Fast Speeds, Low Latency: The 10 Best Big Cities for Online Gamers Ranked

A genuinely good online gaming experience is about so much more than simply having an internet connection.

The technical details matter just as much: Latency affects how quickly a game responds to your inputs, while download and upload speeds can affect everything from downloading games to cloud gaming, streaming, and voice chat. Local broadband and fiber availability also show how widely people in a given area can access newer internet infrastructure.

To find the best large U.S. cities for online gamers, HostingAdvice analyzed 27 U.S. cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 million and divided them into three categories: Connectivity, Economic Conditions, and Gaming Performance.

These categories cover broadband access, fiber availability, median household income, median download and upload speeds, and network latency. We combined the results to give each city an overall score out of 100.

Gaming Performance has the most weight in the ranking because network responsiveness matters most when you’re actually playing. Even so, the final results show that cities can climb the rankings in different ways, from strong network performance to higher incomes and broader broadband access.

Main Findings

Fort Worth takes the top spot, thanks in large part to its gaming performance. The city ranks No. 1 overall with a score of 58.51 and has the strongest Gaming Performance score among the top 10 at 61.96. San Francisco follows at 55.59, while Austin finishes just 1/10th of a point behind at 55.49.

Low latency is a common strength near the top of the rankings. Five of the top seven cities — Fort Worth, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Denver — record median latency below 13 milliseconds (ms). For online multiplayer games, where a slow response can mean the difference between landing a hit and getting hit, that’s a major advantage.

Connectivity also looks different from city to city. Portland leads the top 10 with a 78.46 Connectivity score, helped by a 93.89% broadband access rate and 69.04% fiber availability. Fort Worth, meanwhile, has 70.15% fiber availability, which is the highest rate among the top 10.

Income also separates the rankings. San Francisco leads the top 10 in Economic Conditions with a score of 49.96 and the highest median household income at $140,970. Seattle follows with a 42.10 score and median household income of $123,860.

The table below ranks all 27 large U.S. cities across three key dimensions: Connectivity, Gaming Performance, and Economic Conditions.

A Closer Look at the Top 10 Cities

When HostingAdvice evaluated these top 10 cities, we noticed they got here in different ways. Some, such as Fort Worth and Austin, stand out for gaming-specific network performance, while Portland ranks highest for Connectivity, and San Francisco and Seattle take the cake in Economic Conditions.

The gap between the top and middle of the ranking is surprisingly small: Just 4.57 points separate No. 1 Fort Worth from No. 7 Seattle. The gap is small, but cities near the top don’t look much alike on paper. Fort Worth leads in Gaming Performance, and San Francisco gets a big boost from Economic Conditions.

It’s part of what makes the rankings so interesting: No city dominates every category. A city can have a weaker score in one category and still rank highly if it performs well in another.

1. Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth takes the No. 1 spot with an overall score of 58.5, and its biggest advantage is clear: It has the strongest Gaming Performance score in the ranking, at 61.96.

Its 110.82 Mbps (megabits per second) median download speed is the fastest among the top-ranked cities, while its 19.69 Mbps median upload speed also leads the group. Fort Worth also has the lowest median latency at 8.56 ms.

Fort Worth’s connectivity is another advantage: The city has 70.15% fiber availability — the highest among the top 10 cities — along with a 92.14% broadband access rate. Its Economic Conditions score of 21.75 isn’t nearly as strong as some of the other cities on the list, but Fort Worth’s network performance more than makes up for it, pushing the city at No. 1 overall.

2. San Francisco, California

San Francisco ranks No. 2 overall with a score of 55.59, driven mainly by its 49.96 Economic Conditions score, which is the strongest in the top 10. The city also has the highest median household income at $140,970.

Its connectivity is solid, with 92.99% broadband access and 42.93% fiber availability. Median network performance reaches 68.94 Mbps download, 11.87 Mbps upload, and 11.1 ms latency, giving San Francisco a strong all-around showing and keeping it within three points of No. 1 Fort Worth.

3. Austin, Texas

Austin takes the No. 3 position with an overall score of 55.49, just 0.10 points behind San Francisco.

The city is one of the strongest all-around performers in the top 10, with a 93.77% broadband access rate and 60.62% fiber availability, together producing a Connectivity score of 74.11. Austin also delivers some of the strongest network speeds in the ranking, with a 100.89 Mbps median download speed and 16.31 Mbps median upload speed.

Put those numbers together and Austin earns a Gaming Performance score of 55.22, making it one of the strongest all-around cities in the ranking for online gaming.

4. Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., comes in at No. 4 with an overall score of 55.29 and a strong showing across all three categories.

The capital has a 71.32 Connectivity score, supported by 91.20% broadband access and 60.13% fiber availability. Its network performance includes 64.51 Mbps median download speed, 14.56 Mbps median upload speed, and 9.72 ms median latency.

Washington’s low latency is among the best in the top 10, while a $109,870 median household income helped it earn a strong 35.68 Economic Conditions score.

5. Boston, Massachusetts

Boston ranks No. 5 with a score of 54.68, thanks to a fairly even showing across broadband infrastructure, network performance, and economic conditions.

The city has 92.03% broadband access and 62.23% fiber availability, contributing to a 73.20 Connectivity score. Its median download speed reaches 76.17 Mbps while upload speed comes in at 17.86 Mbps. Median latency is 12.67 ms.

It’s a beautiful combination of solid upload speeds and relatively low latency, which is what ultimately awards Boston a 53.46 Gaming Performance score.

6. Denver, Colorado

Denver follows closely at No. 6 with an overall score of 54.50.

Its 74.56 Connectivity score is supported by 92.88% broadband access and 63.27% fiber availability. Denver also records 80.15 Mbps median download speed, 11.09 Mbps median upload speed, and 12.58 ms latency. Denver’s median household income of $94,718 contributes to its 28.73 Economic Conditions score.

Now, Denver doesn’t lead the ranking in any single category, but that’s also its strength: The city performs well across the board, without relying on a single metric.

7. Seattle, Washington

Seattle ranks No. 7 overall with a score of 53.94, and it stands out most in the Economic Conditions category.

The city records a 42.10 Economic Conditions score, second only to San Francisco among the top 10, supported by a median household income of $123,860.

Seattle also has the highest broadband access rate among the top 10 at 94.47%, although its 47.41% fiber availability trails several cities ranked above it. Median network performance reaches 66.6 Mbps download, 9.19 Mbps upload, and 13.04 ms latency.

8. Portland, Oregon

Portland ranks No. 8 overall with a score of 53.43, but it has one thing no other top-10 city can claim: the strongest Connectivity score.

Its 78.46 Connectivity score is backed by 93.89% broadband access and 69.04% fiber availability, which is the second-highest fiber rate among the top 10, behind only Fort Worth. Median download speed reaches 78.29 Mbps, 11.76 Mbps upload, and 17.19 ms latency.

Portland doesn’t lead the group in Gaming Performance or Economic Conditions, but its strong broadband and fiber infrastructure still give it a pretty solid foundation for online gaming.

9. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the biggest performance-driven surprise in the top 10, ranking No. 9 overall despite comparatively weaker Connectivity and Economic Conditions scores than the cities above it.

So what gets it there? Gaming Performance. Milwaukee scores 55.13 in the category, the third-highest Gaming Performance score among the top 10. Its median download speed reaches 94.8 Mbps. Its median download speed reaches 94.8 Mbps, while upload speed comes in at 11.51 Mbps, and median latency at 12.32 ms.

It’s Milwaukee’s strong network performance that helps offset the city’s weaker Connectivity and Economic Conditions scores, including an 88.25% broadband access rate, 48.49% fiber availability, and a $54,234 median household income.

10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City rounds out the top 10 with an overall score of 46.81.

Its 70.28 Connectivity score is supported by 92.03% broadband access and 56.41% fiber availability. Median download speed reaches 71.26 Mbps, while upload speed comes in at11.95 Mbps and median latency at 21.35 ms.

Oklahoma City doesn’t compete with the leaders in Gaming Performance, but its solid broadband adoption and fiber availability give it enough of a connectivity advantage to secure the final spot in the top 10.

Summary

The best cities for online gamers aren’t necessarily the ones with the fastest internet or the highest incomes. Fort Worth leads with the strongest Gaming Performance score, while San Francisco gets its advantage from Economic Conditions, and Portland leads in Connectivity.

It makes one thing pretty clear: There isn’t one metric that determines whether a city is a good place to game. Different combinations of network performance, connectivity, and economic conditions can all give cities an edge for multiplayer gaming, streaming, downloads, and cloud gaming.

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Methodology

The methodology below explains the data inputs, scoring approach, and weighted metric framework used for this ranking.

Overview

“The 10 Best Big Cities for Online Gamers” study ranks 27 U.S. cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 million. Each city was evaluated across three categories: Connectivity, Economic Conditions, and Gaming Performance.

The analysis uses six metrics: broadband access, fiber availability, median household income, median download speed, median upload speed, and median latency. Data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, FCC Broadband Data, and M-Lab on 08/17/2026.

Each metric was scored relative to other cities in the study and was combined into an overall score out of 100.

Data & Sources

This study draws on data from three primary sources:

• U.S. Census Bureau: Median household income and household broadband access
• FCC Broadband Data: Fiber-to-the-premises availability
• M-Lab: Median download speed, upload speed, and network latency

These sources cover the three areas measured in the study: access to internet infrastructure, household economic conditions, and actual network performance.

Scoring Approach

The overall score uses weighted scores across three categories: Connectivity accounts for 30% of the total, Economic Conditions accounts for 20%, and Gaming Performance accounts for 50%.

Individual metrics within each category were weighted according to their relevance. Higher values received higher scores for positively scored metrics, while latency was reverse-scored because lower latency is better for online gaming. Gaming Performance carries the most weight because download speed, upload speed, and latency have the most direct relationship to network performance during online gaming.

Caveats

The rankings compare cities using the specific metrics included in the study. They aren’t a guarantee of what an individual gamer will experience.

Actual gaming performance can vary quite a bit from one player to another. Internet provider, service plan, connection type, home networking equipment, Wi-Fi conditions, network congestion, routing, and even the distance to a game server can all affect the experience.

The same applies to some of the more general things we measured in this study. Broadband adoption and fiber availability show whether infrastructure is available, but they don’t tell us how well an individual connection performs. Median household income, for example, provides economic context, but it doesn’t actually account for the differences in local cost of living.

Cities with missing required data were excluded from the analysis.

1. Connectivity — Overall Weight: 30%

Connectivity measures the availability and adoption of broadband infrastructure within each city and includes two metrics: broadband access and fiber availability.

Broadband Access Rate — 15%

Broadband access rate measures the percentage of households with a broadband internet subscription. A higher rate indicates that broadband is more widely adopted, but the metric doesn’t tell us how fast or reliable those individual connections are.

Fiber Availability Rate — 15%

Fiber availability rate measures the percentage of residential locations where fiber-to-the-premises service is available. Higher fiber availability means more residents have the option to access fiber service, but it doesn’t indicate whether a household actually subscribes to or uses fiber.

2. Economic Conditions — Overall Weight: 20%

Economic Conditions provides context for the economic circumstances of households in each city. The category only uses one metric: median household income.

Median Household Income — 20%

Median household income represents the median income of households over the past 12 months, adjusted for inflation. The metric provides some economic context for residents’ ability to afford expenses such as broadband service, gaming hardware, games, and subscriptions. Higher median household income receives a higher score.

3. Gaming Performance — Overall Weight: 50%

Gaming Performance carries the most weight in this study because these three metrics — download speed, upload speed, and latency — have the most direct connection to how a network performs during gaming.

Median Download Speed (Mbps) — 12.5%

Median download speed measures how quickly data can be transferred to a user’s connection. Higher download speeds can reduce the time it takes to download games and support bandwidth-heavy services for activities like cloud gaming and game streaming.

Median Upload Speed (Mbps) — 12.5%

Median upload speed works in the opposite direction, measuring how quickly data can be sent from a user’s connection. Higher upload speeds are best for gamers who livestream gameplay, upload content, use voice or video chat, or otherwise send large amounts of data while playing.

Median Latency (ms) — 25%

Median latency refers to the round-trip time for data itself to travel across the network and back. Lower latency generally means a more responsive connection, which is especially important for real-time multiplayer gaming. Because lower latency is better, this metric is reverse-scored. It also receives 2x the weight of either download speed or upload speed within the Gaming Performance category.