Internet Speeds by State During the 2020 Quarantine: Nevada

We looked at internet speed test data for 2020 so far, and here’s what we found for the state of Nevada and city of Las Vegas.

By Catherine McNally

Editorial Lead, Internet & Gaming

November 10, 2020

1 min read

Average download speeds in Nevada also jumped up over the course of the year. The average speed of 156 Mbps in September was 105.5% faster than the average speed of 75.9 Mbps in January.

The high-rolling city of Las Vegas that really brought the speed: the average download speed in September was 194.5 Mbps,—a giant leap up from 77.7 Mbps in January. This is one time we hope what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.

Internet Speeds by State During the 2020 Quarantine

An aerial view of the Las Vegas strip in Nevada at sunrise

But while smaller towns, like Winnemucca, saw a big jump from 8.5 Mbps in January to 27.8 Mbps in September, that’s still not enough download speed to support a family of three or more as they work and learn from home.

Some companies have attempted to keep all of Nevada’s residents connected through programs like Cox’s Connect2Compete, Connecting Kids, and the city of Henderson’s grant for internet service, utilities, and child care.¹ Even so, many rural Nevadans, like residents of Indian Springs, still find themselves relying on hotspots and cell phones to connect to the internet at 4G LTE speeds, which usually fall between 5 to 12 Mbps.^2,3

Sources

Nevada Public Radio, “Henderson Offers Grants for Child Care, Utilities, Internet Service,” October 2020. Accessed October 8, 2020.
Julie Wootton-Greener, Las Vegas Review-Journal, “In Rural Nevada, Tech Challenges Disrupt Distance Learning,” September 2020. Accessed October 8, 2020.
Verizon, “4G LTE Speeds vs. Your Home Network.” Accessed October 8, 2020.

Written by

Catherine McNally

Catherine has a degree in journalism and an MBA, and has spent the last 10+ years writing everything from Okinawa travel guides to stories on Medium. She’s been online since AOL CDs were a thing and is an unapologetic PC gamer. She believes the internet is a necessity, not a luxury, and writes reviews and guides to help everyone stay connected. You can also find her on Twitter: @CMReviewsIt.