With so much stuff circulating in The Cloud and new web developments being made almost daily, it’s surprising how infrequently we discuss Internet speed.  Pando Networks recently conducted a study that found vast discrepancies in average Internet speeds across the country.

According to the results, you’re lucky if you’re  living on the east coast (anywhere from  New York to Virginia). This region averages the highest connection speeds in the country. If you’re in the midwest or mid-western mountain ranges, however, don’t hold your breath while you’re downloading. This region reports slowest speeds in the country and the difference is significant. The study finds that the country’s fastest connections are around ten times quicker than the slowest.

How does your state rank?

And the winner is...Rhode Island! Yep, this teensy east coast state boasts average statewide connection speeds of 894 KBps, impressive compared to our slowest state, Idaho, which averages a mere 318 KBps. The map below will give you an idea of where the rest of the states rank on the spectrum.

Pando also sorted its data by city, where discrepancies become much more apparent. The most populous city in the country is New York, which averages Internet speeds of 805 KB/s. The fastest city, however,  is Andover, MA, with average speeds of 2,801 KBps. Of the 25 most populous cities in the country, only 1 (Seattle) averages speeds above 1,000 KBps.

Conclusion

What accounts for these stats? Easy- the more populated an area, the better the infrastructure, generally. However, the existing infrastructure becomes easily overrun once the population outweighs the system’s capacity. Out in the boonies, however, there is not really an  infrastructure to speak of at all--you’re lucky if you get a cell phone to work. Solution? The suburbs. If you don’t want to relive the days of dial-up speeds, live in a city (not a metropolis) that can support its own online traffic, ideally in one of these top 25: