Cricket Wireless Coverage Map

Does Cricket Wireless have good cell coverage?

by
Stetson Doggett
|
Updated:
August 13, 2023

If you are looking for a new cell phone plan, you may have come across Cricket Wireless and its affordable prepaid plans.

Cricket’s low-cost cell phone plans can save you over $480 per year on your cell phone bill. 

However, you may be wondering if Cricket’s coverage will meet your expectations.

In this article, we will explore Cricket Wireless's coverage and compare it to other major carriers to help you make an informed decision.

Cricket Wireless Coverage

Cricket Wireless is owned by AT&T and runs off of the AT&T 4G LTE and 5G networks.

Cricket Wireless covers 99% of Americans. 

Here are some quick facts about Cricket Wireless coverage:

  • Carrier: Cricket Wireless
  • 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

Check Cricket Wireless coverage in your area by using the two coverage maps below. 

The map is an estimated coverage map. It shows where you are likely to have service on Cricket Wireless. The map is created using signal strength data provided by the FCC.

The second coverage map is a verified coverage map. It shows where real Cricket Wireless customers have reported they have service.

Use the search bar to check coverage in your area or any areas you may travel to:

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

What network does Cricket Wireless use?

Cricket Wireless uses AT&T’s network for coverage.

Cricket Wireless 5G Coverage

Cricket Wireless 5G coverage map
Cricket Wireless 5G coverage map

Cricket Wireless has 5G coverage on AT&T’s 5G networks.

AT&T currently has the largest 5G network in the United States.

It covers 285 million people, or over 85% of Americans. 

Cricket Wireless gets full access to AT&T’s 5G and 5G+ networks. AT&T’s regular 5G network boasts impressive coverage while using the new 5G technologies. The AT&T 5G+ network uses mid-band spectrum to deliver substantially faster cellular data speeds.

AT&T’s combination of a robust coverage footprint and reasonable data speeds have it ranking as the #1 best network in many states. 

You can check what network ranks best in your area using our free Coverage Check tool. 

Cricket Wireless LTE Coverage

Cricket Wireless LTE coverage map
Cricket Wireless LTE coverage map

Cricket Wireless provides nationwide LTE coverage on AT&T’s expansive LTE network.

AT&T LTE covers 99% of Americans.

It is also currently the network with the most coverage across the United States, covering just over 55% of the country. 

Cricket Wireless vs. Verizon Coverage

Cricket Wireless has a bit more coverage than Verizon.

Cricket Wireless covers 55.11% of the U.S. while Verizon covers 55.05% of the U.S.

Both networks are very good and cover a huge amount of the country:

When it comes to 5G coverage though, Cricket Wireless has substantially more 5G coverage than Verizon.

Cricket Wireless covers 31% of the U.S. and over 285 million people with 5G. 

Verizon’s 5G network covers only 230 million people and just 12% of the U.S.:

Both Cricket Wireless and Verizon have similar data speeds. 

According to data submitted by users, Cricket Wireless has a median download speed of 61.17 Mbps. Verizon has a median download speed of 61.23 Mbps.

Both carriers have similar median upload speeds, too. Cricket Wireless got 11.29 Mbps for upload and Verizon got 11.65 Mbps.

Overall, both Cricket Wireless and Verizon have exceptional coverage across the United States. 

You will likely get great service on both carriers in cities and in more rural areas.

You will find more 5G coverage on Cricket Wireless though, which could mean having slightly faster data speeds.

However, coverage can vary a lot from state to state or city to city. It may not be a bad idea to use the Coverage Check tool to see what carrier is better where you live.

It may also be worth checking the Verizon coverage map to see how it performs in your area. 

Cricket Wireless vs. T-Mobile Coverage

Cricket Wireless has better coverage than T-Mobile does.

Even though both carriers cover over 99% of Americans, Cricket Wireless covers an impressive 55% of the land area in the United States. 

T-Mobile, meanwhile, only covers 35% of the land area in the U.S.

That means if you travel to more rural areas or road trip across the country, you are more likely to have service on Cricket:

Cricket Wireless also has a bit more 5G coverage than T-Mobile does. 

Cricket Wireless covers 31% of the U.S. with 5G while T-Mobile covers 26% of the U.S. with 5G.

Despite having more 5G coverage than T-Mobile, it turns out that Cricket Wireless is a bit slower than T-Mobile. 

This is because most of Cricket’s 5G coverage is made up of low-band 5G, which has about the same speeds as 4G LTE.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, has been rolling out their Ultra Capacity 5G network. This uses new mid-band 5G spectrum, which is way faster. T-Mobile Ultra Capacity 5G covers over 260 million people.

In terms of actual numbers, Cricket Wireless has median download speeds of 61.17 Mbps. 

T-Mobile is 2.5x faster than Cricket with a median download speed of 152.34 Mbps.

Both carriers have similar median upload speeds ranging from 10 to 20 Mbps. 

Overall, T-Mobile will likely deliver a better experience in cities and densely populated areas thanks to its faster 5G.

However, Cricket Wireless will give you coverage in more locations thanks to its expansive coverage footprint. 

Cricket may be a better option if you travel outside of cities or do road trips across the U.S., 

Of course, coverage and data speeds vary a lot from location to location, so check coverage in your area with our coverage check tool.

You can also check the T-Mobile coverage map to see what service looks like in your area. 

Cricket Wireless vs. AT&T Coverage

Cricket Wireless has the exact same coverage as AT&T because Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses the AT&T network for coverage.

See the AT&T coverage map here.

Cricket Wireless Coverage by State

Coverage 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%

Cricket Wireless Data Speeds by State

This speed test data comes from our community-contributed coverage map.

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

Cricket Wireless Coverage Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cricket Wireless coverage good?

Yes, Cricket Wireless coverage is good. It uses AT&T’s 4G LTE and 5G networks for coverage. The AT&T network is the largest network in the United States right now. It covers 99% of Americans and 55% of the land area in the U.S.

Does Cricket Wireless offer 5G?

Cricket Wireless customers can enjoy 5G coverage on AT&T’s 5G network. 

Does Cricket Wireless have coverage in Canada?

Cricket Wireless’s two unlimited plans include unlimited talk, text, and data roaming in Canada at no extra charge.

Does Cricket Wireless have coverage in Mexico?

Cricket Wireless’s two unlimited plans include free unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico.

Does Cricket Wireless have international coverage?

Cricket Wireless does not offer international data roaming.

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