Isanti County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 45

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

Isanti County ranks 45 out of 87 counties for digital equity. Isanti’s ranking for access at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up (25) is better than their overall ranking so infrastructure is not necessarily a top priority. It looks like educational attainment might be an area with lower ranking (high school degree with a ranking of 49 and bachelor’s at 66). This may be an opportunity to use technology improvements to reach and encourage potential students.

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)

Isanti County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	25
No bachelors	66
No HS degree	49
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	10
Below poverty (last 12 months)	16
Disability	52
No computer	28
No broadband access	63
No subscription	24
Overall average	45

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.