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Ranking U.S. States with the Best Internet Value

Published

6 months ago

April 9, 2023

Surfshark

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Pallavi Rao

Ranking U.S. States with the Best Internet Value

Internet access has increased over the years, but both internet speed and affordability can vary considerably around the world, and even within the U.S. itself.

This interactive data visualization by Surfshark examines which states have the best internet value on average, and which have the worst. It uses data compiled for the company’s 2022 Internet Value Index.

Calculating Value

How do you measure the “best” internet value?

Surfshark’s Internet Value Index scores U.S. states on both broadband and mobile internet, measuring the ratio of speed to affordability, with each factor defined as follows:

Internet Speed: The average download speeds between Q3 of 2021 and Q2 of 2022.
Internet Affordability: The average monthly price of a standard internet or data package divided by the average hourly net wage in each state.

Each state’s index value is calculated by dividing speed by affordability for both broadband and mobile internet, then normalizing over the maximum value of 1.0.

Which States Have the Best Internet Value?

Surfshark’s study revealed large disparities between rural and urban states, highlighting the country’s digital divide. Here’s their full list of 50 U.S. states and internet index rankings in 2022.

State	Internet Value Rank	Broadband Value Rank	Mobile Value Rank	Region
New Jersey	1	1	2	Northeast
Massachusetts	2	2	3	Northeast
New York	3	4	1	Northeast
Rhode Island	4	7	4	Northeast
Washington	5	9	6	West
Maryland	6	12	7	South
Delaware	7	10	8	South
Connecticut	8	5	10	Northeast
Illinois	9	11	9	Midwest
California	10	8	11	West
Hawaii	11	3	22	West
Minnesota	12	26	5	Midwest
Pennsylvania	13	14	12	Northeast
Texas	14	6	27	South
Utah	15	20	13	West
Colorado	16	25	14	West
Ohio	17	17	16	Midwest
Arizona	18	18	17	West
Michigan	19	27	15	Midwest
North Carolina	20	13	29	South
Oregon	21	22	19	West
New Hampshire	22	15	31	Northeast
Indiana	23	24	24	Midwest
Georgia	24	19	28	South
South Carolina	25	16	33	South
Tennessee	26	21	30	South
North Dakota	27	29	21	Midwest
Nevada	28	33	20	West
Florida	29	30	25	South
Missouri	30	35	23	Midwest
Kansas	31	28	26	Midwest
Virginia	32	44	18	South
Wisconsin	33	34	34	Midwest
Kentucky	34	31	36	South
Nebraska	35	23	47	Midwest
South Dakota	36	40	32	Midwest
Alabama	37	32	41	South
Maine	38	36	39	Northeast
Oklahoma	39	38	42	South
Louisiana	40	37	45	South
Idaho	41	42	37	West
Iowa	42	41	44	Midwest
Alaska	43	48	35	West
New Mexico	44	45	38	West
Vermont	45	43	43	Northeast
West Virginia	46	39	49	South
Montana	47	50	40	West
Arkansas	48	47	48	South
Wyoming	49	49	46	West
Mississippi	50	46	50	South

New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York deliver the best value for internet services. Workers in all three states received fixed broadband speeds above 37 Mbps per hour of work at the average net state wage, and mobile speeds of 5 Mbps or more.

On the other end of the index, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Arkansas had some of the worst value services. Using the same ratio, workers got download speeds of 16 Mbps and below per hour of work for broadband, and mobile speeds of 2 Mbps or lower.

Regional disparity is quite clear, with five of the top 10 states being located in the Northeast. Eight of the bottom 10 states, meanwhile, were in the West and South.

Interestingly, the Midwest was the second best region for internet value, but still ranked below the country’s average score. This further highlights the disproportionate value earned by higher-income and heavily-populated states over others.

Internet For All?

Internet affordability (or lack thereof) can have economic consequences, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An IMF study details how high-speed internet has become critical for socioeconomic inclusion for work, education, and access to services.

As more workplaces and schools expect tasks to get done in a remote environment, it’s expected that affordable, high-quality internet will become even more critical going forward.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Maps

Mapped: How Much Does it Take to be the Top 1% in Each U.S. State?

An annual income anywhere between $360,000-$950,000 can grant entry into the top 1%—depending on where you live in America.

Published

6 days ago

September 25, 2023

Pallavi Rao

A cropped map of the U.S. listing the annual income needed to be in the top 1% in each state.

How Much Does it Take to be the Top 1% in Each U.S. State?

There’s an old saying: everyone thinks that they’re middle-class.

But how many people think, or know, that they really belong to the top 1% in the country?

Data from personal finance advisory services company, SmartAsset, reveals the annual income threshold at which a household can be considered part of the top 1% in their state.

Some states demand a much higher yearly earnings from their residents to be a part of the rarefied league, but which ones are they, and how much does one need to earn to make it to the very top echelon of income?

Ranking U.S. States By Income to Be in the Top 1%

At the top of the list, a household in Connecticut needs to earn nearly $953,000 annually to be part of the one-percenters. This is the highest minimum threshold across the country.

In the same region, Massachusetts requires a minimum annual earnings of $903,401 from its top 1% residents.

Here’s the list of all 50 U.S. states along with the annual income needed to be in the 1%.

Rank	State	Top 1% Income Threshold	Top 1% Tax Rate (% of annual income)
1	Connecticut	$952,902	28.40%
2	Massachusetts	$903,401	27.15%
3	California	$844,266	26.95%
4	New Jersey	$817,346	28.01%
5	Washington	$804,853	25.99%
6	New York	$776,662	28.29%
7	Colorado	$709,092	25.86%
8	Florida	$694,987	25.82%
9	Illinois	$660,810	26.35%
10	New Hampshire	$659,037	26.25%
11	Wyoming	$656,118	24.79%
12	Virginia	$643,848	26.11%
N/A	National Average	$652,657	N/A
13	Maryland	$633,333	25.94%
14	Texas	$631,849	25.83%
15	Utah	$630,544	23.77%
16	Minnesota	$626,451	25.53%
17	Nevada	$603,751	25.19%
18	South Dakota	$590,373	22.99%
19	Pennsylvania	$588,702	24.95%
20	North Dakota	$585,556	24.76%
21	Georgia	$585,397	25.06%
22	Oregon	$571,813	24.66%
23	Arizona	$564,031	25.22%
24	Idaho	$560,040	23.17%
25	North Carolina	$559,762	25.31%
26	Montana	$559,656	24.46%
27	Kansas	$554,912	25.03%
28	Rhode Island	$548,531	25.26%
29	Tennessee	$548,329	25.12%
30	Alaska	$542,824	25.38%
31	Nebraska	$535,651	24.10%
32	Delaware	$529,928	25.37%
33	Vermont	$518,039	23.63%
34	Wisconsin	$517,321	24.90%
35	South Carolina	$508,427	24.40%
36	Michigan	$504,671	25.01%
37	Maine	$502,605	24.04%
38	Missouri	$500,626	24.93%
39	Ohio	$500,253	25.09%
40	Hawaii	$495,263	24.12%
41	Iowa	$483,985	24.09%
42	Indiana	$473,685	24.55%
43	Alabama	$470,341	23.82%
44	Oklahoma	$460,172	23.68%
45	Louisiana	$458,269	24.80%
46	Arkansas	$450,700	21.11%
47	Kentucky	$445,294	24.14%
48	New Mexico	$411,395	23.35%
49	Mississippi	$381,919	23.04%
50	West Virginia	$367,582	23.26%
N/A	National Median Household Income	$75,000	N/A

California ($844,266), New Jersey ($817,346), and Washington ($804,853) round out the top five states with the highest minimum thresholds to make it to their exclusive rich club.

On the other end of the spectrum, the top one-percenters in West Virginia make a minimum of $367,582 a year, the lowest of all the states, and about one-third of the threshold in Connecticut. And just down southwest of the Mountain State, Mississippi’s one-percenters need to make at least $381,919 a year to qualify for the 1%.

A quick glance at the map above also reveals some regional insights.

The Northeast and West Coast, with their large urban and economic hubs, have higher income entry requirements for the top 1% than states in the American South.

This also correlates to the median income by state, a measure showing Massachusetts households make nearly $90,000 a year, compared to Mississippians who take home $49,000 annually.

How Much Do the Top 1% Pay in Taxes?

Meanwhile, if one does make it to the top 1% in states like Connecticut and Massachusetts, expect to pay more in taxes than other states, according to SmartAsset’s analysis.

A chart showing how states with the top highest and lowest average tax rates for their top 1% residents.

The one-percenters in the top five states pay, on average, between 26–28% of their income in tax, compared to those in the bottom five who pay between 21–23%.

And this pattern exists through the dataset, with higher top 1% income thresholds correlating with higher average tax rates for the wealthy.

State Ranks	Median Tax Rate
Top 10	26.65%
20-30	25.09%
30-40	24.65%
10-20	25.07%
40-50	23.75%

These higher tax rates point to attempts to reign in the increasing wealth disparity in the nation where the top 1% hold more than one-third of the country’s wealth, up from 27% in 1989.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: SmartAsset’s America’s Top 1% Is Different in Each State uses data from 2020 individual tax filings from the IRS, adjusted to 2023 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.