The Census Bureau and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) are working together to help states and local communities understand the economic impacts of broadband infrastructure expansion.

As a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the ACCESS BROADBAND Act of 2021 was established to increase access to high-speed internet by expanding broadband networks to communities in need. In addition, the legislation requires NTIA to release estimates of the economic impact of such broadband deployment efforts on local economies, including any effect on small businesses or jobs. To address this requirement, the Census Bureau and NTIA created the ACCESS BROADBAND Dashboard for policymakers and the public to assess how changes in broadband availability and adoption could influence local economies.

The interactive dashboard allows users to compare maps displaying broadband access statistics to maps of social and economic indicators. Indicators include statistics on employment, small business establishments, wages and income, poverty, home values, population change and migration, educational attainment, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These indicators correspond to a conceptual framework presented in the upcoming 2022 Federal Broadband Funding Report that links the expansion of broadband availability and adoption to potential changes in local and regional economies.

This is the first release of the ACCESS BROADBAND Dashboard, enabling users to assess baseline economic characteristics at the smallest geographic level possible. NTIA and the Census Bureau plan to update the dashboard annually so users can assess the economic context of areas where broadband availability and adoption efforts are underway. Each release will include the interactive dashboard and supplemental data files so users can access the underlying map data.