McLeod County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 32

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

McLeod County ranks 28 out of 87 counties for digital equity. Ranking of 20 for broadband access at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up, which is not bad, nor is ranking of 20 for computer ownership and 23 ranking for broadband subscriptions. In fact, the only ranking that might be concerning is the bachelor’s degree. An interesting hook might be to use the technology to encourage and help folks to further their education.

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)

McLeod County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	20
No bachelors	68
No HS degree	38
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	30
Below poverty (last 12 months)	20
Disability	40
No computer	20
No broadband access	31
No subscription	23
Overall average	32

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.