Rural areas have their advantages–it’s called “good life” for a reason, after all–those living in cities have plenty of opportunities unique to them as well, including access to more services and retail options. Internet Service Providers are more plentiful in cities too, giving residents a variety of options for pricing plans and download speeds for Internet access.

Whereas someone in a rural area may be limited to one provider of high-speed Internet access, such as a satellite service, those living in the city may have numerous providers, each of whom will end up competing with other ISPs. And more providers and pricing tiers are appearing all of the time, so it pays to keep track of announcements in your city and from your ISP, as you may find a better deal than you have now.

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Highest Speed Options

About 70% of American adults have access to high-speed Internet in their homes. Some of the fastest Internet download speeds available in the United States include:

• Austin, Texas. Google Fiber, 1000 megabits per second
• Bristol, Va. BVU, 1000 megabits per second
• Chattanooga, Tenn. EPB, 1000 megabits per second
• Kansas City. Google Fiber, 1000 megabits per second
• Lafayette, La. LUS, 1000 megabits per second
• Provo, Utah. Google Fiber, 1000 megabits per second

Google Fiber Expansion

Google Fiber is becoming the must-have Internet option for cities across America, providing 1000 megabits per second of maximum download speeds for about $70 per month. Google is offering service in three metro areas in the country, and plans are to add service in nine other metro areas.

• Atlanta
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Nashville, Tenn.
• Phoenix
• Portland, Ore.
• Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
• Salt Lake City
• San Antonio
• San Jose

Even if the high-speed Google Fiber isn’t in your area, you almost certainly can still find a decent value for your Internet service. Look for bundles, as some ISPs also can provide cable TV and telephone as a full package at a lower price than all services purchased separately. Just be sure when you sign a contract that you know how long the contract will be in place and what type of penalties you could incur if you break it early.

Other Internet Options

As shown in the accompanying infographic, on average you’ll pay about $70 per month for a maximum download speed of 50 megabits per second in the United States. Keep in mind that you may have to shop around quite a bit to find that type of speed-price combination, and some areas of the United States don’t offer those options.

But after you spend several hours shopping around, you may become frustrated to learn that the United States has some of the highest Internet service prices in the world, whether it’s high- or mid-range download speeds. Some prices (all prices in U.S. dollars) around the world for high-speed Internet access up to 1000 megabits per second download speeds are:

• Amsterdam, Netherlands. $86
• Bristol, Va. $320
• Hong Kong, China. $45
• Kansas City. $70
• New York City. $210
• Riga, Latvia. $98
• Seoul, South Korea. $32
• Tokyo, Japan. $32

According to the BBC, here are some monthly prices you can expect to find around the world for mid-range Internet access speeds up to 25 megabits per second:

• Berlin, Germany. $33
• London, England. $39
• New York City. $70
• Paris, France. $35
• Riga, Latvia. $21
• San Francisco. $99
• Seoul, South Korea. $16
• Toronto, Canada. $63
• Washington, D.C. $69
• Zurich, Switzerland. $30

As you can see, prices vary quite a bit for Internet access. So don’t settle for the one price that your local ISP quotes for you. Instead, do a little shopping around and study all of your options before signing a contract with an ISP, just to be assured of the best deal.