Which States, Cities and Countries Have the Most Affordable Internet?

The internet has become a basic part of everyday life. We rely on it to work, learn, shop, manage finances, stay connected with family and access important services. But while internet access is common in many parts of the world, the cost of getting online can vary dramatically from one country to another.

In some places, high-speed internet is relatively affordable compared to local incomes. In others, monthly internet bills can take up a significant portion of a household budget. Factors such as infrastructure, competition among providers, geography and economic conditions can all play a role in determining how much people pay for internet service.

To explore which parts of the U.S. and the world enjoy the most affordable internet, online lender NetCredit sourced the average monthly wage in countries around the world, every U.S. state and 100 large U.S. cities. Then we compared these against local broadband prices and speeds for each location.

What we did

To explore affordability, we calculated the monthly median price of a fixed-line broadband package as a percentage of the average monthly income in each location. To explore value, we calculated the cost per 1 Mbps of speed at each location.

For countries, we sourced costs and speeds from BestBroadbandDeals’ global pricing research and income from the International Labour Organization. For U.S. states and the 100 largest cities, we sourced prices and speeds from InMyArea.com and HighSpeedInternet.com and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Below is what we found.

All costs have been converted from their local currency to U.S. dollars for comparison.

Key findings

• Connecticut has the most affordable internet of any state (1.5% of average income), while broadband is least affordable in Mississippi (2.8%).
• In Plano, Texas, they pay just $0.33 per Mbps — in Honolulu, broadband costs $1.15 per Mbps.
• The average broadband deal in Romania costs $8.60/month, or just 0.57% of the average local income — the most affordable internet out of this study.
• India is among the countries with the best-value internet, paying $0.15 per Mbps (megabits per second) on average.
• In the U.S., broadband costs 1.04% of income on average, or $0.40 per Mbps.
• The average UK broadband deal costs $38.79/month, or 1.15% of the average income — placing the UK between Singapore and Slovakia for affordability.

Average Connecticut broadband bill is just 1.5% of monthly income.

Next, we compared the internet affordability and value in every American state.

We found that Connecticut is one of only ten states where the average broadband charge is under $100. With one of the top monthly incomes in the U.S. ($6,337.50), affordability in Connecticut works out at 1.5% of the average paycheck.

New York (1.6%), Washington (1.6%) and Rhode Island (1.7%) are not far behind, while the least affordable internet is in Mississippi (2.8%), Louisiana (2.6%) and Nevada (2.6%).

Connecticut has only the second-best value internet compared to speed, at an average of $0.47 per Mbps. However, the state with the best value, West Virginia, actually has pretty slow internet — 8.62% lower than the national average, according to HighSpeedInternet.

West Virginia’s impressive dollars-per-Mbps value of $0.42 is largely thanks to having the most affordable average broadband deal in the country ($91.37). The complex history of internet regulation in West Virginia has contributed to low usage rates and low customer satisfaction ratings.

In Connecticut, meanwhile, state efforts to improve access resulted in the number of locations able to access 1Gbps (1,000 Mbps) speeds rising from 38% to 87% between 2022 and 2025.

Texas cities offer the fastest internet per dollar spent.

While statewide comparisons can give a broad view of America’s internet landscape, broadband affordability and speeds can vary dramatically even within state lines. In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that 98% of Americans in urban areas had access to high-speed internet, but only 72% of Americans in rural areas could claim the same.

We found that Durham, North Carolina, is one of the large cities with the best affordability — the average broadband bill of $107.38 works out at just 1.6% of the average local income ($6,510.83) each month. Meanwhile, in Greensboro, just 50 miles across the state, affordability is at 2.3% due to significantly lower income levels.

High income levels put the Californian cities of San Jose (1.1%), San Francisco (1.3%) and Oakland (1.3%) among the four with the best affordability, despite the average broadband prices in these cities reaching $110.83, which is among the highest in the U.S. part of our study. Third-placed Washington, D.C., has a favorable balance of low broadband costs ($90.42) and the fourth-highest income levels of the focus cities.

But Texan cities dominate among those that give the best value for speed. Plano is one of just two cities (with Hialeah, Florida) in our study to boast average speeds of over 300 Mbps, while the other Texas cities in the top 10 below boast speeds of over 265 Mbps and an average package cost of under $100.

Competition among providers is fierce in the Lone Star State, which is also home to AT&T. Both the flat terrain and the regulatory landscape are conducive to effective infrastructure upgrades.

However, even within cities, the value of a broadband deal can vary greatly. One study found that neighborhoods just a nine-minute walk apart across a social divide could be offered broadband speeds sixty times faster by the same broadband company for the same price.

Romania and Argentina are among countries with most affordable internet compared to income.

Nine of the ten countries with the best ratio between average broadband costs and average income are European. Argentina is the tenth: $5.17 broadband costs equate to 0.77% of the average income ($676.27). In most of the European cases, high average salaries make mid-range broadband costs more affordable. Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic all hit a sweet spot of income just over $2,000 and broadband at under $17 a month.

At the other end of the scale, 15 of the 16 countries with the least internet affordability are in Africa, and 10 countries have broadband costs that exceed a third of the average income.

Romania has the best affordability by virtue of its low broadband costs. At $8.60 per month, only Sudan, Argentina and Egypt offer more affordable internet. Romania also has the best value-for-money internet, based on speed per dollar — with average speeds of 105.46 Mbps, it works out at $0.08 per Mbps.

The southeastern European country’s impressive broadband economy is largely a matter of timing. “We went directly from the classical telephone to the internet, so the infrastructure that was built was new and capable of offering a better and more spread range of services,” explains Vlad Craioveanu, cofounder of a Bucharest coworking space. And in the early days of the web, much of the development was of independent neighborhood networks — which has resulted in cheaper and more efficient infrastructure.

Six of the ten countries with the lowest value speed-to-cost ratios have average broadband charges of over $100 per month, while most have only single-figure internet speeds. For example, in Burundi, the average broadband deal costs $304.57 per month, and the average download speed is 6.07 Mbps, which works out at $50.18 per Mbps.

“As a student, I have to do my research at night when everyone else has gone to bed,” Pierre Ndayisaba, who works in Burundi’s largest city, told Connecting Africa. “From time to time, I work past 2 a.m. so I can benefit from high-speed Internet, which is only available during the late hours.”

Ways to reduce monthly expenses

The cost of internet service can vary — but for many households, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. If your bills are putting a strain on your budget, there are a few things you can do to help lower your monthly expenses.

1. Separate “needs” from “wants”

Review your last two to three months of bank and credit card statements and look for areas where you can cut back. Do this by separating needs from wants. This will give you a list of areas where you can reduce spending without eliminating essentials.

2. Cancel unused subscriptions

While reviewing your spending, keep an eye out for any subscriptions or streaming services you don’t need. Though they may not be much on their own, the charges add up quickly and canceling the ones you don’t use can free up more of your budget than you think.

3. Negotiate recurring bills

Service providers rarely lower rates automatically. But many will work with you if you ask. Contact your internet provider, phone carrier or insurance company and ask about promotional pricing or loyalty discounts. If you’re struggling to keep up, you may also qualify for payment assistance programs. Many places can help with bills if you qualify.

4. Build a budget

A budget can help you keep track of where your money is going and help you ensure it’s going where you need it to. It’s not about restriction but about being intentional with your spending. You can use a good budgeting tool to help you get started.

5. Increase your income

If your schedule allows it, finding a side hustle or freelance gig can be a great way to put a little extra cash in your pocket and reduce the pressure to cut costs. You can find a ton of money-making opportunities online and in your community. To get started, check out our list of the best-paying side hustle jobs.

Methodology

We calculated the monthly average price of a broadband package as a percentage of the average monthly wage in each location.

For countries, we sourced the median cost of a fixed-line broadband package from every country using data from BestBroadbandDeals and average monthly income values from the International Labour Organization’s dataset.

For U.S. states and cities, we sourced average monthly broadband prices from inmyarea.com for every state and the 100 largest cities, average internet speeds from InMyArea and HighSpeedInternet, and average wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition, we determined the countries, states and cities with the best-value internet by calculating the cost per 1 Mbps of speed in each location.

Data is correct as of May 2026.

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, tax or legal advice.