This story was originally published and last updated .
As we settle into mid-2020, 5G has soundly made its presence felt in markets stretching all across the US. What started off as extremely patchy deployment has been getting better, fast, as carriers both bring 5G support to new regions and switch on new frequencies to improve the quality of coverage. But the rapidly changing shape of the 5G landscape has also made it really annoying to keep of what kind of connectivity you can expect from what carriers, where. That's why we're taking a look at the availability of 5G in the US: where it is now, where it's coming next, and how to get it.
The slow path to 5G availability
Considering the physical size of the US, and the mountains of existing infrastructure in place, upgrading the nation's cellular backbone for 5G is no small undertaking. And while all the carriers are eager to demonstrate high-speed 5G availability, actual access to 5G has been plagued by stipulations, misrepresentations, and half-truths.
Some of that stems from confusion and ambiguity over just what counts as "5G," a situation particularly capitalized on by AT&T and its 5G Evolution scheme. And to be fair, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of, like which frequency bands a particular carrier is using — and understanding why factors like that could influence performance more than on previous-generation networks.
But mostly, we're just waiting for the carriers to flip 5G on, and that's a slow process, market by market. As we inch our way along towards more-or-less nationwide coverage, we're keeping track of the four big networks and their efforts to deliver 5G. Where coverage is currently available, we've listed it — though keep in mind that access can be very, very spotty for now, and some cities don't see more than a few isolated blocks of 5G reception.
Where available, we've also listed those markets set to receive 5G "soon." Depending on the carrier, that might be in a few months, or maybe in a year or more, but all these cities are on the road maps. There also may be more markets in the works than just those displayed below, but these are the ones we've seen publicly disclosed.
AT&T
5G (sub-6):
- Abilene, TX
- Adams County, IL
- Aguadilla, PR
- Aibonito Municipality, PR
- Albany, GA
- Albany, NY
- Alger County, MI
- Allegan County, MI
- Allentown
- Alpine County, CA
- Alton-Granite City
- Altoona
- Amarillo
- Anchorage
- Anderson, SC
- Anniston, AL
- Anson County, NC
- Arecibo, PR
- Ashtabula County, OH
- Athens
- Atlanta
- Atlantic City
- Aurora-Elgin
- Austin
- Bakersfield
- Baltimore
- Bates County, MO
- Baton Rouge
- Beaumont, TX
- Beauregard Parish, LA
- Beaver County, UT
- Beaverhead County, MT
- Bedford County, PA
- Bellingham, WA
- Benton Harbor, MI
- Billings
- Binghamton
- Birmingham
- Bleckley County, GA
- Bloomington
- Boise City
- Boston
- Boundary County, ID
- Bradenton, FL
- Bradford County, PA
- Bridgeport
- Brown County, IN
- Brown County, KS
- Brownsville
- Bryan-College Station, TX
- Buffalo
- Bureau County, IL
- Caldwell Parish, LA
- Calhoun County, FL
- Calhoun County, SC
- Callaway County, MO
- Caroline County, VA
- Cass County, MI
- Champaign-Urbana
- Charleston, WV
- Chattanooga
- Chattooga County, GA
- Chautauqua County, NY
- Chicago
- Chico
- Chippewa County, MN
- Cincinnati
- Citrus County, FL
- Claiborne Parish, LA
- Clallam County, WA
- Clatsop County, OR
- Clay County, AR
- Clay County, IL
- Cleburne County, AR
- Clinton County, OH
- Collier County, FL
- Colorado Springs
- Columbia, MO
- Columbiana County, OH
- Columbus
- Concho County, TX
- Crawford County, PA
- Cross County, AR
- Cumberland, MD
- Dallas
- Danville, VA
- Dawson County, GA
- Dayton
- De Kalb County, MO
- Decatur County, IN
- Denver
- Detroit
- Dixie County, FL
- Dothan, AL
- Duluth
- Early County, GA
- El Dorado County, CA
- Elkhart-Goshen, IN
- Elmira, NY
- Elmore County, ID
- Erie
- Eugene-Springfield, OR
- Evansville
- Fannin County, TX
- Fargo-Moorhead
- Fayette County, TN
- Fayetteville-Springdale, AR
- Ferry County, WA
- Flint
- Florence, AL
- Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
- Fort Myers, FL
- Fort Pierce
- Fort Smith, AR
- Fort Walton Beach, FL
- Fort Wayne
- Franklin County, AL
- Franklin County, AR
- Frederick
- Frederick County, VA
- Fresno
- Fulton County, KY
- Gadsden, AL
- Gainesville
- Galveston
- Gary
- Giles County, TN
- Glades County, FL
- Grant County, OK
- Grant County, WV
- Greeley, CO
- Greene County, PA
- Hagerstown, MD
- Hamilton
- Hamilton County, FL
- Hancock County, GA
- Hancock County, OH
- Hardee County, FL
- Harrisburg
- Hickory, NC
- Houma-Thibodaux, LA
- Hunterdon County, NJ
- Huntingdon County, PA
- Huntington County, IN
- Huntington-Ashland, WV
- Huntsville
- Iberville Parish, LA
- Idaho County, ID
- Indianapolis
- Jackson, MI
- Jackson, MS
- Jasper County, GA
- Jefferson County, FL
- Jefferson County, NY
- Jefferson County, PA
- Johnstown, PA
- Joliet
- Joplin, MO
- Kenosham, WI
- Kent County, DE
- Kent County, MD
- Killeen-Temple, TX
- Kings County, CA
- Kittitas County, WA
- Kosciusko County, IN
- Lafayette, LA
- Lake Charles, LA
- Lake County, TN
- Lakeland, FL
- Lancaster
- Lander County, NV
- Las Cruces
- Las Vegas
- Laurens County, SC
- Lawrence County, PA
- Lawrence, KS
- Le Sueur County, MN
- Lebanon County, PA
- Lexington-Fayette
- Liberty
- Lima, OH
- Lincoln County, MT
- Lincoln County, NV
- Lincoln County, OR
- Long Branch
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Lubbock
- Madera County, CA
- Madison County, AR
- Madison County, VA
- Madison, WI
- Manistee County, MI
- Mansfield, OH
- Marion County, GA
- Mason County, IL
- Mason County, KY
- Maui County, HI
- Maury County, TN
- Mayaguez, PR
- Meade County, KY
- Medford, OR
- Melbourne, FL
- Memphis
- Mercer County, OH
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Mineral County, MT
- Mobile
- Modesto
- Moniteau County, MO
- Mono County, CA
- Monongalia County, WV
- Monroe, LA
- Montgomery County, IL
- Morehouse Parish, LA
- Morrow County, OH
- Muncie
- Muskegon, MI
- Nashville
- Navarro County, TX
- New Bedford
- New Brunswick
- New Haven
- New London-Norwich
- New Orleans
- New York City
- Newport County, RI
- Newton County, IN
- Newton County, TX
- Ocala
- Ocean County, NJ
- Oconee County, SC
- Okanogan County, WA
- Olympia, WA
- Orange County, NY
- Orlando
- Otsego County, NY
- Ouachita County, AR
- Oxnard
- Pacific County, WA
- Parkersburg-Marietta, WV
- Parmer County, TX
- Pensacola
- Perry County, OH
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Ponce, PR
- Pope County, AR
- Portland
- Portland, ME
- Portsmouth, NH
- Poughkeepsie, NY
- Providence
- Provo
- Racine
- Raleigh County, WV
- Randolph County, IN
- Reading
- Redding
- Reno
- Richland-Kennewick, WA
- Rincon Municipality, PR
- Rochester
- Ross County, OH
- Runnels County, TX
- Sacramento
- Salinas
- Saline County, MO
- Salt Lake City
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- San Juan County, NV
- San Juan, PR
- San Luis Obispo
- Sandusky County, OH
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Cruz
- Santa Rosa
- Sarasota
- Seattle
- Sharon, PA
- Sheboygan
- Sherman-Denison, TX
- Shreveport
- Sierra County, CA
- South Bend
- Spencer County, KY
- Springfield
- Springfield, IL
- Springfield, MA
- Springfield, MO
- St. Cloud
- St. James Parish, LA
- St. Joseph, MO
- St. Louis
- State College
- Steubenville, OH
- Stockton
- Storey County, NV
- Sussex County, NJ
- Syracuse
- Tacoma
- Tallahassee
- Tampa
- Tehama County, CA
- The Dalles
- Topeka
- Trenton
- Trimble County, KY
- Tucker County, WV
- Tuscaloosa
- Tuscarawas County, OH
- Tyler, TX
- Union County, PA
- Utica-Rome
- Vallejo
- Vermilion County, IL
- Victoria, TX
- Vineland, NJ
- Visalia-Tulare, CA
- Waco
- Walton County, FL
- Warren County, GA
- Warren County, IN
- Washington County, IL
- Washington D.C.
- Wayne County, PA
- West Feliciana Parish, LA
- West Palm Beach
- Wheeling, WV
- Whitfield County, GA
- Wichita
- Williams County, OH
- Williamsport, PA
- Wilmington
- Wilson County, TX
- Wood County, WI
- Worcester
- Yakima
- Yates County, NY
- Youngstown, OH
- Yuba City
5G+ (mmWave):
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Charlotte
- Cleveland
- Dallas
- Detroit
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Jacksonville
- King of Prussia
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Menlo Park
- Miami
- Miami Gardens
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York City
- Oakland
- Ocean City
- Oklahoma City
- Orlando
- Phoenix
- Philadelphia
- Raleigh
- Redwood City
- San Antonio
- San Bruno
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Waco
- West Hollywood
Soon:
Sprint
Previous:
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Dallas - Forth Worth
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- Phoenix
- Washington, DC
Sprint 5G spectrum has since been re-farmed following the T-Mobile merger.
T-Mobile
600MHz coverage available now:
T-Mobile has kicked off largely nationwide 5G over its 600MHz spectrum holdings. While the carrier is not doing market-by-market announcements, it has provided an interactive map that shows regions where 5G over 600MHz is available. T-Mobile reports this "covers 200 million people and more than 5,000 towns."
2.5 GHz mid-band 5G coverage:
Verizon
Now:
- Atlanta
- Boise
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Des Moines
- Detroit
- Grand Rapids
- Greensboro
- Hampton Roads
- Hoboken
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Kansas City
- Little Rock
- Los Angeles
- Memphis
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- New York
- Omaha
- Panama City
- Phoenix
- Providence
- Salt Lake City
- San Diego
- St. Paul
- Sioux Falls
- Spokane
- Washington DC
Soon:
5G coverage for all four carriers should be up to date as of the time of publication. We'll check back in with this list every couple weeks to update it with new entries as 5G sweeps across the nation.
Latest T-Mobile and AT&T
Added 7/16/20:
- AT&T: Added and updated 116 markets.
- T-Mobile: New 2.5GHz markets
Added 5/28/20:
- Verizon: San Diego
Added 4/22/20:
- AT&T: Added and updated 110 markets.
- T-Mobile: 2.5GHz mid-band and Sprint merge updates
Added 3/5/20:
- AT&T: Added and updated 73 entries.
Added 1/30/20:
Added 12/30/19:
Added 12/23/19:
- Verizon: Cleveland, Columbus, Hampton Roads
Added 12/20/19:
Added 12/19/19:
- Verizon: Memphis
Added 12/18/19:
- Verizon: Hoboken
Added 12/17/19:
- Verizon: Des Moines
Added 12/16/19:
- Verizon: Los Angeles
Added 12/13/19:
Added 12/2/19:
Added 11/22/19:
Added 11/19/19:
- Verizon: Moved Boston, Houston and Sioux Falls from "Soon" to "Now"
Added 11/5/19:
- Verizon: Sioux Falls
Added 10/25/19:
- Verizon: Dallas and Omaha
Added 9/26/19:
- Verizon: Boise, New York, and Panama City
Added 8/27/19:
Added 8/25/19:
- Verizon: Phoenix
Added 8/11/19:
- AT&T: New York City
- Verizon: Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Washington, DC
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