A team of researchers led by Brian Whitacre of Oklahoma State University has found that broadband access delivers a measurable economic boost to rural communities across the United States. Their report, released August 5th, analyzed broadband availability and adoption alongside employment and household income for counties with populations under 50,000.
Counties where at least 60% of households had high-speed internet experienced greater income levels and smaller increases in unemployment compared with counties with lower broadband adoption. Conversely, counties where fewer than 40% of households had broadband saw slower business growth, lower household income, and higher unemployment growth.
“When broadband first emerged, there were many claims that it would benefit rural areas, but until now we lacked solid evidence showing broadband’s effect on economic growth in these places,” said Brian Whitacre, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University who led the study. “We found that rural counties that successfully adopted broadband enjoyed higher income growth and smaller increases in unemployment.”
To conduct the study, Whitacre and his team used county-level data on broadband from 2010 and compared adoption and availability with economic performance between 2001 and 2010. By examining historical trends, they sought to isolate the relationship between broadband adoption and subsequent economic outcomes.
“We examined data going back to 2001, prior to widespread broadband availability, and looked at factors that might predict a county’s future broadband adoption—income, education, race, population, and historical growth rates,” Whitacre explained. This approach allowed the researchers to control for pre-existing differences between counties and better assess broadband’s role in growth.
The study also emphasizes that building broadband infrastructure alone is not sufficient to ensure economic benefits. Effective investment must include outreach and education so residents understand the advantages of high-speed internet and how to use it on computers and mobile devices. Adoption depends not only on availability but on awareness, digital skills, and perceived value.
The research team included Roberto Gallardo, an associate extension professor at the Mississippi State University Extension Center for Technology Outreach, and Sharon Strover, the Philip G. Warner Regents Professor in Communication at the University of Texas. The study was funded by the National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center (NARDeP).
Should public and private efforts prioritize expanding rural broadband and funding digital literacy programs to maximize its economic impact? Share your thoughts in the comments.