It’s MN broadband county ranking time of year! The Office of Broadband Development updated the interactive broadband map on Dec 16, 2024. I have tracked county speeds at speeds of
- 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up (BEAD defines “served” as 25/3)
- 100/20 (MN state speed goal is 100/20 in 2024)
- Gig access (Gig is top speed measured.)
- download spreadsheet for all three speeds
For these rankings, I have looked at “wireline” access (not wireless) because that is the definition in Minnesota.
Gig access really defines a future-looking county. But we said that about 100/20 a years ago and 25/3 a few years before that.
Here are the top 10 ranked counties for Gig access
| county | percent covered |
gig rank |
| Red Lake | 100 | 1 |
| Lac qui Parle | 99.94 | 2 |
| Stevens | 99.72 | 3 |
| Beltrami | 98.73 | 4 |
| Clearwater | 98.19 | 5 |
| Lincoln | 98.04 | 6 |
| Olmsted | 97.14 | 7 |
| Kittson | 95.92 | 8 |
| Wilkin | 93.68 | 9 |
| Cook | 91.57 | 10 |
There are some changes in the top 10; I suspect because the last year has been spent challenging past maps in order to create a map that will determine which households that are eligible for federal (BEAD) funding. That led to changes/corrections.
New to the top 10 maps:
- Olmsted
- Wilkins
Removed from the top 10:
- Wadena
- Pennington
Here are the bottom 10 ranked counties for Gig
| county | percent covered |
gig rank |
| Yellow Medicine | 1.01 | 87 |
| Stearns | 9.03 | 86 |
| Lyon | 12.65 | 85 |
| Pipestone | 13.4 | 84 |
| Otter Tail | 13.41 | 83 |
| Clay | 16.98 | 82 |
| Anoka | 17.05 | 81 |
| Sherburne | 17.74 | 80 |
| Redwood | 18.39 | 79 |
| St. Louis | 18.43 | 78 |
Anoka County is the only county on the list in 2023 and 2024.
Here are the most improved counties by ranking.
| county | percent covered | 2024 gig rank | 2023 Gig ranking | rank improve-ment |
| Houston | 64.57 | 31 | 75 | 44 |
| Ramsey | 56.59 | 40 | 83 | 43 |
| Chisago | 51.94 | 45 | 85 | 40 |
| Pine | 39.68 | 55 | 84 | 29 |
| Brown | 73.69 | 26 | 55 | 29 |
| Mower | 83.06 | 19 | 46 | 27 |
| Isanti | 38.58 | 56 | 81 | 25 |
| Meeker | 76.98 | 21 | 41 | 20 |
| Fillmore | 44 | 51 | 70 | 19 |
| Carver | 49.95 | 48 | 66 | 18 |
| McLeod | 53.88 | 44 | 62 | 18 |
I hope to get the County Profiles done before the end of the year, where there will be more info and greater detail for each county based on the new maps and more.
| county | percent covered |
gig rank |
| Red Lake | 100 | 1 |
| Lac qui Parle | 99.94 | 2 |
| Stevens | 99.72 | 3 |
| Beltrami | 98.73 | 4 |
| Clearwater | 98.19 | 5 |
| Lincoln | 98.04 | 6 |
| Olmsted | 97.14 | 7 |
| Kittson | 95.92 | 8 |
| Wilkin | 93.68 | 9 |
| Cook | 91.57 | 10 |
| Traverse | 89.81 | 11 |
| Pennington | 89.54 | 12 |
| Freeborn | 89.54 | 13 |
| Marshall | 88.74 | 14 |
| Dodge | 88.16 | 15 |
| Steele | 86.97 | 16 |
| Rice | 84.64 | 17 |
| Faribault | 84.48 | 18 |
| Mower | 83.06 | 19 |
| Lake | 80.82 | 20 |
| Meeker | 76.98 | 21 |
| Pope | 75.55 | 22 |
| Grant | 75.14 | 23 |
| Itasca | 75.07 | 24 |
| Roseau | 74.81 | 25 |
| Brown | 73.69 | 26 |
| Goodhue | 72.4 | 27 |
| Wabasha | 69.71 | 28 |
| Crow Wing | 67.13 | 29 |
| Swift | 64.67 | 30 |
| Houston | 64.57 | 31 |
| Wadena | 64.49 | 32 |
| Nicollet | 60.33 | 33 |
| Jackson | 60.17 | 34 |
| Sibley | 58.86 | 35 |
| Hubbard | 58.78 | 36 |
| Scott | 58.66 | 37 |
| Morrison | 58.17 | 38 |
| Polk | 56.78 | 39 |
| Ramsey | 56.59 | 40 |
| Aitkin | 56.25 | 41 |
| Le Sueur | 55.64 | 42 |
| Blue Earth | 55.32 | 43 |
| McLeod | 53.88 | 44 |
| Chisago | 51.94 | 45 |
| Cottonwood | 51.07 | 46 |
| Hennepin | 50.2 | 47 |
| Carver | 49.95 | 48 |
| Lake of the Woods | 46.95 | 49 |
| Dakota | 46.45 | 50 |
| Fillmore | 44 | 51 |
| Rock | 42.31 | 52 |
| Big Stone | 41.46 | 53 |
| Benton | 40.46 | 54 |
| Pine | 39.68 | 55 |
| Isanti | 38.58 | 56 |
| Cass | 38.48 | 57 |
| Waseca | 36.69 | 58 |
| Douglas | 36 | 59 |
| Renville | 33 | 60 |
| Mille Lacs | 29.96 | 61 |
| Kandiyohi | 29.18 | 62 |
| Todd | 28.46 | 63 |
| Becker | 28.34 | 64 |
| Murray | 27.54 | 65 |
| Winona | 26.66 | 66 |
| Chippewa | 24.2 | 67 |
| Nobles | 23.84 | 68 |
| Mahnomen | 23.45 | 69 |
| Wright | 23.07 | 70 |
| Washington | 22.61 | 72 |
| Koochiching | 21.82 | 72 |
| Martin | 21.32 | 73 |
| Kanabec | 21.04 | 74 |
| Watonwan | 20.67 | 75 |
| Carlton | 20.54 | 76 |
| Norman | 20.5 | 77 |
| St. Louis | 18.43 | 78 |
| Redwood | 18.39 | 79 |
| Sherburne | 17.74 | 80 |
| Anoka | 17.05 | 81 |
| Clay | 16.98 | 82 |
| Otter Tail | 13.41 | 83 |
| Pipestone | 13.4 | 84 |
| Lyon | 12.65 | 85 |
| Stearns | 9.03 | 86 |
| Yellow Medicine | 1.01 | 87 |