Stearns County Digital Equity Profile – ranked 31

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

Stearns County ranks 31 out of 87 counties for digital equity. They are in the top third ranking. Their ranking for technology (broadband access at 19, computer ownership at 25 and broadband subscription at 29) are higher than other demographic tracts, such as poverty rate (rank 78). There’s an opportunity to find ways to use technology to help lift up those rankings both to attract funding but also to make a difference in 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)

Stearns County	Ranking
Access to 100/20	19
No bachelors	22
No HS degree	61
Below 150% poverty (last 12 months)	68
Below poverty (last 12 months)	78
Disability	28
No computer	25
No broadband access	44
No subscription	29
Overall average	31

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.