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The Top 10 States Bridging the Broadband Gap

map showing the top 10 most connected states
woman with tablet doing business

Introduction

Whether you’re a baby boomer, millennial, or anything in between (we’re talking to you, Gen Xers), your internet connection is probably more than just a modern convenience. It’s a practical necessity.

In fact, your access to internet—or lack thereof—has a direct impact on how you live your life and your potential for success, both in school and throughout your career.

Don’t buy it?

In a recent study by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, they found that one to three broadband providers in any given area can boost the employment growth rate by 6.4%.¹ Pretty impressive, huh?

Yet, even with all this statistical data, there are still some Americans (primarily in rural areas) who don’t have reliable access to internet—despite the efforts of many state governments to bridge the connectivity gap. That’s why we decided to do some research, mine some data, and determine which states are leading the charge when it comes to bringing high-speed internet to the rural masses.

Here’s what we found.

illustrated badges showing top 3 states

Our Findings

State

Connectivity Ranking

Utah

1

New Hampshire

2

Massachusetts

3

Maryland

4

Oregon

5

Connecticut

6

Washington

7

Minnesota

8

New York

9

Virginia

10

An Overview

The top 10 states showing excellent connectivity to broadband all value connecting rural citizens to the resources they need to succeed economically, both in school and at work.

The top state on our list? Utah. Taking cues from Silicon Valley—and home to big tech companies like Adobe, Vivint, and eBay—the Beehive State boasts a high millennial age population and a greater-than-average median income of $66,258 per year.² ³ Utah is also one of the few places in the nation with access to Google Fiber.

Washington shows a higher-than-average percentage of the population who have both bachelor’s degrees (at 32.9%) and advanced degrees (at 12%), which beats the national average of citizens with advanced degrees (only at 11.1%).⁴ And Minnesota is a highly educated population, with 33.7% of their residents earning bachelor’s degrees while the national average is only at 29.5%.⁴

New Hampshire boasts the highest median household income in the nation, while Maryland has the 3rd highest, which could play into why they value broadband access so highly.³ Connectivity signals better access and more economic growth. And Oregon has made an emphasis on bridging the digital divide gap by rigorously advocating for Google Fiber in their state.

Overall we found that the most important factor in these states’ ability to connect rural citizens to the internet were the use of government funded broadband task forces, infrastructure maintenance, and local support. The states that listened to the community were more likely to connect them to proper resources and economic growth flourished.

map illustration of top rural states

The Top 5 for Rural Access

Rural areas in these states have the advantage of proximity to Ivy League schools like Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and Yale. Perhaps the emphasis on education and communication makes it easier to access the internet as a student, even in a rural area like Connecticut.

Typically, studies have shown that areas with one to three broadband providers experience a 6.4% higher employment growth rate and a 2.4% increase in the population than the areas without broadband.¹ In the case of these states, it seems that broadband access in schools leads to a better economy.

Massachusetts recently gave out $1.9 million in broadband grants to rural communities alone.5 And New Hampshire is working in tandem with the University to roll out a rural broadband initiative which will give 25 Mbps to folks living away from it all.⁶

illustrated map of states with top speed

The Top 5 for Speed

One thing all the states with the fastest speeds have in common is their smaller size. The main reason rural access is limited is that telecommunications companies gather users in population dense areas. A major urban city may have 2,000 users per square mile while a rural area may only have 10 users per square mile.⁷

Typically, smaller states tend to have an easier time reaching all their citizens, but the states showing the fastest speeds in remote areas have done a great job at reaching rural populations. Correlations can be made for the rise of people who run an at-home business or do freelance work to make a living. Speed is critical when it comes to maintaining a reliable connection with your employer. The relative proximity to New York City may account for rural access for telecommuters.

illlustrated map showing states with best support

The Top 5 for Support

A main reason why people don’t have access to broadband internet is due to a lack of income. A Pew Research poll found that 23% of people making under $30k per year don’t use the internet, possibly because of the high price for something they don’t consider a basic need. Most rural schools still lack access to fiber and pay more than twice as much for bandwidth.

In contrast, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Maryland all have state government broadband task forces which promote the expansion of internet access throughout their rural areas.⁸ They also develop action plans to identify disparities in access and ensure that homes and schools have access to the tech resources they might need.

Rankings by State

State

Access

Rural Access

Speed

Support

Utah

2

6

7

6

New Hampshire

3

3

19

2

Massachusetts

6

2

4

16

Maryland

11

11

11

5

Oregon

9

13

17

4

Connecticut

10

1

12

21

Washington

4

8

10

22

Minnesota

14

19

23

1

New York

22

16

8

11

Virginia

17

36

2

3

New Jersey

13

4

9

35

California

12

18

13

19

Rhode Island

20

5

5

33

Alaska

7

10

31

20

Vermont

15

12

29

15

Hawaii

8

14

42

18

Wyoming

18

17

34

13

Texas

1

37

25

23

Colorado

5

7

30

45

Delaware

23

24

1

40

Illinois

28

31

24

7

North Dakota

30

21

6

34

Nevada

16

9

27

41

Wisconsin

29

20

18

27

Maine

26

15

45

17

Georgia

36

38

22

8

Idaho

25

22

48

10

South Dakota

35

32

16

31

Florida

24

29

20

42

Arizona

19

35

33

129

Iowa

33

30

44

12

District of Columbia

27

51

3

39

Ohio

32

26

39

28

Nebraska

21

23

32

51

Pennsylvania

38

25

14

50

Michigan

34

33

15

47

Indiana

41

34

21

38

Kansas

31

28

41

37

Missouri

40

40

28

30

Montana

37

27

40

36

Kentucky

42

42

51

9

West Virginia

46

41

43

14

Oklahoma

43

43

38

24

South Carolina

45

46

35

32

Tennessee

44

44

26

44

North Carolina

39

39

36

48

New Mexico

49

48

49

25

Alabama

47

47

37

43

Mississippi

51

50

47

26

Louisiana

48

45

46

49

Arkansas

50

49

50

46

Our Methodology

Our team of technology experts analyzed four metrics, including best speed per state, best broadband access for rural citizens per state, best measure of support in each state, and an overall ranking which combines all factors.

For internet access per state, our team analyzed the percentage of school districts meeting a minimum of 100 Kbps per student.⁹ We also examined the percentage of those with an internet subscription, and the total percentage of users with any access to the internet at all, be it in the form of a community library, town hall, or school.⁴

We made sure to analyze speed by the average Mbps per state, and we evaluated states on whether they had a stimulus project, broadband task force, or whether the state had barriers preventing them from expanding the connectivity of those living in the area (i.e. laws, infrastructure support, prohibitions, etc.).¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹⁸  As for rural area access, we investigated the number of households that had broadband internet in both urban and rural areas.⁴

Sources

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