians, ongoing upgrades pushed consumer performance upward, with median download speeds increasing by +18.8 Mbps to reach 111.4 Mbps and upload speeds rising to 30.2 Mbps.

Utah (#24 – Score: 81.0 | Grade: B-) registers a notable decline in our 2026 rankings, tumbling -13 positions down from #11 in 2025. The Beehive State maintains a strong physical connectivity foundation, providing 97.1% of residents with wired or fixed wireless service and expanding its fiber-optic footprint by +7 percentage points to reach 67.7%. However, Utah’s drop in the standings was driven by a compression in affordability and latency metrics. Low-priced plan availability fell by -1.6 percentage points down to 86.6%, while M-Labs speed test evaluations revealed a latency degradation from 22.3 ms up to 29.0 ms. Median download (117.4 Mbps) and upload speeds (31.6 Mbps) remained relatively flat year-over-year.

Nebraska (#25 – Score: 81.0 | Grade: B-) advances two positions from #27 in 2025, driven by robust fiber-optic infrastructure and surging download speeds. Over the past year, Nebraska expanded its fiber footprint by +6.3 percentage points to cover 75.1% of state residents, ranking among the top 10 fiber markets nationwide. This infrastructure buildout yielded impressive speed gains, as median download speeds jumped by +49.8 Mbps to reach 138.7 Mbps and upload speeds climbed by +14.5 Mbps to 49.1 Mbps. However, Nebraska’s overall standing is constrained by network latency and affordability prerequisites: median round-trip time increased to 49.9 ms, while low-priced broadband plan availability covers 80.1% of the population.

North Dakota (#26 – Score: 80.7 | Grade: B-) slips seven spots from #19 in 2025, illustrating a stark contrast between top-tier speed capabilities and severe affordability barriers. The Peace Garden State boasts near-universal wired availability at 99.2% alongside a massive 72% fiber-optic service footprint. This infrastructure generates elite network performance, leading the nation with a median upload speed of 78.4 Mbps alongside download speeds reaching 125.9 Mbps and a latency of 28.0 ms. However, because our methodology heavily weighs affordability as a prerequisite to access, North Dakota is penalized by an affordability gap where only 68.5% of residents can secure low-priced broadband plans.

Michigan (#27 – Score: 79.0 | Grade: C+) moves up two spots from #29 in 2025, supported by steady infrastructure expansion and improving consumer download speeds. Over the past 12 months, the Great Lakes State expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by +6 percentage points to reach 34.4% of the population, while baseline wired or fixed wireless availability grew to cover 92.4% of residents. Real-world network evaluations reflected solid progress, as median download speeds jumped by +36 Mbps to hit 153 Mbps and round-trip latency sharpened by -4.0 ms down to 19.0 ms. Michigan’s overall placement remains anchored by an 83.9% low-priced plan availability rate alongside median upload speeds of 23.9 Mbps.

Maine (#28 – Score: 79.0 | Grade: C+) climbs +6 positions in 2026, rising from #34 through aggressive physical network modernization and expanding budget tiers. Over the past year, Maine delivered one of the nation’s most rapid fiber rollouts, increasing fiber-optic availability by +13.7 percentage points to reach 53.6% of state residents. This deployment directly improved baseline access and affordability prerequisites: basic wired coverage grew by +3.6 percentage points to hit 90.9%, while low-priced plan access expanded to 86.5%. In M-Labs speed test evaluations, median download speeds surged by +40.1 Mbps to reach 166.7 Mbps, upload speeds climbed to 28.7 Mbps, and latency sharpened to 28.9 ms.

Minnesota (#29 – Score: 78.8 | Grade: C+) registers an impressive +11 spot leap in 2026, rebounding from #40 on the strength of fiber network expansion and sharp latency improvements. Over the past 12 months, the North Star State increased its fiber-optic service footprint by +8.2 percentage points to cover 54.2% of the population, while maintaining a strong baseline wired availability of 94.7%. Crucially, Minnesota resolved previous routing bottlenecks in consumer evaluations, driving median latency down by -9.3 ms to reach a responsive 22.2 ms. While median download (110.1 Mbps) and upload speeds (31.7 Mbps) showed solid growth, overall placement is kept in the middle tier by a 79.9% low-priced plan access rate.

South Dakota (#30 – Score: 78.6 | Grade: C+) advances two spots from #32 in 2025, driven by a dramatic expansion in low-priced broadband plan availability and surging download speeds. Over the past year, South Dakota made major strides in closing its affordability gap, increasing budget-friendly plan access by +11.9 percentage points to reach 75% of residents alongside a 95.2% basic wired availability baseline. While its fiber-optic footprint contracted slightly by -2.4 percentage points to settle at 60.1%, consumer performance metrics soared: median download speeds jumped by +63.6 Mbps to reach 173.6 Mbps and round-trip latency sharpened by -3.6 ms down to 28.4 ms, though upload speeds hovered at 30.5 Mbps.

Vermont (#31 – Score: 78.5 | Grade: C+) is one of New England’s biggest rising stars in 2026, surging +11 positions upward from #42 through aggressive infrastructure upgrades. The Green Mountain State expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by a robust +11 percentage points year-over-year, bringing high-speed connectivity to 60.5% of the population. This physical deployment directly improved access prerequisites, as basic wired coverage climbed by +4.6 percentage points to 88.3% and low-priced plan availability rose to 77.1%. Consumer speed test evaluations reflected this modernization, with median download speeds jumping by +44.6 Mbps to reach 138.6 Mbps, upload speeds climbing to 28.1 Mbps, and latency staying sharp at 21.0 ms.

Louisiana (#32 – Score: 78.5 | Grade: C+) registers a massive +13 spot jump in our 2026 rankings, rebounding from #45 through rapid fiber deployment and soaring upload speeds. Over the past 12 months, Louisiana expanded its fiber-optic footprint by +10.2 percentage points to reach 50% of residents, while improving baseline wired availability to 87.3% and low-priced plan access to 81.4%. This infrastructure investment transformed real-world network performance across M-Labs evaluations: median upload speeds more than doubled, surging by +21.2 Mbps to reach an elite 40.5 Mbps. Median download speeds also progressed to hit 107.3 Mbps, while round-trip latency improved by -3.5 ms down to 20.6 ms.

Tennessee (#33 – Score: 78.2 | Grade: C+) suffers a sharp regression in 2026, tumbling -12 positions down from #21 in 2025 despite robust physical infrastructure. The Volunteer State boasts exceptional availability prerequisites, providing 96.1% of residents with basic wired coverage, 91% with low-priced plan access, and expanding its fiber-optic footprint by +8.2 percentage points to reach 73.1%. However, Tennessee’s drop in the overall rankings was triggered by stagnation across real-world speed test quality metrics. In M-Labs evaluations, median upload speeds dipped by -2.4 Mbps down to 24.3 Mbps and median round-trip latency increased slightly to 34.2 ms, offsetting a modest download speed gain to 129.2 Mbps.

North Carolina (#34 – Score: 78.1 | Grade: C+) moves up two positions from #36 in 2025, supported by expanding fiber-optic coverage and a dramatic surge in consumer download speeds. Over the past year, the Tar Heel State increased its fiber footprint by +8.1 percentage points to cover 56.4% of the population, while expanding baseline wired availability to 92.1% and low-priced plan access to 85.4%. This physical network growth drove significant performance gains across M-Labs dataset evaluations, as median download speeds jumped by +62 Mbps to reach 177.5 Mbps and latency improved to 23.2 ms. However, overall placement remains constrained by a median upload speed of 22.8 Mbps that falls below our 28 Mbps quality threshold.

Kentucky (#35 – Score: 78.0 | Grade: C+) slips two spots from #33 in 2025, shifting slightly down despite steady infrastructure modernization across the state. Over the past 12 months, Kentucky expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by +6.9 percentage points to reach 65.9% of residents, while maintaining solid access prerequisites: basic wired availability covers 89.9% of the population and low-priced broadband plans reach 81.9%. Real-world speed test evaluations reflected solid download progress, with median download speeds increasing by +39.8 Mbps to hit 151.2 Mbps alongside upload speeds of 32.8 Mbps. However, Kentucky’s overall ranking is held back by a median round-trip latency of 34.9 ms that trails regional peers.

Alabama (#36 – Score: 77.5 | Grade: C+) advances three positions from #39 in 2025, driven by rapid fiber network expansion and improving consumer speed metrics. Over the past year, the Yellowhammer State increased its fiber-optic availability by +8.4 percentage points to reach 57.1% of residents, while growing basic wired coverage to 88% and low-priced plan access to 79.6%. This buildout generated noticeable quality improvements across M-Labs speed evaluations: median download speeds surged by +28.7 Mbps to hit 139.5 Mbps and upload speeds climbed by +10.7 Mbps to reach a robust 35 Mbps. Alabama’s upward trajectory was moderated slightly by an increase in median round-trip latency, which rose from 29 ms to 34.4 ms.

Mississippi (#37 – Score: 77.3 | Grade: C) slips two positions from #35 in 2025, yet stands out as one of the nation’s fastest-growing infrastructure markets. Over the past 12 months, the Magnolia State delivered massive prerequisite gains, expanding basic wired or fixed wireless availability by +7.4 percentage points to reach 89.8% of residents while growing low-priced plan access to 78.2%. Physical infrastructure also advanced rapidly, with fiber-optic coverage surging by +10.6 percentage points to hit 65.9%. This deployment drove elite upload performance across M-Labs evaluations, where median upload speeds reached 40.5 Mbps alongside downloads of 114.3 Mbps and a stable round-trip latency of 28.6 ms.

Georgia (#38 – Score: 76.9 | Grade: C) registers a sharp regression in our 2026 rankings, tumbling -14 positions down from #24 in 2025 despite strong baseline availability. The Peach State maintains solid prerequisite access metrics, providing 94.8% of residents with basic wired coverage, 88.5% with low-priced plan options, and expanding its fiber-optic footprint by +7.7 percentage points to reach 62.5%. However, Georgia’s drop in the standings was triggered by stagnation across real-world speed test evaluations relative to rapidly accelerating peers. In M-Labs dataset testing, median upload speeds remained flat at 23.7 Mbps (below our 28 Mbps passing threshold) and round-trip latency worsened from 20.5 ms up to 23.2 ms, offsetting a modest download gain to 110.9 Mbps.

West Virginia (#39 – Score: 74.7 | Grade: C) climbs +7 spots upward from #46 in 2025, making significant strides in overcoming historical topographic deployment challenges. Over the past year, the Mountain State expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by +7.3 percentage points to reach 36.2% of the population, while growing basic wired availability by +5 percentage points to hit 79.3%. This network modernization triggered massive performance improvements across M-Labs evaluations: median download speeds surged by +69 Mbps to reach an impressive 186.1 Mbps, upload speeds rose to 32.5 Mbps, and round-trip latency improved by -5.5 ms down to a responsive 19.8 ms. Further growth is capped primarily by an affordability gap where low-priced plans reach 68.8% of residents.

South Carolina (#40 – Score: 73.9 | Grade: C) experienced the steepest regression in our 2026 evaluation, falling -20 positions down from #20 in 2025. While the Palmetto State actually expanded basic wired availability to 95.6% and increased fiber-optic penetration by +8.8 percentage points to hit 58.3%, its real-world quality metrics deteriorated sharply relative to regional peers. In our evaluation of M-Labs speed test datasets, South Carolina’s median round-trip latency worsened from 25.9 ms down to 31.8 ms, while median upload speeds fell by -3.2 Mbps (landing at 18.6 Mbps), severely penalizing its scaled performance score. Combined with an affordability tier where 87.1% of residents can access low-priced plans, this performance drop caused the state to fall behind rapidly accelerating telecom markets.

Wisconsin (#41 – Score: 73.2 | Grade: C) holds steady at #41 in our 2026 standings, making significant strides in basic availability while continuing to face affordability and speed challenges. Over the past year, the Badger State expanded its wired or fixed wireless broadband access by a robust +6.5 percentage points, bringing baseline coverage to 89.6% of residents alongside a 47.4% fiber-optic footprint (up +7.6% from 2025). However, overall ranking progress is restrained by an affordability prerequisite where low-priced broadband plans reach just 72% of the population. In M-Labs speed evaluations, median download speeds improved by +21 Mbps to hit 132.8 Mbps and latency sat at 18.4 ms, but median upload speeds lagged at 20.2 Mbps.

Ohio (#42 – Score: 72.9 | Grade: C) slips four positions from #38 in 2025, shifting down the standings despite robust baseline coverage and expanding fiber networks. The Buckeye State provides strong access prerequisites, covering 94.4% of residents with basic wired availability and 85.9% with budget-friendly low-priced plans. While physical infrastructure grew over the past year, with fiber-optic coverage adding +7.6 percentage points to reach 49.7% and download speeds rising to 142.5 Mbps, Ohio was heavily penalized by its upload speed quality mapping. In M-Labs dataset evaluations, Ohio generated a median upload speed of just 15.6 Mbps (a -2 Mbps YoY decline) alongside a round-trip latency of 30.5 ms.

Arizona (#43 – Score: 72.2 | Grade: C-) drops six positions from #37 in 2025, experiencing a slowdown in real-world network performance relative to national benchmarks. The Grand Canyon State maintains a strong baseline availability prerequisite, covering 94.5% of residents with basic wired service and 83.8% with low-priced broadband plan options. Over the past 12 months, Arizona expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by +6.7 percentage points to reach 31.4% of the population. However, consumer speed test evaluations revealed performance bottlenecks: while median download speeds increased to 117.3 Mbps, median upload speeds dipped by -2.1 Mbps down to 19.5 Mbps alongside a round-trip latency of 24.3 ms.

Oregon (#44 – Score: 71.9 | Grade: C-) experiences one of the sharpest declines in our 2026 report, tumbling -18 positions down from #26 in 2025. While the Beaver State maintained solid basic wired coverage at 92.8% and expanded its fiber-optic footprint by +5.8 percentage points to hit 51.8%, its regression was driven by deteriorating affordability and latency metrics. Over the past year, low-priced plan availability dropped by -3.2 percentage points down to 81.5%, penalizing its heavily weighted prerequisite score. Simultaneously, M-Labs speed evaluations revealed a sharp degradation in network responsiveness, as median round-trip latency worsened from 18.2 ms up to 25.4 ms, offsetting modest download (107.2 Mbps) and upload speeds (23.6 Mbps).

New Mexico (#45 – Score: 69.5 | Grade: D+) slips one spot from #44 in 2025, continuing to face geographic deployment barriers and a contracting affordability baseline. While basic wired or fixed wireless availability held steady at 90.2%, access to budget-friendly low-priced plans fell by -4 percentage points year-over-year down to 76.1%. Over the past 12 months, New Mexico expanded its fiber-optic footprint by +6.2 percentage points to reach 25.3% of residents, remaining among the lower fiber density markets in the country. Across M-Labs speed evaluations, consumer quality metrics showed modest progress, with median download speeds reaching 104.4 Mbps, upload speeds rising to 23.8 Mbps, and round-trip latency improving slightly to 20.7 ms.

Wyoming (#46 – Score: 68.3 | Grade: D+) climbs three positions from #49 in 2025, making significant progress in modernizing its physical network architecture across vast rural distances. Over the past year, the Equality State delivered an impressive fiber rollout, surging fiber-optic availability by +13.8 percentage points to reach 42.9% of residents alongside an 88.2% basic wired coverage baseline. This deployment helped narrow the state’s historical affordability gap, lifting low-priced plan availability by +4.5 percentage points up to 70.2%. In M-Labs speed test evaluations, consumer performance improved dramatically: median download speeds jumped by +45.1 Mbps to reach 137.3 Mbps and round-trip latency improved by -8.2 ms down to 32.3 ms, though upload speeds hovered at 23.7 Mbps.

Hawaii (#47 – Score: 66.7 | Grade: D) drops four positions from #43 in 2025, illustrating a profound separation between high physical infrastructure density and geographic performance limits. As an island chain, Hawaii achieves outstanding access prerequisites, providing 95.2% of residents with basic wired availability, 95.1% with budget-friendly low-priced plans, and expanding its fiber-optic footprint by +11.4 percentage points to reach a massive 74.6%. However, because our methodology assigns 30% of its total weight to M-Labs speed test quality, Hawaii is severely penalized by physical distance to mainland server infrastructure. The state recorded the highest median latency in America at 98.8 ms, alongside lower median download (86.5 Mbps) and upload speeds (16.3 Mbps).

Kansas (#48 – Score: 63.7 | Grade: D) slips one spot from #47 in 2025, remaining a prime example of our methodology’s “Fiber Paradox”, where extensive fiber infrastructure does not automatically yield top-tier consumer speed tests. Over the past year, the Sunflower State expanded its fiber-optic service footprint by +11.1 percentage points to reach 74.6% of residents alongside 94.5% basic wired availability and 77.4% low-priced plan access. Despite this top-10 fiber penetration, Kansas ranked lowest nationwide in M-Labs download speed evaluations, recording a median download speed of just 58.4 Mbps alongside a median upload speed of 17.9 Mbps and a round-trip latency of 25.5 ms.

Idaho (#49 – Score: 63.2 | Grade: D) slips one position from #48 in 2025, continuing to face challenges in rural infrastructure scaling and affordability tier distribution. Over the past 12 months, the Gem State made positive strides in physical deployment, expanding basic wired coverage by +4.3 percentage points to 91.8% and growing its fiber-optic footprint by +11.1 percentage points to reach 41.8% of the population. However, overall placement remains severely restricted by a low-priced plan availability rate of just 73%. In real-world speed evaluations, consumer download speeds progressed to 101.9 Mbps and latency improved to 29.9 ms, but median upload speeds remained stagnant at 19.6 Mbps.

Montana (#50 – Score: 51.4 | Grade: F) holds steady at #50 in our 2026 evaluation, remaining a significant mathematical outlier separated from the rest of the nation by severe affordability and deployment gaps. While basic wired or fixed wireless availability grew by +4.7 percentage points over the past year to reach 83%, nearly half of the state’s population remains priced out of budget tiers, with low-priced plan availability covering just 53% of residents. Fiber-optic infrastructure saw modest growth, adding +5.6 percentage points to reach 33.8% coverage. Across M-Labs evaluations, median download speeds progressed to 104.2 Mbps, but overall quality was heavily penalized by a median upload speed of 16.1 Mbps and a round-trip latency of 39.2 ms.

Alaska (#51 – Score: 27.6 | Grade: F) ranks #51 as the lowest-performing region for broadband in 2026, generating an overall score that represents an extreme statistical outlier. Defined by vast geographic barriers and isolation from mainland networks, Alaska’s standing is anchored by a complete absence of affordable connectivity: while 76.7% of residents have basic wired or fixed wireless access, only 0.1% have access to low-priced broadband tiers. Because our scoring framework assigns a 30% weight to low-priced plan availability as an essential prerequisite, this cost barrier makes service practically out of reach for much of the population. Fiber-optic penetration remains scarce at 14.7%, and while M-Labs speed test evaluations showed median speeds of 49.6 Mbps download and 13.7 Mbps upload, geographic separation resulted in a high median latency of 53.3 ms.