Information Hub: Digital Divide in Kansas

The Kansas Health Institute has developed this Digital Divide dashboard to provide a detailed overview of broadband and computer access across Kansas. This tool, which highlights disparities in ownership and availability, helps communities target efforts to close the digital divide.

Key Points

• One in 10 (12.0 percent) Kansas households do not have broadband.
  • One-third (30.9 percent) of individuals with a household income less than $20,000 do not have broadband.
• One in 20 (5.8 percent) Kansas households do not have a computer.
  • One in 10 (11.8 percent) Kansans age 65 and older do not have a computer to access the web.
• Those with less than a high school diploma (11.7 percent) are almost eight times more likely not to have a computer than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher (1.4 percent).

In today’s increasingly digital world, internet access is vital for education, employment and health care. As technology continues to play an essential role in accessing these services, it becomes critical to ensure that individuals have adequate access to both digital devices and reliable internet connectivity. However, the digital divide — the gap between those with sufficient access to these technologies and those without — remains a significant challenge, particularly in rural communities. In Kansas, almost 1 in 10 (12.0 percent) households do not have broadband, and 1 in 20 (5.8 percent) households do not have a computer to access the web.

Rural counties often face unique challenges, such as infrastructure limitations that make high-speed internet expensive and difficult to implement. Additionally, socioeconomic factors — like income and age — can further restrict access to computers and broadband services. In Kansas, one-third (30.9 percent) of individuals with a household income less than $20,000 do not have broadband. This rate is six times higher than those who make $75,000 or more (4.5 percent).

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which replaced the Emergency Broadband Benefit on Dec. 31, 2021, ended on June 1, 2024, due to a lack of additional funding. Over its two and a half years, ACP enrolled over 23 million households nationwide, significantly reducing the digital divide. The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024 has been introduced but is still pending.

On June 26, 2023, Governor Kelly announced that Kansas received nearly $452 million from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to expand broadband infrastructure statewide. Launched in 2020, the Broadband Acceleration Grant aims to invest $85 million over 10 years to bridge the digital divide in Kansas. In September 2024, Gov. Kelly announced an additional $22.7 million for broadband projects across 14 rural counties.

The Digital Divide dashboard provides a detailed overview of broadband and computer access across Kansas, highlighting disparities in ownership and availability. Using 2022 U.S. Census Bureau ACS data, it allows users to explore county-level data on access to computers and broadband, as well as demographic breakdowns of populations without computer access by age, race, ethnicity, employment, education and income. This tool helps communities target efforts to close the digital divide.

Explore the digital divide in Kansas using this interactive map.

To view data for a specific county, select that county on the map. The selected county will be highlighted, along with other counties in the peer county group. To return to the statewide view, click once on the selected county. To view data for a specific peer county group, select that group from the drop-down list labeled “Highlight Peer County Group.” To return to the statewide view, select the x on the right side of the drop-down list. For additional guidance, refer to the video tutorial which provides a complete dashboard walkthrough and usage instructions.

Using the Digital Divide Dashboard