Cox vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 25 metro areas and 70 towns and cities, so for a lot of people this is a real choice rather than a hypothetical one. The first question is not which is better. It is which of them can reach you.
Cox vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | Cox | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Cable | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 6,447,111 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Cox is available | Where Spectrum is available |
We do not publish speeds or prices here. Both providers change them constantly and by market, and a stale number is worse than no number. Coverage is the part that is federally reported and verifiable.
Where you can get both
Metro areas where both Cox and Spectrum report service, ranked by how well covered the less available of the two is because that is what decides whether you genuinely get a choice.
| Metro area | Cox | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area | 63% | 30% |
| Ocala, FL Metro Area | 24% | 39% |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area | 69% | 19% |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metro Area | 11% | 81% |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area | 79% | 10% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area | 8% | 85% |
| Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area | 75% | 7% |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metro Area | 52% | 7% |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metro Area | 66% | 6% |
| Lafayette, LA Metro Area | 73% | 4% |
| Morgan City, LA Micro Area | 43% | 3% |
| Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metro Area | 28% | 3% |
| Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area | 66% | 3% |
| New Haven-Milford, CT Metro Area | 9% | 2% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area | 80% | 2% |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metro Area | 47% | 1% |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area | 61% | 1% |
| Fremont, NE Micro Area | 1% | 64% |
| Gainesville, FL Metro Area | 60% | 1% |
| Springfield, MA Metro Area | 0% | 25% |
| Richmond, VA Metro Area | 2% | 0% |
| Houma-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area | 0% | 42% |
| Opelousas, LA Micro Area | 0% | 68% |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metro Area | 0% | 91% |
| Worcester, MA-CT Metro Area | 0% | 62% |
Where only one of them reaches
Cox reports service in 18 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 15 of them. Overlap is the exception, not the rule, so if you are outside the table above this is the part that answers your question.
32 metro areas have Cox and not Spectrum
- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area 91% covered
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area 84% covered
- Wichita, KS Metro Area 83% covered
- Hailey, ID Micro Area 79% covered
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR Metro Area 77% covered
- Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area 76% covered
- Warner Robins, GA Metro Area 76% covered
- Tulsa, OK Metro Area 73% covered
488 metro areas have Spectrum and not Cox
- Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Akron, OH Metro Area 96% covered
- Jacksonville, NC Metro Area 96% covered
- Morehead City, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Racine, WI Metro Area 95% covered
States where only Cox reports service: Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma. States where only Spectrum reports service: Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri and 15 more.
Showing the eight best covered of each. Ranked by reported coverage within the metro, from the same FCC filing as the table above. Providers self report and overstate, so read these as a ceiling on where a company will sell to you, not a promise about your street.
Which should you pick?
Honestly, in most of the places above only one of them will actually reach your building, and that settles it. Where both do reach you, the useful question is the technology rather than the brand.
Both are mainly cable networks, so the technology argument does not separate them. Compare on price, contract terms and local service reputation instead, none of which the FCC publishes, and none of which we will invent.
See which one reaches your address →
What we will not do is tell you one is better because it pays us more. See the affiliate disclosure for how that works.