Scott County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 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

Scott County ranks 3 out of 87 counties for digital equity. Scott is more urban or suburban than most of the counties and like most of the counties closer to the Twin Cities, the ranking for technology-related tracts rank well. High school graduation rate ranking is the one low point. Finding a way to use technology to help students succeed would be a nice connection for funding and a nice way to reach students who need help.

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)

Scott County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	9
No bachelors	8
No HS degree	22
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	3
Below poverty (last 12 months)	5
Disability	2
No computer	2
No broadband access	20
No subscription	3
Overall average	3

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.