- Georgia has made among the greatest gains in broadband access across America, in 7th place overall.
- Telfair County the highest perfomer, with a 32% increase.
Broadband access is more important than ever for our communities and economy. It influences everything from education and healthcare to job opportunities and social connections. With reliable internet, students can access online learning, patients can have virtual doctor visits, and businesses can reach customers worldwide. To understand how things are changing, HostingAdvice carried out a study on broadband accessibility in the U.S. over the last four years. Using the latest data from County Health Rankings, they compared broadband access from 2020 to 2024 to see which states and counties have made the most progress in improving their digital infrastructure.
The study found that Georgia has made among the greatest gains in broadband access across America, in 7th place overall – 7% more households now have access to broadband compared to 4 years ago, equating to 406,808 households.
The state which has made the greatest gains in broadband access is Arkansas. Here there has been a 9% increase in broadband access, meaning an extra 119,722 are now connected, compared to 4 years ago.
The top 5 states with an increase in broadband access are:
1. Arkansas (9%) 119,722
2. Alabama (8%) 192,663
3. Kentucky (8%) 153,589
4. Louisiana (8%) 152,021
5. Mississippi (8%) 107,241
The bottom 5 states with the smallest increase in broadband access are:
50. New Hampshire (3%) 29,319
49. Alaska (3%) 19,556
48. Washington (4%) 227,685
47. Vermont (4%) 16,921
46. Utah (4%) 121,758
On a specific county level, the study revealed some key findings. The Georgia county with the greatest gains is Telfair County, with an increase of 32% (an extra 340 households). On the flipside, Pulaski County suffered an actual decrease in broadband connectivity of -5%.
