Choosing a City for a US Mobile Proxy: Our Eight Metros

Mobile Proxy USA runs its hardware in eight US metros: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, North Carolina (Charlotte and the Research Triangle) and Boston. Together they cover four time zones and seven states, including the four most populous. The right city for a proxy is the one whose address, time zone and state match what the job needs a website to see. This page states what each metro gives you, which carrier resolves most accurately there, and how to decide when the choice is not obvious. Because a line can be moved between cities for free with its remaining time intact, the choice is never final.

Start from what the website checks

Websites use location in three ways. Some gate content or pricing by state: insurance quotes, lending offers, sports betting, state tax calculations. Some localise by metro: delivery areas, store inventory, local search results, local advertising. Some only check the country. The first group needs a line in the correct state. The second needs a line whose address geolocates to the correct metro, which depends on the carrier as well as the city. The third can use any of the eight.

A second question is whose behaviour the proxy is standing in for. An account registered to a Houston business should log in from Houston, in Central time, every day. A price check that only needs to look American can run from whichever city has the carrier and device type in stock.

The eight metros and what each is for

New York, Eastern time, New York State. The largest US advertising, finance and media market. AT&T lines from Boston also resolve here, so New York has the most AT&T address depth of any city. Use it for anything that targets the Northeast, for national campaigns that default to New York, and for state-specific New York checks.

Boston, Eastern time, Massachusetts. Chosen when Massachusetts specifically matters, for example state insurance and lending pages, or when a second Eastern-time vantage point is needed that is separate from New York. T-Mobile and Verizon lines here resolve to the Boston area; AT&T resolves to New York.

Miami, Eastern time, Florida. Florida is a distinct market for insurance, real estate, tourism and Spanish-language advertising. Miami lines are the choice for any Florida state check and for the Latin American audience that US platforms serve from Florida.

North Carolina, Eastern time, Charlotte and the Research Triangle. A mid-sized Southeastern market that is useful precisely because it is not a megacity: banking headquarters in Charlotte, universities and technology in Raleigh and Durham, and a state with its own insurance and lending rules. Pick it for Southeastern coverage outside Florida and for jobs where a large coastal metro would look unusual.

Chicago, Central time, Illinois. The default Midwestern vantage point and the second-largest advertising market after New York. Illinois has its own consumer and privacy laws that change what some sites display. Use it for Midwest targeting and Central time account work.

Houston, Central time, Texas. Texas is the second most populous state and a separate market for energy, insurance, real estate and retail. Houston lines resolve as Texas on all three carriers. Use them for any Texas state check and for a Central time line that is not Illinois.

Phoenix, Mountain time without daylight saving for most of the year, Arizona. The only Mountain time metro we run and the only one with a clock that does not shift in spring and autumn. Pick it for Arizona checks, for Mountain time account schedules, and for Southwest retail and real estate.

Los Angeles, Pacific time, California. The largest state by population, with its own consumer privacy law and distinct pricing on insurance, utilities and housing. Use Los Angeles for any California check, for Pacific time account work, and for the entertainment and technology advertising that is bought against Los Angeles.

Carrier and metro accuracy

The city a line resolves to depends on the carrier's gateway for the region, not only on where the modem is. T-Mobile resolves to the metro or a neighbouring city in the same state in all eight locations. AT&T resolves to regional hubs: Boston lines read as New York, and other metros generally read as themselves or as a nearby large city in the same state. Verizon addresses can read as a city a few hundred miles away, within the region. For jobs that need the exact metro, choose T-Mobile first, AT&T second, and verify with an IP lookup after activation. For jobs that need the state, all three carriers are fine in every city except that Boston AT&T reads as New York State.

Time zones and daily schedules

A line's city implies a clock. Eastern time covers New York, Boston, Miami and North Carolina; Central covers Chicago and Houston; Mountain covers Phoenix; Pacific covers Los Angeles. A browser profile or phone using the proxy should be set to the same zone, and its activity should fall within that zone's waking hours. Buyers outside the United States who run accounts should pick the metro whose working day overlaps best with their own, which for Europe and Africa is usually New York or Boston and for East Asia is usually Los Angeles.

When the city does not matter, and when to move

Country-level checks, general scraping of public US pages, ad verification for national campaigns and testing from a US address can use any city, so the sensible choice is the one with the carrier and device type in stock at the plan length wanted. The dashboard at area.mobileproxyusa.com shows availability per city at checkout.

If the first choice proves wrong, a move is free. The dashboard moves a line to another city and carries over the remaining time; the host, port and credentials change, and the new address resolves to the new metro within a few minutes. Since the move costs nothing, it is reasonable to start a job on whatever city is in stock and move once the requirement is clear.

Frequently asked