Oregonians More Likely to Have High-Speed Internet Access

High-speed internet access is more crucial than ever in managing daily life. It's affecting how we communicate, teach, learn, shop, do business, and spend leisure time. Those without high-speed internet access are at a growing disadvantage as these activities continue to transform. In 2013, to get a more accurate picture of internet access across the nation, the U.S. Census Bureau began surveying computer ownership and internet access in the United States.

Last week, the Census Bureau published an article on findings from the first release of these data, and made a nice infographic ranking states by population with high-speed internet. Oregon's high-speed internet access ranked 13th in the nation at 82.4 percent, which was higher than the national average of 78.1 percent.

While Oregon has greater access than the nation as a whole, access is not equal among counties. Note that since this survey is in its initial phases, data are only available for geographic locations with population higher than 65,000, or 15 of Oregon's 36 counties.

Benton County had the highest percentage of individuals with high-speed internet access at home (89%), which put Corvallis metro highest among all metro areas in the nation. You can read more about it in this OPB story: Census Report: Corvallis Residents Most Likely to Have High-Speed Internet. 

Douglas County had the lowest of Oregon’s counties (with available data to date) with 71 percent.