Children attending schools in wealthy districts may have more to lose than poor kids if another year of pandemic-driven online learning occurs. Extracurricular sports and clubs, community projects and other activities that pave the way for admittance to top schools might be sacrificed. Even so, a Social Explorer analysis of 2015-19 American Community Survey data shows one clear advantage of children in wealthy communities over poor ones: Bandwidth.

The 10 U.S. counties with the greatest penetration of broadband internet all have median household incomes greater than the 2019 national figure of $65,700. Douglas County, Colo., which has 96 percent of households reporting high-speed internet, has a median household income approaching $120,000; Fairfax City, Va. (95.4 percent and $117,000) and Morgan County, Utah (94.7 percent and $91,350) weren’t too far behind. Find out how many households in your county have high-speed internet with Social Explorer’s customizable mapping and report-building tools.

Internet Connectivity, 2019. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass