Poverty stretches the digital divide

The Investigative Reporting Workshop analyzed Federal Communications Commission and Census Bureau data to create a map that shows subscribership rates and demographic information at the Census tract level. That includes practically every neighborhood in the nation, or about 66,000 tracts. Each tract represents between 1,500 and 8,000 people.

Broadband subscribership in rural states, particularly in the West, increased at a rapid clip between 2008 and 2010, while the South has lagged behind the rest of the nation. Southern states like Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee have abysmal subscription rates, according to the analysis. While the No. 1 most-wired state is Hawaii, states in the relatively wealthy Northeast have the highest subscription rates — among them, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

The other lowest-subscribing states and their median incomes were:

• Arkansas ranked 49th with a 43 percent subscribership rate. The state ranks 50th in median annual income, at $38,600.
• Alabama ranked 48th in broadband with a 47 percent subscriber rate. It ranks 43nd in income, at $42,218.
• Tennessee was 47th in broadband at 48 percent. It ranks 49th in income, at $40,026.
• West Virginia was 46th in broadband at 49 percent. It ranks 48th in income, at $40,824.
• Oklahoma was 45th in broadband at 50 percent. It ranks 38th in income at $45,577.

Wealthier states ranked near the top:

• Hawaii is first in broadband at 74 percent, and 10th in income at $59,125.
• Connecticut is second in broadband at 72 percent, and second in income at $65,958.
• New Jersey is third in broadband at 72 percent, and third in income at $65,173.
• Massachusetts is fourth in broadband at 70 percent, and seventh in income at $60,923.
• New Hampshire is fifth in broadband at 70 percent, and first in income at $66,303.