Internet competition in every Virginia county or city

133 counties and cities, 2,838,226 residential locations, counted block by block from the FCC's own filing. The counties and cities with the worst competition scores in Virginia are also among the worst served: not one of the 5 has fiber in every block, and gigabit availability across them starts at 2.1%. The one with the best competition score still has no fiber in 0.0% of it.

The finding: the competition score and the fiber gap are different problems here

Our national study ranks Virginia 39 of 52 for wired competition: 23.2% of residential locations sit in a census block where at most one wired company reports service. The county or city view is where you find out what that number is actually made of, and in this state the answer is not the one North Dakota gave.

5 Virginia counties and cities score 99.5% or higher, holding 40,203 residential locations. 0 of those 5 have no locations at all in a block without fiber, and gigabit availability across them runs 2.1% to 58.3%.

The last column of the table below names the operator reaching the widest share of each. Across that group they are: Breezeline, Cox, Spectrum, Xfinity. In North Dakota that column was rural cooperatives that had built fiber to everybody in their own territory, which is why the monopoly score there measures territory rather than deprivation. It does not read that way here: not one of the 5 is without a fiber gap, and gigabit availability across them starts at 2.1%. In Virginia the worst competition scores and the worst service are landing on the same counties and cities, which is the opposite of the North Dakota reading rather than a variation on it.

So the competition figure here is measuring both, and the counties and cities it is worth acting on are the ones low on the fiber column rather than high on the monopoly column. A block with one company is a monopoly by any definition, and a resident there has no alternative and no competitive pressure on price. Both things are true at once, and a number that cannot tell them apart should say so rather than be quietly averaged into a national ranking.

It inverts in the cities, which is the other half of the point. Falls Church city has the best competition figure in the state at 0.0%, and 0.0% of its locations are in a block where nobody reports fiber at all. Fairfax County, the largest by locations, is 1.5% and 1.0%.

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Every Virginia county or city

Sorted by the share of residential locations in a block with at most one wired company, worst first. The first three columns are computed here from the block level filing. Gigabit is the FCC's own county or city figure, which is the finest grain they publish speed at.

County or city Residential locations At most one wired company No fiber in the block Gigabit available Widest reaching wired operator
Gloucester County 15,825 100.0% 94.9% 45.5% Cox (98%)
Colonial Heights city 6,992 100.0% 100.0% 28.2% Xfinity (100%)
Mathews County 5,600 100.0% 72.0% 2.1% Breezeline (99%)
Franklin city 3,246 100.0% 91.1% 20.7% Spectrum (99%)
Southampton County 8,540 99.9% 31.5% 58.3% Spectrum (100%)
Surry County 3,602 99.1% 0.1% 94.3% Ruralband (100%)
Essex County 5,584 97.5% 63.3% 8.3% Breezeline (88%)
Dinwiddie County 10,313 96.8% 85.9% 14.1% Xfinity (69%)
Charles City County 2,978 95.8% 95.8% 0.4% Xfinity (96%)
Floyd County 8,508 95.5% 0.0% 94.3% Citizens Telephone Cooperative (100%)
Isle of Wight County 16,011 94.8% 60.0% 29.7% Spectrum (99%)
New Kent County 10,442 94.6% 1.1% 3.5% Cox (99%)
Highland County 2,027 93.9% 1.4% 84.4% Highland Telephone Cooperative (HTC) (68%)
Brunswick County 7,171 92.0% 50.5% 36.0% Empower Broadband (45%)
Sussex County 5,254 91.5% 21.0% 82.4% Ruralband (75%)
Petersburg city 12,549 89.3% 89.3% 26.7% Xfinity (100%)
Radford city 4,215 89.3% 46.8% 9.8% Glo Fiber (100%)
Caroline County 12,187 88.4% 50.8% 32.0% Xfinity (52%)
Clarke County 6,046 84.9% 85.0% 47.0% Xfinity (75%)
King William County 7,339 82.7% 26.8% 53.6% Breezeline (57%)
Fauquier County 24,532 81.7% 77.4% 34.1% Xfinity (76%)
Powhatan County 12,300 81.2% 67.2% 26.3% Xfinity (86%)
Shenandoah County 21,256 79.1% 37.2% 43.1% Glo Fiber (100%)
Middlesex County 7,723 79.0% 70.6% 11.0% Breezeline (94%)
Goochland County 11,608 78.0% 53.5% 40.5% Xfinity (70%)
Pulaski County 16,112 73.6% 74.7% 11.4% Xfinity (76%)
Giles County 8,269 72.7% 59.5% 23.6% Optimum (72%)
Richmond County 3,942 68.8% 15.0% 39.2% Breezeline (65%)
Mecklenburg County 18,876 67.1% 25.3% 61.7% Empower Broadband (60%)
Cumberland County 4,432 65.4% 20.2% 53.0% Firefly Fiber Broadband (51%)
Emporia city 2,460 64.4% 63.9% 33.7% Xfinity (100%)
Amherst County 14,866 64.1% 37.2% 45.7% Xfinity (73%)
Louisa County 19,931 63.8% 10.5% 83.9% Firefly Fiber Broadband (90%)
Prince George County 11,818 63.5% 48.6% 50.6% Xfinity (85%)
Bland County 2,931 61.9% 64.0% 17.4% Brightspeed (76%)
King and Queen County 3,496 58.8% 0.0% 82.0% RiverStreet (100%)
Madison County 6,310 57.0% 23.6% 51.2% Firefly Fiber Broadband (76%)
Rockingham County 34,262 56.9% 56.0% 34.2% Xfinity (87%)
King George County 10,198 55.5% 45.4% 19.0% Breezeline (91%)
Hopewell city 8,833 55.1% 55.1% 24.0% Xfinity (100%)
Appomattox County 7,480 53.4% 21.1% 55.2% Firefly Fiber Broadband (77%)
Greensville County 3,959 50.9% 16.5% 67.0% Empower Broadband (47%)
Westmoreland County 12,142 50.8% 45.9% 21.9% Breezeline (95%)
Rappahannock County 2,942 49.4% 100.0% 23.9% Xfinity (75%)
Nelson County 10,021 48.5% 0.3% 98.0% Firefly Fiber Broadband (99%)
Orange County 16,044 48.2% 19.5% 73.7% FiberLync (80%)
Lancaster County 7,788 47.5% 22.4% 39.2% Breezeline (86%)
Nottoway County 6,578 44.8% 25.1% 51.6% Brightspeed (100%)
Culpeper County 18,707 44.4% 36.8% 66.2% Xfinity (85%)
Tazewell County 19,265 42.6% 36.5% 48.0% Spectrum (64%)
Scott County 12,587 41.4% 0.0% 97.7% Scott County Telephone Coop (100%)
Augusta County 31,340 41.1% 38.2% 49.3% Xfinity (81%)
Charlotte County 6,002 40.0% 7.0% 76.7% RiverStreet (90%)
Patrick County 9,701 39.9% 72.9% 15.9% Brightspeed (99%)
Frederick County 36,118 38.6% 33.3% 66.5% Xfinity (88%)
Pittsylvania County 30,490 37.9% 48.0% 29.8% RiverStreet (67%)
Lunenburg County 5,730 34.8% 27.2% 40.2% Brightspeed (86%)
Northumberland County 9,508 33.6% 27.1% 22.5% Breezeline (96%)
Montgomery County 30,529 33.1% 63.0% 34.7% Xfinity (89%)
James City County 30,012 30.3% 28.2% 79.6% Cox (100%)
Alleghany County 7,342 29.9% 5.3% 82.1% T-Mobile Fiber (95%)
Botetourt County 14,861 28.6% 14.1% 61.4% T-Mobile Fiber (86%)
Buchanan County 9,091 26.9% 14.7% 72.9% Point Broadband (83%)
Hampton city 45,046 26.7% 25.8% 62.1% Cox (99%)
Spotsylvania County 49,142 25.0% 23.5% 66.4% Xfinity (96%)
Danville city 18,794 24.5% 25.5% 17.5% Xfinity (100%)
Loudoun County 105,747 24.2% 9.1% 39.8% Verizon Fios (87%)
Bedford County 37,239 24.0% 8.1% 41.7% Xfinity (61%)
Halifax County 17,532 23.4% 32.6% 47.7% Brightspeed (93%)
Suffolk city 35,593 23.2% 13.3% 66.8% Spectrum (100%)
Page County 11,932 23.0% 91.5% 5.1% Brightspeed (99%)
Wise County 16,081 22.7% 20.6% 72.9% Xfinity (89%)
Roanoke County 36,925 22.3% 20.4% 75.9% Cox (85%)
Dickenson County 6,468 22.2% 5.9% 81.2% Point Broadband (79%)
Craig County 2,825 22.2% 93.2% 3.0% RiverStreet (87%)
Russell County 13,691 21.6% 5.9% 88.7% Point Broadband (91%)
Campbell County 24,147 21.4% 38.5% 61.2% Glo Fiber (78%)
Bath County 3,051 21.3% 0.5% 85.7% BARC Connects (90%)
Hanover County 44,203 20.5% 15.7% 62.5% Xfinity (83%)
Accomack County 21,801 18.4% 10.2% 11.4% Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority (90%)
Carroll County 17,167 16.2% 36.1% 23.1% Brightspeed (99%)
Northampton County 7,924 15.2% 3.6% 10.1% Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority (96%)
Williamsburg city 3,288 14.9% 14.5% 75.8% Cox (99%)
Virginia Beach city 135,850 13.5% 13.3% 65.0% Cox (99%)
Stafford County 48,451 13.5% 16.1% 71.3% Verizon Fios (83%)
Rockbridge County 11,260 12.2% 8.3% 71.5% Brightspeed (89%)
Grayson County 9,106 11.4% 26.6% 28.4% Brightspeed (100%)
Albemarle County 38,929 11.2% 30.0% 52.5% Brightspeed (98%)
Franklin County 27,753 11.2% 44.0% 19.0% Brightspeed (97%)
Portsmouth city 32,891 10.4% 9.2% 80.5% Cox (99%)
Harrisonburg city 11,901 10.1% 10.2% 70.7% Xfinity (100%)
Chesterfield County 130,866 9.1% 8.4% 18.1% Xfinity (100%)
Prince Edward County 8,291 9.0% 8.6% 67.2% Brightspeed (95%)
York County 24,275 7.9% 6.6% 42.1% Cox (100%)
Chesapeake city 79,512 7.7% 6.1% 58.0% Cox (99%)
Lynchburg city 25,194 7.7% 9.5% 90.3% Xfinity (99%)
Lee County 11,039 7.4% 0.2% 98.0% Point Broadband (93%)
Norfolk city 60,907 6.8% 5.3% 90.0% Cox (98%)
Roanoke city 35,528 6.7% 5.8% 85.2% Cox (98%)
Manassas city 9,496 6.7% 6.6% 55.0% Xfinity (100%)
Warren County 16,850 6.6% 51.6% 47.5% Brightspeed (97%)
Norton city 1,698 6.6% 6.5% 85.9% Xfinity (100%)
Alexandria city 24,663 6.0% 6.1% 81.5% Xfinity (100%)
Henrico County 103,818 5.8% 5.6% 28.2% Xfinity (100%)
Buckingham County 7,550 5.7% 28.2% 65.8% Brightspeed (98%)
Salem city 9,658 4.5% 4.7% 97.0% Xfinity (100%)
Fredericksburg city 7,426 4.3% 4.3% 61.6% Cox (97%)
Amelia County 5,869 3.7% 70.7% 8.8% RiverStreet (97%)
Prince William County 113,412 3.5% 3.1% 48.6% Xfinity (99%)
Winchester city 9,119 3.4% 3.4% 98.0% Xfinity (100%)
Henry County 25,013 3.2% 63.3% 28.3% Brightspeed (99%)
Wythe County 13,862 3.2% 21.8% 58.2% Brightspeed (100%)
Staunton city 9,996 3.2% 3.2% 83.2% Xfinity (100%)
Richmond city 65,253 3.1% 3.0% 38.7% Xfinity (100%)
Newport News city 48,914 3.1% 2.5% 75.4% Cox (99%)
Covington city 3,196 2.9% 2.3% 97.8% Glo Fiber (100%)
Waynesboro city 9,182 1.6% 1.6% 86.0% Xfinity (100%)
Fairfax County 252,857 1.5% 1.0% 51.3% Verizon Fios (99%)
Fluvanna County 12,030 1.4% 4.5% 90.0% Brightspeed (100%)
Washington County 26,598 1.2% 4.9% 93.9% Brightspeed (96%)
Manassas Park city 3,538 1.1% 1.1% 63.4% Xfinity (100%)
Arlington County 36,613 1.0% 1.0% 96.9% Xfinity (100%)
Fairfax city 6,669 0.9% 0.3% 72.5% Verizon Fios (100%)
Greene County 8,706 0.8% 36.3% 51.0% Brightspeed (100%)
Poquoson city 4,907 0.6% 0.0% 11.8% Verizon Fios (100%)
Buena Vista city 2,755 0.4% 0.6% 86.7% Xfinity (100%)
Smyth County 15,616 0.2% 0.1% 98.5% Point Broadband (100%)
Lexington city 2,215 0.2% 0.4% 91.8% Xfinity (100%)
Bristol city 7,889 0.1% 0.1% 99.4% Point Broadband (100%)
Galax city 3,077 0.1% 0.4% 87.7% Xfinity (100%)
Charlottesville city 13,104 0.0% 4.4% 75.4% Xfinity (100%)
Martinsville city 6,171 0.0% 0.2% 88.9% Brightspeed (100%)
Falls Church city 3,336 0.0% 0.0% 20.7% Verizon Fios (100%)

The column adds up. These 133 rows sum to 2,838,226 residential locations, and to 23.2% and 19.8%, which are the figures we publish for Virginia on the national study. The county or city rows and the state row are computed from the same blocks with the same definitions, so they cannot disagree. The build refuses to ship this page if they ever do.

Method, and what these numbers cannot tell you

Source: the FCC Broadband Data Collection, filing period D25, published July 21, 2026, reflecting service as of . Competition figures are computed across every census block in Virginia: a location counts toward the first figure when at most one company reports wireline service, meaning fiber, cable or copper, in its block. Fixed wireless and satellite are excluded from that count and stated separately elsewhere on this site.

It is a floor, not an estimate. Coverage is self reported by providers and is known to overstate, so every overstatement moves a location out of the at-most-one group and never into it. The real figure is this one or worse.

Reporting service in a block is not the same as being able to connect a given house. A company that reaches one address on a street counts for the whole block, which is why the fiber gap column can look better than any resident's experience.

The last column is reach, not market share. It names the wired operator reporting service across the largest share of the county or city's locations, with that share in brackets. It says nothing about how many people buy from them.

License

This page and its table are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Republish it, adapt it, use it commercially, in a newspaper or on a government page, provided you credit WhereFiber and link to this page. The underlying counts are facts from a public federal dataset and nobody can own them; the license covers this write-up and the arrangement of this table.

How to cite this

Horvath, F. (2026). Internet competition in every Virginia county or city: wireline provider counts by census block. WhereFiber. Retrieved from https://wherefiber.com/research/virginia-counties/

Want this for another state, or a cut we have not published? Write to contact@wherefiber.com and we will run it.