Fillmore County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 59

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

Fillmore County ranks 59 out of 87 counties for digital equity. Fillmore does not rank well for access to broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up (rank 59), computer ownership (46) or broadband subscription (63). They are also not high ranking for high school degree (67), bachelor’s (44) or poverty rate (57). These rankings aren’t terrible but they could be better. In coming federal funds to help with technology could spur local programs that help residents use technology to increase education and job skills. That might be a compelling case to funder and help improved the community.

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)

Fillmore County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	59
No bachelors	44
No HS degree	67
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	40
Below poverty (last 12 months)	57
Disability	22
No computer	46
No broadband access	43
No subscription	63
Overall average	59

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.