With 95% of Americans reporting that good cell phone coverage is critical, all of the major carriers are busy rolling out their 5G networks across the U.S. However, availability still varies widely among them. WhistleOut decided to take a look at the best cities in the U.S. for 5G coverage. Find out if your city makes the cut!
5G capitals of the USA
Top 10 best U.S. cities for 5G coverage
The top cities for 5G coverage will likely surprise you. While you might have expected bustling coastal metropolises like New York or Los Angeles to top the list, instead you’ll find that much smaller, everyday American cities enjoy the most 5G coverage.
Wichita, Kansas emerged as the best U.S. city for 5G coverage, coming out on top with a rating of 9.98 out of 10. In second and third place are a couple of other Midwestern cities: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Cincinnati, Ohio come in very close behind with ratings of 9.95 and 9.94, respectively.
Top 50 best U.S. cities for 5G coverage
The table below lists the top 50 cities and their rankings for 5G coverage in the U.S., plus the percentage of each city’s area that’s covered by the three top U.S. carriers’ 5G networks (AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile).
| Ranking | City | AT&T 5G Coverage | Verizon 5G Coverage | T-Mobile 5G Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wichita, KS | 99.97% | 99.25% | 99.24% |
| 2 | Minneapolis, MN | 85.83% | 97.02% | 98.96% |
| 3 | Cincinnati, OH | 96.51% | 97.57% | 98.08% |
| 4 | Little Rock, AR | 91.60% | 97.88% | 97.69% |
| 5 | Aurora, CO | 92.07% | 96.46% | 98.95% |
| 6 | Indianapolis, IN | 97.85% | 96.48% | 98.12% |
| 7 | Baton Rouge, LA | 88.57% | 99.91% | 94.22% |
| 8 | Columbus, OH | 99.80% | 97.23% | 96.47% |
| 9 | Elk Grove, CA | 99.99% | 96.20% | 96.75% |
| 10 | Saint Louis, MO | 87.16% | 96.79% | 95.70% |
| 11 | Aurora, IL | 99.95% | 92.45% | 99.99% |
| 12 | Houston, TX | 98.71% | 95.40% | 96.97% |
| 13 | North Las Vegas, NV | 99.75% | 91.10% | 99.62% |
| 14 | Louisville, KY | 89.52% | 94.16% | 96.36% |
| 15 | Baltimore, MD | 96.40% | 96.20% | 93.22% |
| 16 | Overland Park, KS | 95.15% | 97.62% | 91.59% |
| 17 | Fort Wayne, IN | 99.82% | 99.59% | 88.63% |
| 18 | Oklahoma City, OK | 92.64% | 88.21% | 99.05% |
| 19 | Chicago, IL | 95.99% | 89.97% | 95.73% |
| 20 | Denver, CO | 90.26% | 91.52% | 93.84% |
| 21 | Birmingham, AL | 91.45% | 94.24% | 90.97% |
| 22 | Pittsburgh, PA | 87.49% | 98.73% | 85.53% |
| 23 | Newark, NJ | 95.80% | 95.26% | 88.41% |
| 24 | Moreno Valley, CA | 92.65% | 90.64% | 92.63% |
| 25 | Philadelphia, PA | 94.45% | 96.78% | 86.13% |
| 26 | Sacramento, CA | 99.55% | 89.04% | 93.19% |
| 27 | Modesto, CA | 99.32% | 86.03% | 96.09% |
| 28 | Henderson, NV | 93.65% | 95.18% | 85.22% |
| 29 | New York, NY | 85.33% | 85.07% | 95.18% |
| 30 | Atlanta, GA | 93.75% | 96.64% | 82.49% |
| 31 | Kansas City, MO | 96.22% | 93.43% | 85.69% |
| 32 | Riverside, CA | 95.66% | 85.38% | 93.58% |
| 33 | Seattle, WA | 84.88% | 91.40% | 93.86% |
| 34 | Detroit, MI | 93.41% | 86.17% | 92.54% |
| 35 | Jersey City, NJ | 96.77% | 81.69% | 96.43% |
| 36 | Vancouver, WA | 78.88% | 97.61% | 98.98% |
| 37 | Lubbock, TX | 97.89% | 80.18% | 95.28% |
| 38 | Fresno, CA | 97.69% | 74.02% | 99.69% |
| 39 | Saint Paul, MN | 78.13% | 97.69% | 94.63% |
| 40 | Lexington, KY | 91.60% | 92.17% | 80.25% |
| 41 | Washington, DC | 87.67% | 74.17% | 97.86% |
| 42 | Fontana, CA | 97.79% | 82.26% | 88.78% |
| 43 | Nashville, TN | 86.20% | 83.38% | 87.64% |
| 44 | Spokane, WA | 92.39% | 79.62% | 89.04% |
| 45 | Portland, OR | 73.60% | 95.39% | 94.99% |
| 46 | Memphis, TN | 93.55% | 73.29% | 94.55% |
| 47 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | 78.25% | 86.17% | 88.67% |
| 48 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 85.57% | 76.20% | 90.16% |
| 49 | Los Angeles, CA | 95.65% | 82.25% | 82.90% |
| 50 | Anaheim, CA | 88.04% | 86.02% | 78.90% |
If you live in one of the cities on this list, congratulations! Your city has one of the highest rates of 5G coverage in the whole country.
Cities with the most name recognition didn’t make it to the top of the list, with New York in just 29th place and Los Angeles all the way at the bottom of the rankings at 49th. Though the most populous cities don’t have the most coverage, they do have the fastest 5G speeds thanks to mmWave hotspots, but since mmWave can’t travel far, it doesn’t equal a big footprint. In fact, the top rankings are dominated by much less populous cities. In particular, Midwestern cities represent 10 out of the top 20 locations. The state with the most cities in the top 50 is California, with a total of 10 cities.
5G will benefit cities big and small
The excitement around 5G just keeps building. And it’s for good reason—it's safe and offers consumers greater benefits than older cellular generations. Even in smaller cities and rural areas, 5G can achieve substantial improvements over 4G LTE speeds and latency by using low and mid bands, which are capable of covering longer distances. On the other hand, 5G will better live up to its potential in densely populated urban areas, where 5G can operate on high-band spectrums (also known as mmWave) to offer the fastest speeds and most network capacity.
Methodology and sources
To find the 5G capitals of the U.S., we first gathered the top 150 most populous cities in the nation according to U.S. census data. We then found the total area of each city or incorporated area on our list, and also found the percentage of 5G coverage in each city for each of the three major carriers in the U.S. (AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon) using 5G proprietary spatial data from WhistleOut.com. Weighting all three carriers equally, we then totaled the 5G coverage for each city and assigned each city a score out of 10 according to total 5G coverage. We then ranked them based on this score.
How to get a 5G connection
All of this got you itching to use 5G? Here’s how to get a 5G connection on your phone.
First, check our 5G coverage maps to see if your carrier offers 5G in your area. As mobile carriers continue to roll out 5G throughout the country, all three major networks—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—offer 5G cell phone plans.
That said, you don’t need to be on a plan with one of the major carriers to use 5G. If you are looking for a cheap phone plan, many smaller carriers also offer affordable 5G plans.
Once you know your cell phone plan offers 5G, you can decide whether to upgrade your smartphone. With Apple’s recent rollout of 5G capable iPhones, there’s a chance you may already have a phone that’s 5G ready.Brittany McGhee
Staff Writer
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