The Broadband Affordability Gap: Internet Costs vs Income by State

Affordability: The Other Digital Divide

The broadband policy conversation in the United States has focused primarily on availability — bringing infrastructure to unserved areas. But for tens of millions of Americans, the problem is not that broadband is unavailable. It is that broadband is unaffordable. A household that can technically subscribe to a $75/month internet plan but earns $30,000 per year faces a fundamentally different cost calculation than a household earning $90,000.

The United Nations Broadband Commission defines broadband as “affordable” when it costs less than 2% of gross national income per capita, with a more common affordability threshold of 5% of household income for low-income populations. By this standard, broadband in the United States is affordable for the median household (2.1% of income) but unaffordable for the lowest income quintile (6.8% of income).

This report quantifies the affordability gap state by state, examines the impact of the ACP's expiration, and identifies the communities where cost — not availability — is the primary barrier to internet access.

Source: UN Broadband Commission, 2026

State-by-State Affordability Rankings

Affordability is a function of two variables: the price of broadband and the income of the population. States rank very differently on affordability than they do on availability or speed:

Utah tops the affordability rankings for a straightforward reason: it combines the lowest average broadband price in the country ($55/month, driven by Google Fiber and Utopia competition) with a median household income well above the national average. The result is that broadband costs just 0.76% of median household income — and even low-income Utah households spend only 4.1%, below the UN affordability threshold.

Mississippi sits at the bottom on both axes: it has among the highest broadband prices ($78/month, driven by monopoly markets) and the lowest median household income ($48,610) in the country. For low-income Mississippi households, broadband consumes 9.2% of income — nearly double the affordability threshold.

The ACP Sunset: What Happened

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided $30/month broadband subsidies to eligible low-income households, expired in June 2024 when Congress declined to extend its funding. At its peak, the program served approximately 23 million households — roughly one in six American homes.

The consequences have been measurable. In the 18 months since the ACP's expiration:

• An estimated 2-3 million households that had broadband through ACP subsidies have disconnected, primarily in the lowest income brackets.
• Broadband adoption rates among households earning less than $25,000/year have declined an estimated 8-12% nationally, reversing gains made during the program's operation.
• Several major providers that had created $30/month ACP-specific plans have discontinued those plans, removing the lowest-cost option from the market entirely.
• School districts in high-poverty areas report increased homework completion gaps, as students who lost home internet access can no longer complete digital assignments outside school hours.

No federal replacement program has been enacted as of early 2026, though several bills have been introduced. Some states (California, New York, Colorado) have created their own affordability programs, but these cover a fraction of the population that ACP served.

Source: FCC Affordable Connectivity Program, 2024

The Affordability-Competition Connection

Our data reveals a strong link between market competition and affordability. In markets with 4+ providers, the average broadband price is $55/month. In monopoly markets, it is $82/month. This $27/month difference has a dramatically larger impact on low-income households:

• For a household earning $80,000/year, the difference between $55 and $82/month represents 0.4% of income — negligible.
• For a household earning $25,000/year, the same difference represents 1.3% of income — potentially the difference between affording and not affording broadband.

This means that the competition deficit described in our ISP Market Concentration report has a disproportionate impact on low-income Americans, who are more likely to live in areas with limited competition and less able to absorb the premium that monopoly pricing imposes.

Low-Cost Internet Programs

In the absence of a federal subsidy, several ISPs offer low-income programs, though enrollment has declined significantly since the ACP sunset:

• Xfinity Internet Essentials: $9.95/month for 50 Mbps. Available to households in Comcast service areas that participate in SNAP, Medicaid, or other assistance programs.
• Spectrum Internet Assist: $17.99/month for 30 Mbps. Available to households receiving SSI, NSLP, or community eligibility provision benefits.
• AT&T Access: $5-$10/month for SNAP recipients in AT&T service areas. Speeds vary by available technology at the address.
• T-Mobile Project 10Million: Free mobile hotspot for eligible students at Title I schools.

These programs are valuable but insufficient. They are available only within each provider's service territory, often at speeds well below what the provider sells as its standard tier, and enrollment processes can be cumbersome. A comprehensive federal affordability program remains the most effective solution for closing the affordability gap at scale.

Methodology

Affordability metrics are calculated using broadband pricing data from our provider analysis database (24-month amortized costs including all fees) and median household income data from the 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Low-income thresholds use the bottom quintile income for each state.

ACP impact estimates are derived from FCC enrollment data, provider subscriber reports, and post-sunset adoption surveys. Full methodology on our methodology page. Published under CC BY 4.0.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2024