The above statistics come from our analysis of the FCC signal strength data for the United States.
Straight Talk is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that is owned by Verizon.
An MVNO is basically any cell phone carrier that does not own or operate its own cellular network.
Instead, MVNOs ride on existing cellular networks to offer service. In Straight Talk's case, because it is owned by Verizon, it uses the Verizon's 4G LTE and 5G networks to provide coverage. By using Verizon’s existing networks and operating mostly online only, Straight Talk is able to offer low-cost cell phone plans without compromising on the quality of their service.
Straight Talk covers 98% of Americans thanks to Verizon's robust 4G LTE network, which covers 67.4% of the country.
Additionally, Straight Talk also includes full access to Verizon's 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
Verizon 5G Nationwide covers 230 million people and 14.5% of the country.
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband has a much narrower coverage footprint, but it still reaches over 222 million people.
Speeds on Straight Talk will be fast and reliable. Crowdsourced data from our Speed Test Map show that Straight Talk customers get median 5G download speeds of 187.5 Mbps and median upload speeds of 16.8 Mbps.
Check Straight Talk coverage and speeds in your area using the interactive coverage maps at the top of this page.
You can also download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone and Android.
Measure your cellular data speeds. Compare cellular coverage. Completely free.
Straight Talk uses the Verizon network to provide coverage.
Because Straight Talk relies on Verizon for coverage, its coverage is the same as that of Verizon.
Straight Talk offers nationwide 5G service on Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
Verizon 5G Nationwide currently covers about 230 million people, or roughly 69% of the U.S. population.
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is much faster, but it has a bit less coverage. Verizon says 5G Ultra Wideband covers about 222 million people as of August 14th, 2023, which is about 60% of the U.S. population.
Verizon's 5G network covers a total area of 14.5% of the U.S.
Nationwide 4G LTE coverage is available on Straight Talk thanks to Verizon’s extensive 4G LTE network, which covers 98% of Americans.
You will get reception on Straight Talk across 67.4% of the United States.
But how good is the coverage in each individual state?
Here is a detailed breakdown on how good Straight Talk's coverage is in each state. You will see the total percentage of each state the Straight Talk network covers, as well as a breakdown of great, good, and poor coverage:
Here is a breakdown of Straight Talk's 5G coverage in each state:
Data speeds are an important factor for how good your experience is using a cellular network.
How fast are Straight Talk's data speeds?
We compiled our crowd-sourced speed test data to find out. Straight Talk's median download speeds ranged from 11.1 Mbps in Alaska and up to 135.3 Mbps in Washington, DC. Median upload speeds ranged from 6.6 Mbps in Mississippi to 24.6 Mbps in Rhode Island. And median ping performance on Straight Talk ranged from 26 ms to 128 ms.
Straight Talk uses Verizon towers for service, so coverage is the same between the two carriers.
Straight Talk has a bit less coverage than AT&T.
Straight Talk covers 67.4% of the U.S. and AT&T covers an impressive 78.1% of the U.S.
Straight Talk also has substantially less 5G coverage than AT&T does.
AT&T currently has the largest 5G network in the country, spanning an impressive 43.3% of the land area.
Straight Talk, meanwhile, only offers 5G service across 14.5% of the country. That is still enough to cover over 230 million people, or about 69% of Americans. You won't find Straight Talk's 5G network in as many rural locations though:
Data speeds are similar between the two carriers.
Our crowd-sourced speed test map shows that Straight Talk gets median speeds of 61.23 Mbps down and 11.65 Mbps up.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s median download speed was 61.2 Mbps and its median upload speed was 11.3 Mbps.
Both Straight Talk and AT&T offer similar coverage and data speeds to one another, and likely both carriers will be great options in many areas.
You can check AT&T coverage and data speeds in your area using our AT&T coverage map and see how it compares to Straight Talk.
Straight Talk has better coverage than T-Mobile.
Straight Talk covers 67.4% of the U.S. while T-Mobile covers just 46.6%.
That said, T-Mobile has 2.4 times the 5G coverage that Straight Talk does.
T-Mobile covers an impressive 36.0% of the U.S. with 5G, while Straight Talk has only 14.5% 5G coverage.
T-Mobile also has faster speeds than Straight Talk.
T-Mobile has median download speeds of 152.3 Mbps and median upload speeds of 17.3 Mbps, according to our crowd-sourced speed test data.
Straight Talk’s median speeds are 61.2 Mbps down and 11.7 Mbps up.
Both carriers will likely provide adequate coverage in major cities, and T-Mobile will likely deliver faster speeds.
However, Straight Talk’s larger coverage footprint will likely come in handy outside of major cities and could be a better option in more rural parts of the country.
Use our T-Mobile coverage map to see how T-Mobile's coverage and data speeds look in your area.
Straight Talk uses Verizon for coverage, and Verizon has one of the largest network footprints in America. For most people, yes, Straight Talk’s coverage will be good.
Straight Talk offers 5G on Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
No, Straight Talk does not have coverage in Canada.
No, Straight Talk does not have coverage in Mexico.
No, Straight Talk does not have international coverage.