Ookla Names Connecticut, North Dakota As Top Performing Broadband States

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2024 - Connecticut, North Dakota, Delaware, and six other states were the top-performing states in 2023 and 2024, according to data collected by Ookla.

Ookla, the broadband measurement company, made that judgment by claiming these states have the highest percentage of Ookla Speedtest users that meet the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds of 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream.

At least 60 percent of Speedtest users from the states of Connecticut, North Dakota, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia are meeting the FCC’s minimum standard. 

North Dakota – the third-smallest state by population – was the most rural state to appear on the Ookla top-performer list.

For consumers, the data revealed better access to education, healthcare, government services, and remote work. As wireless access continues to develop as a necessity, faster speeds could also mean more profitability for businesses.

Ooklka also identified states that were considered underperformers.

According to Ookla’s data, states with sparse populations largely had inferior broadband access. Less than 40 percent of users in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming were receiving broadband internet at the minimum speeds outlined by the FCC.

The company’s data also revealed that several states still featured a prominent gap between the number of rural and urban residents that have access to minimum broadband speeds.

Ookla specifically cited the state of Washington as having the largest gap in access to high-speed broadband. It noted that only 28.7 percent of Washington's rural residents received broadband at minimum speeds compared to 61 percent of the state’s urban residents.

Ookla said it planned to provide semi-annual updates on the broadband speed performance of providers in all 50 states.