The state of New York has the fastest 5G download speeds, according to an Opensignal analysis looking at the 5G experience across 50 U.S. states, with other East Coast locations rounding out the top five.
New York came in at 114 Mbps, the only one to surpass the 100 Mbps benchmark. It was followed by Maryland (99.8 Mbps), New Jersey (98.3 Mbps), Virginia (92.3 Mbps) and Rhode Island (89.4 Mbps).
However, East Coast states also saw some of the slowest download speeds. Vermont took the 50th spot at 42.2 Mbps, just behind Maine with 46.1 Mbps. Less densely populated states of Mississippi and West Virginia also scored below the 50 Mbps threshold, both with 49.1 Mbps. Alaska crept just over that mark at 50.5 Mbps.
The data collection period was between May 1 and July 30.
When it comes to amount of time spent connected to 5G, percentages varied widely and those states with faster speeds didn’t always mean a widely available 5G signal.
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Vermont still ranked at the bottom, and at 5.7% was the only state with less than 10% 5G availability according to Opensignal’s analysis. New York had the fastest speeds but was in a six-way tie in the number 14 spot for 5G availability. Users in New York state connected to 5G about 21.8% of the time.
5G smartphone users in 23 states spend more of 20% of time with an active 5G connection.
Texas and Illinois both ranked first, with statistically similar scores for 5G availability of 27% and 27.6%, respectively. In a city break down of 250 metros, Texas took six of the top 10 spots for.
For speeds, both Texas and Illinois were in the top 25 for 5G downloads. Illinois cracked into the top 10 at 87.2 Mbps, while Texas was 24th with 72.9 Mbps.
Overall, states that have a greater percentage of dense urban population had users spending more of their time connected to 5G than sparser areas.
“Our data therefore suggests that mobile operators have been focusing on deploying their 5G networks in highly-populated states where the vast majority of the population lives in urban areas,” wrote Opensignal in its analysis. “This means people in less populated states, or those with a significant rural population like Maine and West Virginia, will likely have to wait further before seeing 5G bridge the urban-rural mobile experience divide.”
Nebraska stands out for video and gaming
Nebraska stood out as sharing the first place spot with Vermont for a good 5G video experience, though neither received high marks for download speeds or availability.
Nebraska was 37th for 5G downloads, at just above 60 Mbps. For 5G availability users in the state connected to 5G 14.6% of the time, with a rank of 41.
In the gaming experience category, Nebraska was also the only state in the top 10 not located on the East Coast. Sharing seventh place with a “Good” gaming experience score of 75.3.