CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Broadband and internet access, or a lack thereof, have long been a hot topic of conversation in the Mountain State. A new study has now determined the people of West Virginia are actually more likely to complain about the internet than residents of other states.

The website design company, “ by Crawford ,” says they commissioned the study to learn more about how often people in states with the most widespread internet issues file a complaint about their services.

For this study, technology experts analyzed data from the FCC on internet complaints they received between 2014 and 2024, meaning a decade’s worth of complaint data. According to the company, the complaints were averaged to the amount of complaints per 100,000 people.

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Breaking News

According to the data, West Virginia had an average of 262.48 internet complaints per 100,000 people. Officials with by Crawford said the results highlight West Virginians’ frustrations with the quality of their internet service.

Louisiana had the second-highest number of complaints with 169.93 complaints per 100,000 people. Georgia came in third with 146.59 complaints per 100,000 people.

On the opposite end of the list, North Dakota had the fewest complaints with only 25.45 complaints per 100,000 people. The study found that its neighbor South Dakota came in second for fewest complaints with only 36.81 complaints per 100,000 people.

Hawaii had the third-fewest number of internet complaints with 47.47 complaints per 100,000 people.

“The internet is essential for many people’s daily lives and jobs. Some people even feel lost without it in their free time.," said Sam Crawford, director at by Crawford. "Given how frustrating it can be to deal with no internet or a poor connection, we wanted to see which states had the most complaints about internet quality. We found that West Virginia had the worst internet on average based on complaint numbers, while North Dakota had the best."

According to by Crawford, the most internet-related complaints filed with the FCC across all states involved billing complaints and availability issues.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOWK 13 News.