Clay County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 27

Ann Treacy

Oct 3

Every year, the Blandin on Broadband blog does County Broadband Profiles (and will do again when the new maps come out) but given federal opportunities are making it possible to get funding for access and adoption, I thought I'd try to present information for counties to assess their digital equity standing (see table below) and give options for who to contact locally for more information.

Summary

Clay County ranks 27 out of 87 counties for digital equity. They are in the top third of ranking. Their access to broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up (37) and lack of computer (13) rank well. Unfortunately, the ranking for poverty (71) and 190 percent poverty (58) is quite high. It is an opportunity to find a way to make technology more affordable, through federal subsidy programs. It is also an opportunity to increase job skills with digital training and workforce development support.

Scroll down for details and suggested resources for more information.

Blandin Foundation is using the Microsoft Digital Equity Tool to determine needs by county and make high level recommendations for next steps to consider based on the data. (With special thanks to Carter Grupp, Broadband Coordinator Broadband Coordinator at American Connection Project for Otter Tail County.) Visit the tool if you want to look up more statistics on your community.

Demographic Data and Ranking (out of 87)

Clay County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	37
No bachelors	11
No HS degree	11
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	58
Below poverty (last 12 months)	71
Disability	17
No computer	13
No broadband access	34
No subscription	41
Overall average	27

The map below shows digital inequity by census tract. The bluer the better; yellow and orange colors indicate more inequity. This map can be helpful in figuring out which parts of your county need the most help.