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Broadband Expansion and the Digital Divide: Has There Been Progress in Expanding Access to Low-Income Households in the U.S.?

Lacey Hartman, Senior Research Fellow
Elliot Walsh, Research Dissemination Coordinator
May 26, 2026

Introduction

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic underscored and increased the importance of telehealth services to people across the U.S., as well as the crucial role of broadband internet subscriptions in making those services possible. Suddenly, in early 2020, actions designed to protect public health—such as limitations on in-person health care to conserve emergency response capacity—meant that telehealth became a key vehicle for ensuring people could still receive health services when they needed them. 

Even after the end of the pandemic, telehealth continues to be a popular and often necessary way for patients to access care; federal and state governments have made significant investments in the years following the pandemic to expand and ensure affordable availability of broadband internet.1 In an earlier blog from 2023, we outlined some of the successes that these policies brought, also discussing disparities by income that persisted, generally seeing that “households with an income under $25,000 per year have the lowest percentage of broadband access.”2 This disparity in access to broadband is a part of what is called the digital divide, defined by Syracuse University as, “gaps in who can access, use, and benefit from digital technology. Economic factors, geography, education, and age all contribute to technology inequality. Digital gaps affect education, employment, healthcare access, and social participation.”3 

Recent policy changes may put some of the gains in broadband access and the improvements made to the digital divide at risk. For example, the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provided discounts on broadband subscriptions to over 23 million households, ended in May 2024 when Congress did not authorize new funding to sustain the program.4  

The signing of H.R. 1 into law and pending 2027 implementation of new requirements for many Medicaid enrollees to work a certain number of hours to keep their coverage adds another level of urgency to addressing the digital divide in the U.S. Lack of access to reliable internet can itself be a barrier to employment.5 In addition, the requirement for millions of Medicaid enrollees to regularly report their working, volunteering, or schooling activities under the new law may be more challenging for people without broadband access at home.6 

For these reasons, it is important to monitor changes in access to broadband both nationally and at the state-level. In this blog, we look at variation in states’ progress on improving the share of households with subscriptions for home broadband internet services between 2019 and 2024 before taking a deeper look at disparities by income.

About the Data

The data cited in this blog can be accessed through SHADAC’s online data tool, State Health Compare, using the measure “Percent of households with a broadband internet subscription” for the years 2016–2024. The estimates come from SHADAC’s analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). All differences described are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level unless otherwise specified.

Broadband Subscription Rates: State Variation and Change Over Time

How many people have access to the internet via a broadband subscription in the U.S.? In 2019, the percentage of households with broadband internet subscriptions in the U.S. was 86.3%; this increased by almost 6 percentage points (PP) up to 93.2% of U.S. households in 2024. 

However, broadband subscription rates still vary by state. In 2024, the percentage of households with broadband subscriptions ranged from a low of 88.6% in Mississippi to a high of 95.8% in New Hampshire (Figure 1).

States also differ in their rate of broadband access improvement between 2019 and 2024. For example:

  • Mississippi saw an increase of nearly 12PP (from 76.9% to 88.6%).
    • Despite these substantial gains, Mississippi continues to have the lowest broadband subscription rate in the country.
  • Wyoming experienced a smaller gain of just over two percentage points (87.5% to 90.2%).

Figure 1. Broadband Internet Subscription Rates by State, 2019 and 2024

 

Broadband Access for Low-Income Households by State

Income disparities and the digital divide persist: Low-income households (i.e., households making less than $25,000 annually) have historically had lower broadband subscription rates than their higher-income counterparts. This is likely influenced in part by the cost of a broadband subscription, which ranges between $50 and $65 per month in most of the U.S., and less availability of broadband internet infrastructure in lower-income communities.7,8  

However, data from 2019 to 2024 shows improvement across the states between 2019 and 2024 (Figure 2):

  • 2019: Subscription rates for households earning below $25,000 ranged from 56.1% (Mississippi) to 75.1% (Delaware).
  • 2024: Subscription rates for low-income households increased and the disparities among the states narrowed, ranging from 71.7% (North Dakota) to 86.0% (New Hampshire).

Additionally, notable shifts occurred in state rankings during this period. Alaska, which ranked third from last for low-income broadband subscriptions in 2019, rose to the second highest low-income subscription rate in the country by 2024. New Hampshire jumped from the middle-of-the-pack to having the highest rate among all states both overall and for low-income households in 2024. 

Figure 2. Broadband Internet Subscription Rates Among Low-Income Households (<$25,000 Annually) by State, 2019 and 2024

 

How Have Broadband Income Disparities Changed Over Time?

A central question to many is whether general progress in broadband expansion for low-income households has successfully narrowed the income-based digital divide, in which lower-income households have worse access to broadband than higher-income households. These data show progress in reducing those income disparities at both national and state levels. 

Nationally, the gap between households earning under $25,000 (i.e., low-income households) and those earning over $50,000 (i.e., high-income households) was nearly halved: In 2019, the disparity was 28PP (66% for low-income households vs. 94% for high-income households); by 2024, the disparity dropped to 15PP (81.1% vs. 96.5%) (Figure 3). 

Figure 3. Broadband Internet Subscription Rates by Annual Household Income, 2019–2024

While all states reduced income-based disparities in broadband subscriptions between 2019 and 2024, they varied in the extent to which the disparity was narrowed. Figure 4 below shows how disparities between low- and high-income households have changed across states between 2019 and 2024. It is sorted alphabetically so that you can see the change in each state.

Figure 4. Income Disparities in Broadband Subscription Rates by State, 2019 and 2024

 

The first two charts in Figure 5 rank the states by the size of their broadband income disparity in both 2019 and 2024. States that have the larger disparities are on the bottom (like Mississippi ranked last with a 34PP disparity in low vs. high income broadband subscription rates in 2019) and states with smaller disparities on the top (like Delaware ranked first with a 19PP disparity in 2019). The third column of Figure 5 shows how states rank on how much they reduced the disparity between low- and higher-income households between 2019 and 2024.

Figure 5. Changes in Income Disparities in Broadband Subscription Rates by State, 2019–2024

 

Figure 5 shows that Alaska achieved the largest improvement, narrowing its disparity by over 20 percentage points, climbing from 49th to 1st in income disparity rankings between 2019 and 2024. New Hampshire also had sizable improvements, narrowing its disparity by 20 percentage points and climbing from 48th to 5th in the ranks. As we mentioned earlier, Alaska and New Hampshire also demonstrated the largest improvements in broadband internet subscriptions among low-income households in absolute terms (as opposed to measuring reductions in disparities versus higher-income households) from 2019 to 2024, ranked number 2 and 1, respectively, for rate of low-income broadband subscriptions by state in 2024 (Figure 2).

For this blog, we were not able to isolate exactly what led to larger improvements in closing the income-based digital divide in some states more than others. However, looking at broadband expansion funding and implementation activities for the two highest performing states, Alaska and New Hampshire, may provide some clues.

Alaska received the most Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding per capita across states, at approximately $1,387 per resident.9 The BEAD program was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to build infrastructure for broadband in unserved or underserved areas.10 The Affordable Connectivity Program also provided larger monthly stipends ($75 vs. $30) to households on qualifying Tribal lands, and Alaska has the largest share of its population either living on tribal lands or identifying as American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN) in the U.S.11,12 These factors may have contributed to Alaska’s success at increasing broadband expansion and narrowing the income-based digital divide. 

New Hampshire, on the other hand, received roughly $140 per resident in BEAD funding, and a very small (0.1%) share of its population identifies as AIAN. However, New Hampshire was among the first states to receive its BEAD funding, and has framed its broadband expansion efforts on reaching 100% coverage with particular focus on low-income, rural areas in the state.13 New Hampshire also had the largest share of broadband internet subscriptions overall in 2024, suggesting that there may be something of a “rising tide lifts all boats” impact—meaning that when something increases, like broadband subscriptions, that increase is often reflected within and across all groups.

A thorough review of broadband funding and implementation approaches is well beyond the scope of this blog. However, such research could potentially benefit and inform future efforts to narrow the digital divide by income in this country.

Conclusion

On both national and state levels, subscriptions to broadband internet increased from 2019 to 2024, signaling overall improvement in broadband access and expansion throughout the country. However, there is still considerable variation across states, and disparities by income persist. In addition, one of the large federal programs focused on expanding broadband access, the Affordable Connectivity Program, ended in 2024.

The impacts of the digital divide are likely to be amplified in new ways as states implement Medicaid work requirements under H.R. 1 because internet connectivity plays a role in both the ability to get a job and allowing people to meet new reporting requirements. As a result, it will be critical to continue to monitor broadband subscriptions in the years to come, and to invest in research to better understand where previous policies have been successful, where they have continued to leave people behind, and why.

References

  1. The Council of State Governments. (2022, May 11). Broadband Expansion Initiatives. https://www.csg.org/2022/05/11/broadband-expansion-initiatives/
  2. Benedict, M. (2023, Apr 13). Monitoring Broadband Expansion and Disparities using Data from State Health Compare. State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC). https://www.shadac.org/news/2021-broadband-disparities
  3. Syracuse University. (2026, Jan 29). What Is the Digital Divide? Meaning, Causes & Impact. School of Information Studies. https://ischool.syracuse.edu/what-is-the-digital-divide/
  4. Federal Communications Commission. (2024, Nov 26). Affordable Connectivity Program. https://www.fcc.gov/acp#:~:text=The%20Affordable%20Connectivity%20Program%20helped,(04/02/24)
  5. Johnson, K.R., & Persico, C. (2024, May). BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND WELLBEING. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w32517/w32517.pdf
  6. Coleman, A., & Federman, S. (2025, Sept 30). Work Requirements for Medicaid Enrollees. The Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2025/sep/work-requirements-medicaid-enrollees
  7. Nair, A. (2025, Sept). BROADBAND AFFORDABILITY: Assessing the Cost of Broadband for Low-and-Moderate Income Communities in Cities. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/outreach-and-education/household-financial-stability/assessing-cost-of-broadband-for-low-and-moderate-income-communities
  8. Broadband Deployment Advisory Council. (2020, Dec). Increasing Broadband Investment in Low-Income Communities
    Working Group. Federal Communications Commission. https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/bdac-low-income-communities-approved-rec-12172020.pdf
  9. Davidson, N. (2023, Jun 30). Which States Received the Most Broadband Funding from BEAD? Government Technology. https://www.govtech.com/biz/data/which-states-received-the-most-broadband-funding-from-bead 
  10. Zhu, L. (2025, Aug 29). The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: Issues for the 119th Congress. CRS Products, Library of Congress. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48666
  11. Federal Communications Commission. (2024, Nov 26). Affordable Connectivity Program. https://www.fcc.gov/acp#:~:text=The%20Affordable%20Connectivity%20Program%20helped,$50%20toward%20the%20purchase%20price.
  12. United States Census Bureau. (2024, Oct 25). Facts for Features: National Native American Heritage Month: November 2024. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2024/aian-month.html
  13. Office of Broadband Initiatives. (n.d.). Office of Broadband Initiatives. New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. https://www.nheconomy.com/office-of-broadband-initiatives