Rank: 20
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Clay County: consistent, incremental improvements over years

Clay County ranks 20 for broadband access and 27 for digital equity out of 87 counties. Clay County has seen steady, yet incremental growth since 2017; this year they have 92.06 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 2131 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $19.8 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Clay County has been on the road to steady improvement since as long as we have been looking. The growth has slowed in the last year but there is still an increase.

There isn’t much evidence of community activity to promote broadband in the area.

Clay County gets a yellow coding because they are close to ubiquitous coverage but there is little demonstration of movement from a local provider, not the community to get to the last push.

Broadband Access:

Digital Equity:

Clay County ranks 27 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)

Clay County ranks 19 out of 87 for computer ownership. 93.4 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.

Past Grants

• 2019: Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Clay County. (http://tinyurl.com/hcgg9rm)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 20 (up 6 places)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 25.5

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)