WEST VIRGINIA (STACKER)—Access to high-speed internet in schools has come a long way in the last decade. In 2013, 70% of U.S. schools lacked an internet connection of 100 Kbps per student, the minimum speed the Federal Communication Commission set to meet basic classroom needs. By 2018, fewer than 2% of schools failed to meet that threshold.
As more schools integrate technology into the classroom, the need for fast, reliable internet is even greater. In 2020, the FCC upped the bandwidth minimum to 1 Mbps per student—10 times faster than the previous minimum. Nearly 6 in 10 school districts met or exceeded that benchmark in 2021—a 25% increase year over year, according to an analysis from Connect K-12.
Still, nearly 28 million U.S. students lack adequate internet speeds to effectively and regularly engage in digital classroom learning.
Stacker compiled a list of school districts in West Virginia with the slowest internet speeds using data from Connect K-12. School districts are ranked by internet speed in Mbps. Ties are broken by the number of students in the school district.
#10. Fayette County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.46 Mbps
– Total students: 8,497
– Cost per Mbps: $4.95
– Total monthly cost: $14,838.72
#9. Jefferson County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.44 Mbps
– Total students: 8,806
– Cost per Mbps: $4.44
– Total monthly cost: $13,326.51
#8. McDowell County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.37 Mbps
– Total students: 2,876
– Cost per Mbps: $4.63
– Total monthly cost: $4,627.45
#7. Lincoln County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.33 Mbps
– Total students: 3,283
– Cost per Mbps: $5.53
– Total monthly cost: $5,526.41
#6. Hancock County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.33 Mbps
– Total students: 3,950
– Cost per Mbps: $5.48
– Total monthly cost: $6,304.98
#5. Kanawha County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.31 Mbps
– Total students: 26,423
– Cost per Mbps: $7.41
– Total monthly cost: $37,062.49
#4. Boone County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.3 Mbps
– Total students: 3,667
– Cost per Mbps: $5.86
– Total monthly cost: $5,864.19
#3. Pleasants County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.28 Mbps
– Total students: 1,092
– Cost per Mbps: $7.1
– Total monthly cost: $2,130.80
#2. Mineral County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.28 Mbps
– Total students: 4,132
– Cost per Mbps: $6.61
– Total monthly cost: $6,614.70
#1. Cabell County Schools
– Bandwidth per student: 0.24 Mbps
– Total students: 11,656
– Cost per Mbps: $8.8
– Total monthly cost: $17,601.19
