CAIR v0.2 · DEMONSTRATION · Built from data the federal government already publishes.

Community AI Readiness (CAIR) assessment

Onslow County
North Carolina

pop. 213,676 (2023 estimate)  ·  Jacksonville, Holly Ridge, Swansboro and three smaller towns  ·  assessed September 30, 2026

This demonstration assesses Onslow County as a whole, working from public federal data. We scored 8 of the assessment's 27 measures.

Connectivity

97.4%

of homes across the county can get a wired connection at 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. 92.8% of households subscribe, so getting online is largely settled. Fiber reaches 45.5% of homes, just under half.

Federal funding

0 of 22

federal programs that paid local institutions in FY2025 name an AI, data or advanced computing purpose. Coastal Carolina Community College, the City of Jacksonville, Onslow County Schools and the electric cooperative all drew from them.

Technology workforce

238 of 351

of the county's technology businesses are solo entrepreneurs or consultants; 113 have payroll. Who the 238 are is not yet clear. A short questionnaire would show who they are and whether they use AI.

What we found

We scored 8 measures from 0 to 4. Each one shows the evidence behind its score, and the scale beside it marks where Onslow County landed.

Skills & Workforce1 of 4 measures

Educational attainment

Do enough adults have the education to take on technology and AI work?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 2 of 4

26.1% of adults over 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 29,462 people. An additional 37.3% have some college or an associate degree, so more than six in ten adults have education beyond high school. A score of 2 covers 15 to 34% of adults; at 35%, the county would score 3.

Worth knowingThe figure comes from the Census Bureau's survey of households and is solid. The adult population includes service members stationed in the county, and the federal figure does not separate them from long-term residents.
What you can do nextWe recommend that your economic development staff and Coastal Carolina Community College align existing technology courses and certificate programs, or create new ones, that give the 37.3% with some college or an associate degree a clear path into AI and technology work. These figures can support workforce grant applications.

Capital & Economic Development2 of 4 measures

External capital capture

Do local institutions know how to win outside funding?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 3 of 4could go up

Local institutions drew $76.4 million in federal funding in FY2025, across 22 programs. The county's full federal total was $1.66 billion, but $1.58 billion of that was Social Security, veterans' benefits and other payments to individuals, which this measure does not count.

Worth knowingMore than half of the $76.4 million is one award: $42.3 million to the electric cooperative for grid resilience. Without it, local institutions drew about $34 million. It also includes the school district's $6.0 million in Impact Aid, a formula payment for federal land in the county. Not counted: $726 million in federal contracts, mostly from the Navy, and any state or foundation grants, which we have not searched.
What you can do nextWe recommend that the county gather a list of the state and foundation grants won by local institutions, starting with the county itself, the city, the school district and the college. Those grants could move this score up. State grants sit in each institution's own records; foundation grants appear in the funders' public IRS filings, which run two to three years behind. In a partnership, CRAI searches the public filings and works with the county to gather the rest.

AI relevance of that capital

Is any of that funding aimed at AI or data work?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 0 of 4could go up

None of the 22 federal programs that paid local institutions in FY2025 names an AI, data or advanced computing purpose. We read all 69 federal assistance programs in the county, including payments to individuals, to check.

Worth knowingFederal contracts, $726 million in FY2025, are not counted. A contract pays a business to do work for a federal agency, mostly the Navy here. It is not a grant won by a local institution, and CAIR has not yet settled whether it should count. Several of the county's contract recipients are technology firms, so some AI work may sit there.
What you can do nextWe recommend that grants staff check whether each of the 22 federal programs the county already draws from allows spending on staff training or data tools, and apply for it at the program's next application cycle. We also recommend that they look for new state, federal and foundation grants aimed at AI and data work, which would raise this score directly.

Innovation & Ecosystem Assets1 of 6 measures

Technology businesses

Is there a private-sector base doing technical work?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 2 of 4

The county has 351 technology businesses out of 17,359, or 2.0%. The assessment counts them in two groups: 113 computer-services firms with payroll out of 4,098 private employers, and 238 solo entrepreneurs and consultants out of 13,261 businesses with no employees.

Worth knowingMost of the county's technology businesses, 238 of 351, are one-person operations. That is technical talent living in the county: people who could train others, advise local businesses and schools, or grow a firm of their own. Some may serve clients elsewhere, or be military spouses who will move with the next posting, and this data cannot tell them apart. It also leaves out technology work done on the base by federal staff and residents who work remotely for employers based elsewhere, so the real number is likely higher.
What you can do nextWe recommend that the county send a short questionnaire through its newsletter and social media, local business groups and military spouse networks to find out who these 351 are: whether they take local work, how long they expect to stay, and whether they use AI. The answers show how much of this technical talent is likely to stay and work locally.

Connectivity & Infrastructure3 of 5 measures

Broadband availability

Can households get a modern connection at all?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 4 of 4

97.4% of homes across the county can get a wired connection at 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, the minimum speed the FCC counts as broadband. From the FCC's county broadband summary, December 2025.

Worth knowingThat leaves about 2,500 homes with no wired provider offering that speed. The figures come from the providers themselves and tend to run optimistic, especially in rural areas, so read 97.4% as a ceiling. The real number of homes without service may be higher.
What you can do nextWe recommend that when residents report they cannot get service, planning or IT staff look up the address on the FCC's public broadband map and file a challenge where a provider claims service that is not there.

Fiber depth

Is the infrastructure built for the next decade?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 2 of 4

45.5% of homes in the county have fiber running to them. Fiber is the connection that does not need replacing when demand doubles. A score of 2 covers 25 to 49% of homes; at 50%, the county would score 3.

Worth knowingWhat is holding fiber back could be capital, access to utility poles or provider willingness, and each has a different fix.
What you can do nextWe recommend that when the county or a town plans road, water or sewer work, public works staff build empty conduit for fiber into the plan, in the same trench. Laying it during work already underway costs less than digging again later, and it lowers the cost for any provider that wants to build.

Provider competition

Is there more than one way to get connected?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 2 of 4

Cable reaches 93.8% of homes and fiber 45.5%. Only one of the two reaches a majority of the county, so most homes have one wireline option.

Worth knowingThe second network is close: at least 39% of homes can already choose between the two, and fiber is under five points from reaching half the county, which is the next score. Licensed fixed wireless reaches 37.6% at this speed; it is an alternative, not a wireline substitute.
What you can do nextProviders build where they expect to earn back the cost. We recommend that county and town staff start a conversation with the fiber and cable providers about where they plan to build next, whether pole access or permitting is slowing them, and whether they are applying for state or federal broadband grants. Support from the county can strengthen those applications.

Community Digital Inclusion & Adoption1 of 4 measures

Household adoption

Do people actually use the connection?

Federal dataMedium-high confidence
01234

Score 3 of 4

92.8% of households subscribe to broadband (69,855 of 75,265, give or take 1.1 percentage points). That leaves roughly 5,400 households without a subscription. 97.2% of households have a computer, so the gap is not mainly about devices.

Worth knowingThis figure counts households only; it excludes the 24,256 residents living in group quarters, such as barracks and dormitories. It also cannot tell us why the remaining households are not subscribing. The likely reasons are price, need, skill or no service at the address, and this data cannot tell them apart.
What you can do nextWe recommend that library staff survey patrons who have no home connection about why: cost, need, skill or no service at the address. The results, shared with the county, give it a starting count and the most likely reason homes are not connected. That reason points to the fix: help with cost, skills classes, or a challenge to the FCC's broadband map. Asking again in a year shows whether it worked, and the results are evidence for grants aimed at internet access.

What is still open

Everything above came from federal data. We have not searched any state, county or town source yet, so nothing here has been ruled out. Some of the open measures cannot be answered from records alone; they need conversations with people in the county.

Broadband availability: score 4 of 4 Broadband availability: score 4 of 4 Fiber depth: score 2 of 4 Fiber depth: score 2 of 4 Network resilience: not collected yet School and library bandwidth: not collected yet Provider competition: score 2 of 4 Provider competition: score 2 of 4 Connectivity &Infrastructure3 of 5 Educational attainment: score 2 of 4 Educational attainment: score 2 of 4 College AI programs: not collected yet AI training for adults: not collected yet Workforce priorities: not collected yet Skills &Workforce1 of 4 External capital capture: score 3 of 4 (could be higher) External capital capture: score 3 of 4 (could be higher) AI relevance of that capital: score 0 of 4 (could be higher) AI relevance of that capital: score 0 of 4 (could be higher) Grant-writing capacity: not collected yet Economic development plan: not collected yet Capital &Economic Development2 of 4 County AI policy: not collected yet AI on the agenda: not collected yet AI in long-range plans: not collected yet How well the county publishes its records: not collected yet Local Governance& Leadership0 of 4 Household adoption: score 3 of 4 Household adoption: score 3 of 4 Help paying for internet: not collected yet Library capacity: not collected yet Schools: not collected yet Digital Inclusion& Adoption1 of 4 A dedicated AI institution: not collected yet Applied AI research: not collected yet Technology businesses: score 2 of 4 Technology businesses: score 2 of 4 Entrepreneur community: not collected yet Funding that builds capacity: not collected yet A recurring local scene: not collected yet Innovation &Ecosystem Assets1 of 6 Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4 8 of 27 collected
score score of 0 not collected yet

The chart shows all 27 measures as slices, grouped by area. The longer a slice, the higher the score: 1 near the center and 4 at the edge. A dot at the center is a score of 0. Dotted outlines are measures we have not collected yet; that is not a score of zero.

Two ways forward

Everything above is a start, and a county can take it from here in either of two ways. Both use the same measures and the same 0 to 4 scale, and neither scores Onslow County against any other county.

Option one

Open and free

Do it yourself, from data that is publicly available.

  • Federal data that exists for every U.S. county
  • Scores on the 8 measures federal data can answer, each with its evidence, its source and a next step
  • A list of the 19 measures still to collect, and what each one needs
  • The method is published, so anyone can check it
  • The county's own offices can work through the open measures themselves

Best when the county wants a clear picture and has staff time to follow it up.

Option two

In partnership with CRAI

A summary of the county's capacity, and a detailed, prioritized list of next steps.

  • All 27 measures scored 0 to 4, with how solid and recent the evidence is
  • Next steps for every measure, ranked by which to take on first and who to talk to first
  • State, county, school and library records, gathered with the offices that hold them
  • Every figure traced to its source

Best when the county wants the 19 open measures closed and a record it can hand to a funder or a board. This is paid work.

Nothing about a community becomes public without that community deciding it should.

This holds on both paths. The county chooses what is published and when.

The 19 measures still to collect, where each one comes from, and what it would tell the county. The first three are the quickest.

MeasureWhere it comes fromWhat it would tell the county
School and library bandwidthInternet contracts every school district and library files publicly each yearWhether schools and libraries have the bandwidth for AI tools and online learning
How well the county publishes its recordsAn inventory of what the county and its towns put online, in what form, going how far backHow easily residents can find local records; three other local-government measures depend on it
Library capacityThe national public library surveyPublic computers and digital programs per 1,000 residents, where people without home internet get online
Network resilienceThe county's carriers, on whether a second, separate route carries live trafficWhether one cut line could take the county offline
College AI programsCoastal Carolina Community College and other colleges serving the countyWhether residents can train for AI work close to home
AI training for adultsThe region's approved training provider listWhether working adults can find AI courses nearby, and how often they run
Workforce prioritiesThe regional workforce planWhether the region's job-training money points at AI and automation
Grant-writing capacityWhich institution received each award behind the 22 programs, plus the county's audited accountsWhich local offices win grants on their own, and which could with help
Economic development planThe county's plan and the regional strategyWhether technology is a stated priority
County AI policyAdopted county and town policiesWhether staff have rules for using AI tools
AI on the agendaTwo years of county commission and town council minutesWhether elected officials have taken up AI
AI in long-range plansThe county comprehensive plan and the towns' plansWhether AI appears in plans the county has adopted
Help paying for internetLow-income broadband enrollment, plus what providers offer locallyHow many households get help with cost, which bears on the 5,400 without a subscription
SchoolsOnslow County Schools board policies and curriculumWhether students are learning about AI, and how the district governs its use
A dedicated AI institutionStated missions of organizations in or serving the countyWhether any local organization exists to lead AI work
Applied AI researchResearch institutions serving the countyWhether there is a research partner nearby
Entrepreneur communityChamber of commerce listings and local groupsWhether new technology firms have local support
Funding that builds capacityThe county's federal awards, matched to local institutionsWhether outside money leaves staff and skills behind after the projects end
A recurring local sceneTwo years of event listingsWhether people interested in technology meet regularly