How Accurate Is IP Geolocation? Why Your City Looks Wrong
IP geolocation estimates where an IP address is used. It is useful for language, currency and fraud checks, but it is not GPS. If a lookup shows a city next to yours or even the wrong city, that is normal. Here is why.
How location databases are built
No IP address contains coordinates. Providers combine several sources: registry records showing which organization owns a block, routing information, network latency measurements, and data supplied by ISPs and other partners. The result is a best estimate, and each provider has slightly different data.
Typical accuracy
- Country: generally very reliable.
- Region / state: usually correct for fixed broadband.
- City: varies widely. It may point to the ISP's regional hub rather than your street.
- Street address: never available from an IP address alone.
Why your location may look wrong
- Mobile networks: traffic often exits the carrier network from a central gateway, which can be in another city.
- Carrier-grade NAT: many customers share one address, so it cannot describe a single household.
- VPNs, proxies and Tor: the lookup shows the server's location, not yours.
- Recently reassigned blocks: databases lag behind when an ISP moves addresses to another region.
- Companies and universities: traffic may leave from a head-office network far from the user.
Why different sites show different cities
Each site uses a different geolocation database or API, and each database updates on its own schedule. It is common for two tools to agree on the country and disagree on the city.
Check it yourself
See what a geolocation database reports for your connection on the My IP page, or compare any other address with the IP lookup tool. If you want to appear in a different location, read how to hide your IP address.