Description of Indicator
The broadband indicator depicts the percentage of households that have access to the Internet broken down by race and ethnicity, age, education, and employment status.
Why is it Important?
Access to the internet is crucial for households to for a myriad of reasons, including maintaining communication, searching for jobs, participation in educational activities, among other critical tasks, such as banking and healthcare access.
How is the Region Performing?
Lackawanna County has a lower share of Black or African American alone households with a computer and broadband internet subscriptions (87.1 percent) when compared to Luzerne County (92.1 percent) and Wayne County (97.9 percent) as well as the state as a whole (87.4 percent). The share of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) that has access to the internet has slightly increased across the three-county region and Pennsylvania as a whole since 2020. While those aged 65+ and those with less than a high school diploma see smaller shares of households with a computer and broadband internet subscriptions, shares across the three-county region and state have slightly increased since 2020.