Blazing-fast internet speeds are possibly a basic need for most people who spend most of their time online, including gamers and remote workers.
The speed tests don’t lie, and there’s always someone whose internet speed eclipses yours.
After crunching the numbers for download and upload throughput, we have compiled a breakdown of cities with the fastest internet speeds.
How’s Our Research Different?
In vacuum, Internet speeds don’t mean much so…
We decided to illustrate our findings by translating them into something that many of us can relate to and that is…(legally) downloading a typical 2-hour movie in Full HD quality (1920 x 1080 pixels).
A typical file size of such a movie is 8 GB (or 8,000 MB).
Based on that, the table below shows the following two columns:
- 2hr Movie Download. The amount of time it would take to download an 8GB file using the internet speed from column “Download (Mbps)”
- 2hr Movie Upload. The amount of time it would take to upload an 8GB file using the internet speed from column “Upload (Mbps)”
Results Summary
Cities With Fastest Mobile Internet Speeds
| City | State | Download (Mbps) | 2hr Movie Download | Upload (Mbps) | 2hr Movie Upload | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey City | NJ | 107.20 | 9 min 57 sec | 22.53 | 50 min 50 sec | T-Mobile |
| Tampa | FL | 106.50 | 10 min | 19.18 | 59 min 42 sec | AT&T |
| Washington | DC | 103.49 | 10 min 18 sec | 15.40 | 74 min 22 sec | T-Mobile |
| Baltimore | MD | 99.48 | 10 min 43 sec | 16.85 | 67 min 58 sec | T-Mobile |
| St. Paul | MN | 95.63 | 11 min 9 sec | 13.65 | 83 min 54 sec | T-Mobile |
| St. Louis | MO | 93.61 | 11 min 23 sec | 13.03 | 87 min 53 sec | T-Mobile |
| Pittsburg | PA | 92.32 | 11 min 33 sec | 14.71 | 77 min 51 sec | T-Mobile |
| Chicago | IL | 90.67 | 11 min 45 sec | 15.46 | 74 min 4 sec | T-Mobile |
| New York | NY | 90.42 | 11 min 47 sec | 19.37 | 59 min 7 sec | T-Mobile |
| Minneapolis | MN | 90.00 | 11 min 51 sec | 14.13 | 81 min 3 sec | T-Mobile |
It was a close call between the top 10 cities, and each one had quite impressive stats, according to Ookla speed test results for Q4 2021.
Indeed, the time difference between downloading an 8GB file in Jersey City and Minneapolis was only 1 minute 54 seconds!
However, the upload speed differences were more dramatic with more than 30-minute difference between the two cities!
The results are based on an average of mobile internet performance data observed from millions of consumer-initiated tests taken on Speedtest platform.
Methodology
To obtain the download and upload time required to process an 8GB file, Posturion obtained the latest median mobile Internet speed data from Speedtest.net.
It was established that an average 2-hour movie in Full HD quality would use approximately 8GB and, therefore, this file size should be used to demonstrate the absolute difference in Internet speed between the top cities.
The time it would require to download/upload a file of that size was established by using online calculators provided by DownloadTimeCalculator.
Summary
1. Jersey City, New Jersey
Takes the top spot with the fastest median mobile download speed. It boasts a whopping 107.20Mbps download, 22.53Mbps median upload speed, and a latency of 28ms during Q4 2021.
2. Tampa, Florida
106.50Mbps download and 19.18Mbps upload speeds with 27ms latency.
3. Washington, DC
Third with 103.49Mbps download and 15.40Mbps upload speeds and 28ms latency. These three cities were the only cities to achieve median mobile download speeds above 100Mbps.
4. Baltimore, Maryland
Fourth with 99.48Mbps download, 16.85Mbps upload speeds and 28ms latency.
5. St. Paul, Minnesota
Rounds off the top 5 cities with 95.63Mbps download, 13.65Mbps upload speed and 28ms latency.
6. St. Louis, Missouri
93.61Mbps download, 13.03Mbps upload speeds and 28ms latency
7. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
With 92.32Mbps download, 14.71Mbps upload speed and 28ms latency.
8. Chicago, Illinois
With download speeds of 90.67Mbps, 15.46Mbps upload speed and 27ms latency.
9. New York, NY
With 90.42Mbps download, 19.37mbps upload speed and a 27ms latency.
10. Minneapolis, Minnesota
With 90.00Mbps download, 14.13Mbps upload speed and 28ms latency.
Limitations
While compiling the results, we found that the average speeds and results will differ based on who is doing the research and their methodology.
The median internet speeds reflect typical speeds users can expect to achieve in the area, although the actual speeds may vary.
Sources
- Ookla
- Speedtest.net
- Highspeedinternet.com
- Broadband Now
To Conclude
Each of these tests shows that there’s a lot more to internet speed than just raw figures.
You have to consider equipment type, the provider, geographical factors and sometimes, the traffic and bandwidth.
Either way, some cities have incredible internet speeds.
How does yours stack up?
