Dakota County

Table of goal data by year

Year	Rank	100/20 Mbps
2024	#18 of 87	97.54%
2023	#15 of 87	97.17%
2022	#14 of 87	96.82%
2021	#11 of 87	97.75%
2020	#8 of 87	97.42%
2019	#7 of 87	97.56%
2018	#40 of 87	64.89%
2017	#32 of 87	64.18%

Red dots represent unserved locations.

Wired (wireline) and wireless (fixed, non-mobile) served location percentage at various speeds.

Dakota County: Always Getting Closer

Dakota County ranks 18 (down three) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have hovered around 97 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019.

While the Dakota County broadband board was dissolved in January 2024, staff continue to work on broadband use and deployment. Also Spectrum announced Gigabit service in the county in October 2024.

• Over the years, Dakota County (or cities within) has invested $106,538 (total) for matches for 2 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Dakota County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
• Dakota County will benefit from 17 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $33.8 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Dakota ranked 1 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.