A new nationwide study reveals major disparities in internet performance across Florida, even as the state ranks second overall in the United States with an average download speed of 407.1 Mbps.
The report, conducted by AI readiness firm Faro, examined real-world performance by analyzing data from 4,569,335 devices across 1,506,118 map tiles of Speedtest by Ookla open data during the first quarter of 2026. Researchers evaluated 3,144 U.S. counties and ranked those meeting minimum measurement thresholds.
Out of 66 ranked Florida counties, 12 placed among the top 100 fastest in the nation, 29 reached the top 500, and one fell into the bottom 100.
Pasco County clocked in as the fastest in Florida and 11th nationally, averaging 479.8 Mbps with 97.8% of tested devices reaching 100 Mbps or higher. Holmes County recorded the state’s lowest speeds at 155.6 Mbps, placing 2,470th out of 2,530 ranked U.S. counties.
The gap between Florida’s fastest and slowest counties represents a 3.08-fold difference. Nationally, the divide between the fastest county (McLean County, Kentucky, at 577.2 Mbps) and the slowest spans 7.1 times, compared to a 1.52-fold spread between the fastest and slowest states.
A clear urban-rural divide also emerged within Florida. Metropolitan counties averaged 410.8 Mbps, while non-metropolitan counties averaged 294.0 Mbps—a difference of 116.8 Mbps. While broadband providers report that 96.6% of Florida premises have access to speeds of 100 Mbps or higher, actual user test results showed 95.6% of devices meeting that mark.
Overall, measured speeds in Florida have grown 60.2% since the first quarter of 2023, outpacing the national average increase of 55.0% over the same period.
Richard Rubenstein, Founder and CEO of Faro, noted that broad state averages often mask local variations.
“The interesting thing in this data is how little the state you live in explains. The distance between the fastest and slowest county in America is sevenfold, while the distance between the fastest and slowest state is barely more than one and a half,” Rubenstein said. “Two households in the same state, the same drive from the same city, can be living on completely different internet, and a state average hides that almost entirely. Anyone planning infrastructure, or arguing about the digital divide from a table of states, is reading the wrong map.”
READ: From Purple To Deep Red: CNN Analyst Breaks Down Florida’s Rapid Shift Right
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