The Least Internet-Connected US Cities and Places

The COVID-19 pandemic induced a historic shift to remote work and schooling. During the first coronavirus surge last spring, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over 35% of workers teleworked because of the pandemic. While that figure has declined, about 17% of workers reported teleworking due to the pandemic just last month. In addition, a Census Bureau report shows that an astonishing 93% of households with school-age children engaged in some form of distance learning during the pandemic—a change that puts those lacking internet access at a severe disadvantage. According to the latest Census Bureau data, 11% of American households do not have access to the internet, and 29% don’t have broadband.

Internet access has achieved near-widespread adoption over the past two decades. In 1997, just 18% of households had an internet subscription, but twenty years later, that figure had climbed to 78%. As residents increasingly rely on the internet for a broad range of services, broadband has also become the norm. According to Census Bureau data, in 2019, 71% of households had broadband, while just 0.2% had dial-up. That said, a cell phone and accompanying data plan is the only way that roughly one in 10 American households access the web.

The Least Internet-Connected Cities - Infographics of Line graph illustrating the rise in internet subscription rates since 1997, highlighting ongoing access issues.

Remote schooling and work typically require access to the internet, but internet access varies by socioeconomic status and race. Wealthier households with incomes over $75,000 are much more likely to have access to the internet than lower-income households making less than $20,000 per year—97% compared to just 69%. When considering race, Black households and American Indian and Alaskan Native households are the least likely to have internet access, at 83% and 78%, respectively.

The Least Internet-Connected Cities - Infographics of a bar charts showing how income and race significantly affect internet access rates across the U.S.

In addition to the socioeconomic and demographic differences in household internet access, there are geographic divides. On a regional basis, the South tends to have lower rates of household internet access while the West has the highest rates. With just 79.8% of households with any internet access, Mississippi has the lowest rate among all 50 states. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Utah households are the most likely to have access, where 94.4% of households have internet connections.

The Least Internet-Connected Cities - Infographics of U.S. map showing the South as the region with the least internet-connected households.

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To determine the least internet-connected metropolitan areas, Filterbuy analyzed data on internet access from the U.S. Census Bureau. Metro areas were ranked by the percentage of households who have any access to the internet—including broadband, satellite, dial-up, or cellular data. Researchers also calculated statistics on high-speed access, computer and smartphone ownership, cellular data plan usage, and household income.

Only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis. Additionally, metro areas were grouped into the following cohorts based on population size:

Small metros: 100,000–349,999
Midsize metros: 350,000–999,999
Large metros: 1,000,000 or more

Here are the least internet-connected U.S. metros.