Andover, Mass. has fastest data in U.S., Pocatello, Idaho, slowest

With over 35 million users accessing its Content Delivery network worldwide, Pando Networks has access to tons of data about the movement of different types of files across the Web. Wednesday, the company released the results of a six-month real world study of traffic on its network within the United States, showing which areas have the fastest speeds and highest completion rate of file transfer.

Unlike the NTIA's National Broadband Map, this study relies on actual performance data and not just advertised maximum speeds, so it is interesting to see that Rhode Island, which NTIA ranks as the 5th fastest state in advertised speed is the fastest in actual speed, with the average of 894 kBps (or 7.1 Mbps).

Massachusetts, which NTIA ranks as #6 in advertised speeds, is in second place on Pando's list with 851 kBps (6.64 Mbps), and New Jersey took a close third with 850. They were followed by Delaware with 840 kBps (6.56 Mbps) and Maryland with 804 kBps (6.28 Mbps).

Average Download Speed By State (Kilobytes Per Second)

The states with the highest rate of completion do not directly correspond with the states with the fastest speeds, and though the West Coast has speeds generally lower than the Mid-Atlantic/New England area, its reliability is higher on average.

Delaware topped the list with a 90% completion rate, followed by New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Washington, and Maryland with 88%, then Virginia, Utah, New Jersey and Hawaii with 87%. California, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota, and Minnesota rounded out the top of the list with an 86% completion rate.

Average Completion Rate by State (%)

Pando even pinpointed the towns with the fastest and slowest downloads in the United States: Andover, Massachusetts. The affluent Boston suburb enjoys an average download speed of 2,801 kBps (21.88 Mbps). Meanwhile, in the town of Pocatello, Idaho, downloaders are hobbling along at 251 kBps (1.96 Mbps). This town is served by Cable One, Qwest, and DigitalBridge Communications, which Netflix Content Delivery director Ken Florence ranked as mid-range providers in terms of average data throughput earlier this year.