AT&T Coverage Map

Does AT&T have good cell coverage?

Stetson Doggett

Updated:

June 26, 2023

If you’re looking for a new cell phone plan, you may be considering AT&T.

AT&T is known for having reasonably affordable plans, and for giving both new and existing customers free phones when they go to upgrade.

But, how does AT&T’s coverage hold up? Is it really “America's most reliable 5G network,” as AT&T claims it is?

In this article, we will explore AT&T’s coverage and compare it to the other major carriers to help you make an informed decision.

AT&T Coverage

AT&T is a mobile network operator, also known as an MNO.

MNOs, like AT&T, build and operate their own cellular networks.

AT&T puts up towers, purchases spectrum licenses from the FCC, installs networking equipment, and builds its own network cores for both 5G and LTE.

AT&T also publishes its own coverage map.

But sometimes AT&T’s map can be… a little overly optimistic.

Sometimes it will say AT&T 5G+ is available in areas where it hasn’t been rolled out yet, and sometimes it can be misleading with the type of service to expect in an area.

To help give you a better idea of what AT&T coverage really looks like, the FCC collected signal strength data from the carriers on June 30th, 2022.

The FCC made the data publicly available, so we used the data to create a custom signal strength map.

There is also more to service than just having strong signal.

We also wanted to know how fast AT&T's LTE and 5G data speeds were.

So, we created a crowd-sourced speed test map of AT&T's network. The map is created from over 1.5 million speed tests submitted by real AT&T customers.

Check out both maps below, and search for coverage in your specific area by using the search bar:

Map Key:

Great coverage

Good coverage

Poor coverage

Great coverage = stream 4K videos, video call, use your phone to its fullest potential

Good coverage = stream 480p videos, browse social media, stream music, use the web

Poor coverage = make phone calls, send a text

*The Estimated Coverage Map is created with coverage data from the FCC

AT&T Coverage Quick Stats

Network: AT&T
Total area covered: 55%
Total square miles covered: 2,097,446
5G area covered: 31%
5G square miles covered: 1,198,486

The above statistics come from the FCC, which collected data from all network operators on June 30th, 2022.

The FCC displays what percentage of area each carrier covers in the United States.

Currently, the network that covers the most area covers just 55% of the U.S. This number may seem low, but it’s because large areas of rural land where no one lives, like the vast wilderness of Alaska (17.5% of the land area of the United States) don’t get covered with cell service.

We calculate the total square miles covered by AT&T’s network by multiplying the percentage of area AT&T covers by the total area of the United States, which was reported as 3,805,927 by the United States Census Bureau.

What network does AT&T use?

AT&T uses their own nationwide 4G LTE and 5G networks to provide coverage.

AT&T 5G Coverage

According to FCC data, AT&T is the leading provider when it comes to 5G coverage.

AT&T covers 28% of the U.S. with 5G, which is more than T-Mobile (26%) and Verizon (12%).

Keep in mind that most of AT&T’s 5G coverage is their low-band 5G, which gets about the same speeds as LTE.

AT&T’s 5G+ network uses new 5G technologies, like C-Band spectrum and mmWave, to boast substantially faster speeds.

You can see areas with AT&T’s 5G+ network by filtering out slow speed tests on the coverage map.

If you haven’t tried AT&T’s network in a while, it may be worth taking advantage of Cricket’s 7-day 3GB free trial offer to test the service in your area. Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses AT&T network for service, so you’d get the same speeds and coverage you can expect from AT&T directly.

AT&T LTE Coverage

AT&T’s LTE network is nationwide and covers over 99% of the U.S. population.

AT&T vs. Verizon Coverage

AT&T’s coverage is extremely similar to Verizon’s coverage.

Both AT&T and Verizon cover 55% of the United States.

5G coverage is a different story though. AT&T has substantially more 5G coverage than Verizon. AT&T offers 31% 5G coverage compared to 12% 5G coverage from Verizon.

Data speeds are also very similar between the two carriers.

AT&T’s median download speed was 65.57 Mbps and its median upload speed was 7.98 Mbps.

Verizon’s median download speed was 69.01 Mbps, just 3.44 Mbps faster than AT&T. Verizon’s median upload speed was 9.33 Mbps, again very similar to AT&T.

Both carriers will likely offer very similar coverage and data speeds to one another.

You can check Verizon coverage in your area here.

AT&T vs. T-Mobile Coverage

AT&T coverage is a bit better than T-Mobile coverage.

AT&T covers more of the United States than T-Mobile, with 55% total coverage compared to T-Mobile’s 35% total coverage.

AT&T also has slightly more 5G coverage than T-Mobile. 31% of area is covered by AT&T 5G, compared to 26% covered by T-Mobile 5G.

However, T-Mobile has substantially faster median download and upload speeds than AT&T.

According to Ookla, T-Mobile’s median download and upload speeds were 151.37 Mbps and 12.53 Mbps, respectively.

AT&T got just 65.57 Mbps for its median download speed and 7.98 Mbps for its median upload speed.

Both AT&T and T-Mobile will likely perform well in cities with T-Mobile delivering slightly faster speeds. But when it comes to getting service in rural areas, AT&T’s greater coverage area may make it a better option.

You can check T-Mobile coverage in your area here.

AT&T Coverage by State

Scroll left or right to view more data. This data is from the FCC.

Sate	Area Covered (sq km)	Total Percent Covered	Great Coverage	Good Coverage	Poor Coverage
Alaska	0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Alabama	77,233	62.6%	23.4%	24.7%	14.5%
Arkansas	74,404	59.4%	17.8%	23.3%	18.3%
Arizona	105,436	39.3%	16.0%	13.5%	9.8%
California	186,985	48.5%	21.4%	16.5%	10.6%
Colorado	77,030	31.4%	9.8%	11.9%	9.7%
Connecticut	10,556	80.9%	45.6%	22.1%	13.2%
District of Columbia	179	98.6%	98.2%	0.4%	0.0%
Delaware	4,438	75.7%	31.0%	28.5%	16.3%
Florida	99,428	64.2%	29.2%	19.1%	16.0%
Georgia	95,876	68.5%	27.4%	24.7%	16.4%
Hawaii	7,031	27.3%	10.9%	9.5%	6.9%
Iowa	97,783	73.8%	20.4%	28.2%	25.2%
Idaho	70,595	35.9%	13.4%	13.4%	9.1%
Illinois	96,954	71.1%	26.3%	23.8%	21.0%
Indiana	72,771	84.9%	33.4%	30.2%	21.3%
Kansas	102,138	52.7%	12.7%	19.9%	20.2%
Kentucky	57,568	60.5%	22.4%	24.8%	13.3%
Louisiana	70,382	57.1%	19.6%	20.6%	16.9%
Massachusetts	17,201	69.2%	42.6%	16.0%	10.6%
Maryland	22,212	76.0%	38.9%	23.3%	13.9%
Maine	27,035	32.5%	10.6%	12.9%	8.9%
Michigan	84,507	37.1%	13.8%	13.7%	9.6%
Minnesota	125,736	61.4%	17.2%	23.1%	21.2%
Missouri	104,420	63.6%	20.2%	25.6%	17.8%
Mississippi	72,143	63.3%	17.4%	26.7%	19.1%
Montana	125,494	36.3%	10.3%	14.3%	11.6%
North Carolina	80,735	63.7%	25.8%	23.9%	14.1%
North Dakota	66,656	40.0%	7.7%	16.0%	16.3%
Nebraska	10,937	6.0%	1.5%	2.2%	2.4%
New Hampshire	13,342	60.6%	24.9%	21.8%	13.9%
New Jersey	17,371	84.6%	51.5%	19.3%	13.8%
New Mexico	159,521	55.7%	16.7%	22.5%	16.5%
Nevada	85,566	32.9%	12.5%	12.5%	7.9%
New York	75,537	58.8%	26.4%	20.6%	11.9%
Ohio	85,254	80.8%	35.8%	28.1%	16.9%
Oklahoma	105,776	64.3%	19.5%	25.2%	19.6%
Oregon	77,156	33.3%	14.0%	12.0%	7.3%
Pennsylvania	80,491	74.2%	36.6%	24.3%	13.3%
Rhode Island	2,659	73.1%	44.1%	16.8%	12.3%
South Carolina	56,738	75.3%	32.5%	26.5%	16.2%
South Dakota	79,636	43.9%	8.7%	18.0%	17.2%
Tennessee	61,784	62.3%	27.3%	21.8%	13.2%
Texas	319,601	50.5%	15.8%	18.2%	16.6%
Utah	81,087	40.6%	16.8%	14.8%	9.1%
Virginia	56,834	56.4%	22.2%	21.7%	12.5%
Vermont	10,537	46.5%	15.3%	19.1%	12.2%
Washington	75,843	45.2%	19.5%	15.7%	10.0%
Wisconsin	72,019	46.7%	16.5%	18.4%	11.9%
West Virginia	15,869	27.8%	10.0%	11.7%	6.1%
Wyoming	81,130	35.2%	8.4%	14.6%	12.2%

AT&T Data Speeds by State

Sate	Average Download Speed	Average Upload Speed	Average Ping
Alaska	10.5 Mbps	12.8 Mbps	199.2 ms
Alabama	101.9 Mbps	16.5 Mbps	100. ms
Arkansas	80.9 Mbps	14.4 Mbps	96.2 ms
Arizona	97.3 Mbps	15.8 Mbps	66.1 ms
California	110.1 Mbps	20.5 Mbps	55.4 ms
Colorado	85.6 Mbps	16.3 Mbps	86.3 ms
Connecticut	155.1 Mbps	21.7 Mbps	57. ms
District of Columbia	181.6 Mbps	28.8 Mbps	99.5 ms
Delaware	99.3 Mbps	19.6 Mbps	42.7 ms
Florida	115.7 Mbps	18.5 Mbps	75.7 ms
Georgia	139.3 Mbps	19.5 Mbps	93.1 ms
Hawaii	91.8 Mbps	19.4 Mbps	105. ms
Iowa	86.9 Mbps	14.5 Mbps	66.6 ms
Idaho	106.1 Mbps	18.8 Mbps	113.7 ms
Illinois	117.1 Mbps	18.6 Mbps	56.2 ms
Indiana	157.8 Mbps	17.3 Mbps	68. ms
Kansas	109.9 Mbps	15.6 Mbps	87. ms
Kentucky	127.6 Mbps	17.5 Mbps	88.2 ms
Louisiana	107.5 Mbps	16.1 Mbps	82.1 ms
Massachusetts	113.4 Mbps	19.6 Mbps	57.7 ms
Maryland	102.1 Mbps	18.3 Mbps	78.8 ms
Maine	60.5 Mbps	14.4 Mbps	77.8 ms
Michigan	94.8 Mbps	16.1 Mbps	63.3 ms
Minnesota	108.2 Mbps	17.1 Mbps	65.1 ms
Missouri	115.2 Mbps	17. Mbps	83.3 ms
Mississippi	91. Mbps	14.6 Mbps	95.4 ms
Montana	66.5 Mbps	15.2 Mbps	161. ms
North Carolina	95.9 Mbps	18. Mbps	72.4 ms
North Dakota	77.7 Mbps	10.8 Mbps	52.1 ms
Nebraska	137.1 Mbps	17.6 Mbps	78.8 ms
New Hampshire	92. Mbps	17. Mbps	49.3 ms
New Jersey	131.1 Mbps	23.3 Mbps	48.7 ms
New Mexico	48.3 Mbps	15.7 Mbps	194.7 ms
Nevada	119.5 Mbps	23.5 Mbps	66. ms
New York	128.6 Mbps	21.3 Mbps	64.7 ms
Ohio	143. Mbps	18.2 Mbps	61.6 ms
Oklahoma	101.8 Mbps	17.1 Mbps	63.5 ms
Oregon	130. Mbps	16.8 Mbps	60.9 ms
Pennsylvania	109.6 Mbps	17.7 Mbps	54.3 ms
Rhode Island	214.5 Mbps	24.3 Mbps	39.3 ms
South Carolina	92. Mbps	19.6 Mbps	88. ms
South Dakota	80.9 Mbps	11.4 Mbps	56.8 ms
Tennessee	132.7 Mbps	15.3 Mbps	80.4 ms
Texas	109.9 Mbps	17.3 Mbps	65.5 ms
Utah	99.9 Mbps	18.9 Mbps	106.1 ms
Virginia	91.3 Mbps	19. Mbps	92.3 ms
Vermont	73.6 Mbps	16.1 Mbps	61.2 ms
Washington	110.8 Mbps	17.3 Mbps	63.1 ms
Wisconsin	127.1 Mbps	16.2 Mbps	59.3 ms
West Virginia	46.6 Mbps	15.3 Mbps	91.1 ms
Wyoming	106. Mbps	18.8 Mbps	77.3 ms

AT&T Coverage Frequently Asked Questions

Is AT&T coverage good?

Yes, AT&T coverage is good. It has a robust nationwide LTE network that covers over 99% of Americans, and AT&T currently is the largest 5G network footprint in America.

Does AT&T offer 5G?

Yes, AT&T offers 5G and covers 28% of the United States with its 5G network.

Does AT&T have coverage in Canada?

Yes. All off AT&T's postpaid plans include free unlimited talk, text and data roaming in Canada.

Does AT&T have coverage in Mexico?

Yes. All of AT&T's postpaid plans include free unlimited talk, text, and data roaming in Mexico.

Does AT&T have international coverage?

AT&T offers international coverage starting at $10 per day. When you pay for international data, you get unlimited talk, text, and data roaming for a period of 24 hours.