Where the unserved broadband locations remain

The count, the date and the definition

In the FCC National Broadband Map as of June 30, 2026, file revision of November 10, 2026, 2,740,686 broadband serviceable locations are unserved. A location is a house, an apartment building or a small business, counted once; the FCC data do not say how many people live in them. That is 2.4% of all US locations, down by 5.0 percentage points since the first map, as of June 30, 2022, and by 0.4 percentage points¹ since December 31, 2025.

"Unserved" has a legal meaning. The BEAD program's notice of funding opportunity defines an unserved location as one the federal broadband maps show without reliable service of at least 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up at low latency. Fiber, cable, DSL and licensed fixed wireless can make a location served; satellite and unlicensed fixed wireless cannot, whatever speed they advertise. So an unserved home may still be able to order internet service. Of the unserved total, 963,000¹ locations have satellite as their only reported option; the rest have a ground provider listed that does not meet the test.

All of it is what providers report. A listing means a provider says it can install service within ten business days, and anyone can challenge it on the FCC map. Each revision moves some locations in or out of the count.

The South gained ground faster than the Pacific Northwest

In June 30, 2022 data, four states had a fifth or more of their locations unserved: Montana (24.3%), Alaska (22.4%), Mississippi (22.1%) and West Virginia (20.9%). Much of the South was far above the national figure: Arkansas at 17.2%, Kentucky at 15.8%, Louisiana at 15.4% and Alabama at 15.0%. Each of those southern shares was more than double Washington's 7.3%².

Four years later the order has flipped. Mississippi's share fell by 20.9 percentage points to 1.1%, the largest drop of any state, and 3.1 percentage points of that came in the latest six months alone. Kentucky is at 3.9%, Arkansas at 4.8% and Alabama at 4.5%. Washington's share fell by only 2.0 percentage points, to 5.3%, the 6th highest of any state. Oregon (5.1% to 3.8%) and Idaho (12.1%² to 7.7%¹) also moved less than the southern states.

By number, Texas has the most unserved locations, 217,940, then California with 168,684 and Washington with 137,562. Washington has about a quarter as many locations as either of the two larger states. Alaska still has the highest share, 17.5%, but its total, 49,447¹, is smaller than Washington's.

Washington: one state, both directions

Washington's figure hides counties moving in opposite directions. Ferry County has the state's highest share, 55.5%, and 2 counties are at half or more. Grant County is at 0.2%; there, Grant PUD, the county's public utility district, reports fiber at 88.6%¹ of locations.

Under 1%1% to 3%3% to 6%6% to 12%12% or more

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file cb_2025_us_county_5m. Darker counties have larger gaps. Point at a county for its value; the county table has every figure. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.

Show the numbers

County	Unserved
Ferry County	55.5%
Lincoln County	51.0%
Okanogan County	48.1%
San Juan County	44.9%
Skamania County	41.9%
Klickitat County	40.3%
Stevens County	34.6%
Garfield County	33.0%
Columbia County	30.6%
Lewis County	23.4%
Pend Oreille County	21.7%
Kittitas County	16.5%
Whitman County	16.3%
Clallam County	16.2%
Adams County	15.3%
Jefferson County	14.4%
Cowlitz County	10.0%
Mason County	8.4%
Pacific County	7.8%
Grays Harbor County	7.7%
Skagit County	6.8%
Thurston County	5.8%
Chelan County	5.7%
Asotin County	5.4%
Whatcom County	5.2%
Clark County	4.6%
Wahkiakum County	4.4%
Island County	4.3%
Franklin County	4.3%
Spokane County	3.9%
Douglas County	3.6%
Walla Walla County	3.1%
Yakima County	3.1%
Kitsap County	3.0%
Snohomish County	2.6%
Pierce County	2.4%
Benton County	0.9%
King County	0.5%
Grant County	0.2%

Where the gap narrowed. In Stevens County, north of Spokane, the unserved share fell by 24.3 percentage points since 2022, to 34.6%, while fiber rose by 15.0 percentage points. Its largest provider by reach, Pogozone powered by Neubeam, reports service over fiber and fixed wireless at 80.7% of locations. In the San Juan Islands the share fell by 14.5 percentage points, to 44.9%, and Rock Island Communications now reports 100/20 Mbps or more at 36.1%¹ of locations.

Where it widened. Klickitat County, on the Columbia River, went the other way: its unserved share rose by 25.1 percentage points, to 40.3%. The share of its locations where satellite is the only service reported rose by 16.0 percentage points over the same period, to 19.4%: more of the county now has no ground provider listed at all. Lewis County, between Olympia and Portland, rose by 16.9 percentage points to 23.4%, with 8,728 unserved locations, even though fiber reach grew by 17.3 percentage points¹.

Where it stayed put. Okanogan County has 11,376 unserved locations, 48.1%, slightly higher than in 2022 (+0.9 percentage points). Unlicensed fixed wireless is reported at 78.0% of its locations, ahead of licensed fixed wireless (42.2%), DSL (41.1%) and cable (26.0%¹), and it does not count toward served.

Counties where the unserved share rose

Klickitat and Lewis are not alone. Across the country, most counties' shares fell between June 30, 2022 and June 30, 2026, but in a minority the share went up. The chart shows the largest rises; none of the counties on it contains a large city.

Newton County, Arkansas40.2 pts

Cameron Parish, Louisiana28.0 pts

Lucas County, Iowa26.3 pts

Harmon County, Oklahoma25.8 pts

Klickitat County, Washington25.1 pts

Henderson County, Illinois23.2 pts

Wheeler County, Texas23.1 pts

Lafayette County, Wisconsin23.0 pts

Latimer County, Oklahoma20.7 pts

Fisher County, Texas20.5 pts

Kalawao County, Hawaii19.7 pts

Modoc County, California19.7 pts

Nome Census Area, Alaska19.6 pts

Morrow County, Oregon19.2 pts

Craig County, Virginia17.0 pts

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.

Show the numbers

County	Unserved: change since June 30, 2022
Newton County, Arkansas	40.2 pts
Cameron Parish, Louisiana	28.0 pts
Lucas County, Iowa	26.3 pts
Harmon County, Oklahoma	25.8 pts
Klickitat County, Washington	25.1 pts
Henderson County, Illinois	23.2 pts
Wheeler County, Texas	23.1 pts
Lafayette County, Wisconsin	23.0 pts
Latimer County, Oklahoma	20.7 pts
Fisher County, Texas	20.5 pts
Kalawao County, Hawaii	19.7 pts
Modoc County, California	19.7 pts
Nome Census Area, Alaska	19.6 pts
Morrow County, Oregon	19.2 pts
Craig County, Virginia	17.0 pts

In southwest Oklahoma, Harmon County's share rose by 25.8 percentage points, to 51.4%. Unlicensed fixed wireless is reported at 91.1% of its locations and licensed fixed wireless at 53.4%, yet more than half of its locations do not pass the reliable 25/3 test. In Latimer County, in the state's southeast, the share rose by 20.7 percentage points to 41.9%, in the same four years in which fiber reach there grew by 25.3 percentage points¹.

The FCC data show that listings changed, not why. A provider can correct its filing, stop reporting a service, or report a speed or latency that no longer qualifies; a successful challenge can remove a listing; and the FCC's list of locations itself is revised each release. Shares are compared here, not counts, for that last reason.

Large cities are not exempt

Unserved locations are mostly a rural pattern, but not entirely. Among the 343 largest US cities, Tucson had the largest rise in its unserved share in the latest six months, to 1.4%, a share tied for 3rd highest among those cities. That is 2,351 locations, more than in Houston (1,708). TWN Communications reports unlicensed fixed wireless at 100.0%¹ of Tucson's locations. Because that listing does not count, an address with no other qualifying service is unserved even with a wireless provider reported.

Funded once, still unserved

Several of these counties have already received federal support for rural networks. USAC's Connect America Fund map records locations where carriers reported building service with high-cost support under the older CAF programs, and the speed tier each was obligated to offer there. It does not include the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

In Klickitat County, carriers reported 4,505 supported locations, 0 of them with an obligation of 100 Mbps or more. In Lewis County the figures are 7,787 and 6; in Stevens County 5,879 and 0. Newton County, Arkansas has 5,592 supported locations, 0⁴ at 100 Mbps or more, out of 5,771 locations in total; its largest provider, Right Fiber, reports DSL at 80.9% of the county's locations with a fastest advertised download of 25 Mbps, and the county is 45.5%¹ unserved.

The subsidy record and the FCC map answer different questions. Whether a supported location counts as served depends on what providers report on the FCC map, not on what a program paid for.

What the BEAD plans set aside

BEAD is the program built to reach these locations. NTIA's one-page summaries of the states' final proposals put the total to be connected at 3,772,113 locations: 2,368,238 with fiber, 829,696 with low-Earth-orbit satellite and 499,177⁵ with fixed wireless. The plans include underserved locations as well as unserved ones, and most of NTIA's summaries were posted in the first months of 2026, before June 30, 2026, the date this map release describes. Plan totals and today's counts are therefore separate lists, and NTIA marks its summaries as subject to change.

Washington's plan covers 166,564 locations, against 137,562 unserved and 91,591 underserved on the current map, and assigns 35.2% of them to fiber. In two states the plan is smaller than today's unserved count alone: Nebraska's covers 14,064 locations against 23,057 unserved, and Oklahoma's 40,509 against 59,628. Mississippi is the reverse case: its plan covers 93,283⁵ locations, while the June 2026 map shows 14,937 unserved and 3,373¹ underserved, after the drop described above. USAC also records 121,217⁶ locations reported built in Mississippi under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

The BEAD funding ranking compares every state's plan by cost and technology, and how much of each plan went to satellite looks at the satellite share.

Checking one address

County and state figures cannot say whether a particular home is unserved. The FCC National Broadband Map lists each provider and technology reported at an address, with the FCC as-of date; a listing that is wrong can be challenged there. Whether an address falls inside a BEAD project, and with which technology, is published by the state broadband office, linked from each state's page in NTIA's BEAD award recipients list. Every state page here has a county map and table, and the county ranking lists the counties with the highest.