Skip to content
Demo
‹ Back to IndustriesIndustrial IoT

Why Does the US Rank so Low in Smart Cities

The United States ranks lower in the adoption of smart city technologies compared to other regions. Despite the increasing presence of smart cities and devices globally, the US adoption rate remains surprisingly low. This raises questions about the potential future leaders in smart city development.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Industrial IoT teams put it to work with AI Visibility (GEO).

By Ruari McCallion · · City PlanningEuropeInfrastructureSmart City
Share
Why Does the US Rank so Low in Smart Cities

Key takeaways

01

The US has a surprisingly low adoption rate for smart city technologies.

02

Other regions are better positioned for leading future smart city developments.

Free workspace

Turn your Industrial IoT expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Question: Why does the US rank low in the worlds top smart cities? What areas of the world are in prime position for the smart cities of the future? We know that smart cities and smart devices are become increasingly common, but the United States still ranks surprisingly new in terms of our adoption of this technology. Why is that? And what parts of the world are in prime position for the smart cities of the future? For answers, we turned to Ruari McCallion, host of All Systems Go, to give us his thoughts.

Tune in and subscribe to more content from MarketScale.com, as we share thought leadership on the most important issues and opportunities in your industry.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Industrial IoT starts with a company putting its controls engineers, plant-floor specialists, and integration partners on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Plant and controls buyers research deep before contact, and your engineers get to shape that research.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

RM
Ruari McCallion
B2B Weekly

The week in Industrial IoT, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Industrial IoT: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Industrial IoT buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Book a Demo →Talk to Sales

Free Trial

You just read one Industrial IoT expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your controls engineers, plant-floor specialists, and integration partners into the articles, video, and social content Industrial IoT buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

Book a Demo →Try it Free

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Industrial IoT Insights

A digital twin without real-time data is only a 3D model

A digital twin without real-time data is only a 3D model

Premio product marketing specialist Annie Yang, speaking at Embedded World North America 2026, separates operational digital twins from design simulations and maps a rugged edge computer's four jobs: connect, process, accelerate and operate. Premio's VCL, RCL and JCL series hold up to two full-height, full-length GPUs, and Nvidia's Jetson range spans 157 to 2,070 TOPS.

  • 01Premio's VCL, RCL and JCL series hold up to two full-height, full-length GPUs, and the NVIDIA RTX Pro Blackwell is the newest card the company supports.
  • 02Nvidia's own Jetson figures run from 157 TOPS to 2,070 TOPS, which is why Premio offers Intel, Jetson and AMD processors for different twin workloads.

Oct 23, 2026

A 3.5% utilities jump led September's rise in US industrial output

A 3.5% utilities jump led September's rise in US industrial output

US industrial production rose 0.7% in September, led by a 3.5% jump in utilities output while factories added only 0.3%. Factory output remains below its 2017 level. Total capacity use hit 76.9%, but manufacturing's 75.9% rate shows slack persists on production lines even as mines run above their long-run norm.

  • 01Manufacturing utilization has held between 75.8% and 76.0% since April, 2.3 points under its long-run norm.
  • 02The November 17 release is the test: a factory operating rate breaking out of its six-month band, or utilities giving back September's 3.5%, would change the read on where capacity is tight.

Oct 19, 2026

Rugged computers grow 5.8% a year, slower than the industrial IoT around them

Rugged computers grow 5.8% a year, slower than the industrial IoT around them

IndexBox's new forecast puts rugged computers at $6.8 billion in 2026, growing 5.8% a year to $11.3 billion by 2035. Industrial IoT forecasts run faster. Their growth estimates range from 8.16% to 16.8% a year, which points field-device buyers toward connectivity, software and services as the faster-growing part of the spend.

  • 01Rugged computer forecasts of 5.4% and 5.8% trail the 8.16% to 16.8% projected for industrial IoT, pointing to faster growth in solutions and services than in devices.
  • 02Market-size estimates disagree far more than growth rates do: one firm's 2032 rugged forecast of $5.57 billion is below another's 2026 figure of $6.8 billion, so device budgets can benchmark growth rates and treat total size as background.
  • 03Connectivity, including 5G and satellite links, is moving onto the rugged spec sheet next to durability as demand shifts toward connected, real-time data capture in the field.

Oct 16, 2026

Explore More Industrial IoT Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Industrial IoT.

Browse Industrial IoT Hub

About the Expert

RM
Ruari McCallion

Host, All Systems Go

For Industrial IoT teams

See how Industrial IoT teams use MarketScale →

AI Visibility (GEO)

Explore Channels

Industry news, analysis, and expert perspectives

Professional AV›Engineering & Construction›Education Technology›Healthcare›Energy›Software & Technology›Retail›Business Services›Industrial IoT›Sports & Entertainment›Transportation›Sciences›Building Management›Food & Beverage›Architecture & Design›Hospitality›Marketing Tech›
Keep exploring

More from Industrial IoT

Industrial IoT hubMore expert Industrial IoT coverage.Explore →AI Visibility (GEO)Be the answer AI tools cite.Explore →Aligned Data CentersInfrastructure at scale.Explore →State of GEO & AI VisibilityHow B2B brands get cited by AI search.Explore →

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Industrial IoT and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512