Digital Nation Report

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Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey

Digital Nation Report

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EXPLORING THE DIGITAL NATION
Computer and Internet Use at Home

Prepared by

Economics and Statistics Administration
and

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce
November 2011

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Exploring the Digital Nation:
Computer and Internet Use at Home
Foreword

he Internet is an extraordinary platform for innovation, economic growth, and social
communication. High-speed Internet services delivered over broadband networks are
critical to maintaining the United States’ competitiveness in a global economy. A
strong correlation exists between broadband (both deployment and adoption) and indices of
economic growth, such as increases in Gross Domestic Product, employment, and property
values. The Administration recognizes the importance of broadband to improve health care,
enhance education, and provide essential job training and employment assistance for Americans
seeking work. President Obama recently reiterated his long-standing commitment to ensuring
broadband’s role in the nation’s future, stating:
I will not sacrifice the core investments that we need to grow and create jobs.
We will invest in medical research. We will invest in clean energy technology.
We will invest in new roads and airports and broadband access. We will invest
in education. We will invest in job training. We will do what we need to do to
compete, and we will win the future.
—Remarks by President Obama on Fiscal Policy in Washington, DC, April 13, 2011

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provides a down
payment on needed investments to extend the nation’s broadband infrastructure, expand
public computer center capacity, and promote broadband adoption. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides approximately
$4 billion to fund 229 projects under the Recovery Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program (BTOP). These investments, combined with the Department of Agriculture’s
Broadband Initiatives Program, total approximately $7 billion, and they are beginning to pay
dividends. BTOP grantees have installed or upgraded over 18,000 miles of new broadband
networks, added or upgraded more than 16,000 computer workstations, and reported over
110,000 new subscribers as of June 30, 2011. The projects are stimulating the deployment
and adoption of broadband in communities across the United States and we expect that they
will continue to do so for years to come. In addition, NTIA recently launched
DigitalLiteracy.gov in partnership with nine Federal agencies to create an online resource for
improving digital literacy.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Government efforts, private sector investment, and increased demand for Internet services and
applications all play a key role in facilitating the steady growth in households’ computer and
Internet use. For its part, the Department of Commerce is a leader in analyzing broadband
access and adoption in America. In October 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau within the
Economics and Statistics Administration, in collaboration with NTIA, significantly expanded
the Current Population Survey (CPS) to include new questions on computer and Internet use.
The Census Bureau surveyed about 54,300 households, and through statistical methods
extrapolated the survey results to represent 119.5 million American households.
The CPS data revealed that 68 percent of households used broadband Internet access service,
up from 64 percent the previous year. Despite this improvement, demographic and geographic
disparities demonstrate a persistent digital divide among certain groups. For example, rural
low-income minorities’ broadband adoption at home lagged significantly behind that of other
groups. In addition, almost one-third of Americans are not accessing broadband service at
home. The Administration has made it a priority to evaluate the effectiveness of existing
programs, develop new programs as needed, and work collaboratively with industry to design
new strategies to ameliorate the digital divide. Our ongoing analysis highlights that there is no
simple “one size fits all” solution to resolve the adoption disparities among broadband users.
The Administration will continue to encourage Congress, state and local officials, and the
private sector to find ways to promote broadband deployment and adoption so that we
continue to create jobs, prepare the workforce for the rapidly developing Internet economy,
and increase the nation’s competitiveness.

Rebecca M. Blank
Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce
and
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
Economics and Statistics Administration
Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Exploring the Digital Nation:
Computer and Internet Use at Home
ECONOMICS & STATISTICS
ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
& INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

Rebecca M. Blank
Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce
and
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs

Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary for Communications
and Information

JOINT PROJECT TEAM
ESA

NTIA

Mark Doms, Chief Economist
Robert Rubinovitz, Deputy Chief Economist
Beethika Khan, Economist
Rebecca Lehrman, Economist

John S. Morabito, Deputy Associate
Administrator for Policy Analysis
and Development
James McConnaughey, Chief Economist
Maureen Lewis, Director of Minority
Telecommunications Development
Rafi M. Goldberg, Telecommunications
Policy Analyst
Agatha Cole

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Robin Anderson, Research Economist
Demographic Surveys Division
Technologies Management Office
Demographic Statistical Methods Division
Housing and Household Economics Statistics
Division: Population Division

The Project Team would like to thank Joanne Caldwell, Sabrina Montes, Cassandra Ingram,
David Beede, George McKittrick, and Jane Callen of the Economics and Statistics Administration;
Anna Gomez, Angela Simpson, Marsha MacBride, Rochelle Cohen, Kathy Smith, Josephine Arnold,
Tim Sloan, and Percia Safar of NTIA; David Johnson, Hyon Shin, Kurt Bauman, Gregory Weyland,
and Tiffany Julian of the Census Bureau; Patricia Buckley of the Office of the Secretary;
Thomas C. Power and Daniel J. Weitzner of the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy; Peter Stenberg and Christopher Chapman of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and
Education, respectively; and Craig Peters of the Council of Economic Advisers, for their
contributions to this report.

iii

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Exploring the Digital Nation:
Computer and Internet Use at Home
Executive Summary

his report updates and expands last year’s report, Exploring the Digital Nation: Home
Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States, based on data from the Census
Bureau’s most recent Current Population Survey (CPS) School Enrollment and Internet
Use Supplement. The report also provides additional information augmenting the February
2011 research preview, Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage, and includes new findings on
computer and Internet use in the United States. For example, we use regression analysis to help
explain some of the disparities in broadband Internet adoption that exist between demographic
and geographic groups. The analysis reveals that, by holding constant certain factors such as
household income, education, or age, the adoption disparities may decrease significantly.
Below is a summary of our final review of the 2010 CPS results. These findings may assist
policymakers as they consider ways to promote broadband deployment and adoption in the
United States.1

Summary of the 2010 CPS Results

As of October 2010, more than 68 percent of households used broadband Internet
access service, up from 64 percent one year earlier (Section 1, Figure 1). Approximately
80 percent of households had at least one Internet user, either at home or elsewhere
(Section 3.1, Figure 3).

Cable modem (32 percent) and DSL (23 percent) ranked as the most commonly used
broadband technologies (Section 3.1, Figure 3). Other technologies, including mobile
broadband, fiber optics, and satellite services, accounted for a small, but growing, segment
of households with broadband Internet access service.

In this report, we examine Internet access service from the demand side based on the Census Bureau’s survey of
households. We use the terms “adoption,” “use,” “utilization,” “access,” and “connection” interchangeably to indicate
that a household reported having Internet access service. The term “Internet access service” includes both the provision
of dial-up Internet access service and broadband Internet access service. Similarly, the CPS survey inquires about
households’ ownership or use of a home computer to examine whether they have access to the devices necessary to
access the Internet. The report describes such access as “ownership” or “use” and employs the terms interchangeably.
1

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Dial-up use at home – the preferred form of residential Internet access through the mid
2000s – continued to decline from five percent in October 2009 to three percent one year
later (Section 3.1, Figure 3).

Over three-fourths (77 percent) of households had a computer – the principal means by
which households access the Internet – compared with 62 percent in 2003 (Section 1,
Figure 1). Low computer use correlates with low broadband adoption rates.

Broadband Internet adoption, as well as computer use, varied across demographic and
geographic groups. Lower income families, people with less education, those with
disabilities, Blacks, Hispanics, and rural residents generally lagged the national average in
both broadband adoption and computer use. For example, home broadband adoption
and computer use stood at only 16 percent and 27 percent, respectively, among rural
households headed by a Black householder without a high school diploma (Section 4.2,
Table 4). Also, households with school-age children exhibited higher broadband adoption
and computer use rates than other households (Section 4.1, Figure 7).

The differences in socio-economic attributes do not entirely explain why some groups
lagged in adoption. Broadband Internet adoption disparities decrease when regression
analysis holds constant certain household characteristics, such as income, education, race,
ethnicity, foreign-born status, household composition, disability status, or geographic
location. For example, the gap with respect to broadband Internet adoption associated
with disabilities decreases from 29 to six percentage points when controlling for income,
education, age, and other attributes (Section 4.3, Figure 18).

The most important reasons households without broadband Internet or dial-up service
gave for not subscribing were: (1) lack of need or interest (47 percent); (2) lack of
affordability (24 percent); and (3) inadequate computer (15 percent) (Section 5,
Figure 19).

Households reporting affordability as the major barrier to subscribing to broadband
service cited both the fixed cost of purchasing a computer and the recurring monthly
subscription costs as important factors (Section 5, Figure 21). Our analysis of the
expanded CPS data suggests that work, school, public libraries, and someone else’s house
were all popular alternatives for Internet access among those with no home broadband
Internet access service (Section 6, Figure 23). Not surprisingly, individuals with no home
broadband Internet access service relied on locations such as public libraries (20 percent)
or other people’s houses (12 percent) more frequently than those who used broadband
Internet access service at home.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Exploring the Digital Nation:
Computer and Internet Use at Home
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Household Computer Use, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Household Internet Adoption, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1 Types of Household Internet Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Mobile Broadband Internet Use at Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Computer and Home Internet Use by Household Demographic
Characteristics and Geography, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4.1 Demographic and Geographic Gaps in Computer and Internet Use . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2 A Detailed Look at Computer and Broadband Internet Use by
Demographic Characteristics and Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3 Marginal Effects of Household Characteristics on the Likelihood
that a Household Uses Broadband Internet Access Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5. Non-Adoption of Internet Access Services at Home, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6. Internet Use Outside the Home, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Appendix A: Data and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Appendix B: Statistical Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

vii

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Exploring the Digital Nation:
Computer and Internet Use at Home
1. Introduction
The Internet has transformed our social and economic environment by providing an important
platform for innovation, economic growth, and social communication. Residential use of
broadband Internet access services has risen dramatically during the past decade, demonstrating
that the Internet plays a key role in the everyday lives of many people.
Figure 1: Overview of Household Adoption Rates by Technology
Percent of U.S. Households
Computer

Internet

Broadband Internet

Telephone

100%
96
90%
80%

Jul 00

Nov 01

Nov 03

Nov 07

Nov 97 Nov 98

Nov 09 Mar 10
77
71

70%

62
68

60%

51
50%
40%

37
42

30%
26

20%

19
10%

9
4

0%
Oct 97 Dec 98

Aug 00 Sep 01

Oct 03

Oct 07

Oct 09 Oct 10

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations. “Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage,” National Telecommunications and
Information Administration, February 2011.
Note: Internet adoption depicted above combines broadband and dial-up Internet access services. 2001-2010 computer
and Internet use data employ 2000 Census-based weights, and earlier years use 1990 Census-based weights.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Nonetheless, as Figure 1 illustrates, not everyone uses a computer or the Internet. Today, there
exists a substantial gap between these technologies’ adoption rates (77 and 71 percent,
respectively) and that of telephone service (96 percent); broadband Internet access (68 percent)
trails as well. However, the differentials have decreased significantly between very mature
telephone subscribership and growing digital technologies. For example, in 2003 computer use
lagged by approximately 33 percentage points and broadband by almost 75 percentage points.
While telephone diffusion has plateaued for more than two decades, nascent computer and
Internet adoption rates have continued to climb, albeit at a slower pace than earlier in the
decade. In contrast, broadband Internet’s rise has remained sharp and robust, as dial-up
adoption plunged from 37 percent in 2000 to three percent in 2010.
In February 2011, NTIA released Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage, a research preview
that provided a first look at data from the October 2010 School Enrollment and Internet Use
Supplement to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. The preview relied on several
statistical tables that the Census Bureau released shortly after it began processing the survey
data. These tables provided us with certain information about disparities in broadband
adoption based on demographic characteristics such as income, race, and population density.
The preliminary CPS data, however, limited our analysis until the Census Bureau made
available a public use dataset for the survey, which facilitated a more detailed examination
of the data.
Armed with complete survey results, ESA and NTIA produced custom statistics on adoption of
Internet access services by demographics and geography, and reasons for non-adoption. In
addition to calculating statistics not listed in the summary tables that NTIA used for the 2011
research preview, such as information on computer ownership, we employed regression analysis
to estimate the effects of different variables, such as income or race, on such outcomes as
broadband adoption when holding other factors constant. In other words, it allowed us to
estimate how much of the digital divide remains attributable to population density or
geography (for example) if we control for characteristics like education and income.
This report, therefore, draws on the October 2010 CPS data to provide new insights from the
survey’s expanded questions on computer use and Internet adoption.2 These additional
questions enabled us to study home computer use, identify the types of broadband Internet
access services used at home, and determine the locations from which people used the Internet
outside the home. In addition, one of the main findings of the 2011 preview was that
affordability played a large role in a household’s decision not to subscribe to broadband services.
The expanded questionnaire allowed us to identify the types of costs that concerned households,
including fixed costs, such as the cost of computer equipment and Internet service installation,
and recurring costs, such as monthly Internet access subscription fees.

Please see Appendix A for a detailed description of the data and methodology employed in this report.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

2. Household Computer Use, 2010
More than three-quarters (77 percent) of all American households had a computer at home
in 2010, up from 62 percent in 2003.3,4 Figure 2 shows that the majority of U.S. households
(58 percent) used a desktop, laptop, netbook, or notebook computer only (personal computer),
while 17 percent used a handheld device (which includes smartphones and other Internetcapable devices of similar functionality) in addition to a personal computer. Handheld devices
appear to be complementary to personal computers since the substantial majority of households
with handheld devices also used a personal computer. Only two percent of households reported
having just a handheld device.
A significant segment of the population, almost one-fourth (23 percent) of all American
households, did not own or use a computer at home in 2010.
Figure 2: Household Computer Use by Type of Computer, 2010

No computer
23%

Handheld device
and personal
computer
17%

Personal computer
only (Desktop,
laptop,
netbook, or
notebook computer)
58%

Handheld
device only
2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Handheld devices include smartphones and other Internet-capable devices of similar size and functionality.

For the 2010 household-level estimate of computer usage based on the total sample, the margin of error at the
90 percent confidence level is plus or minus 0.35 percentage points based on a standard error (SE) of 0.21 percentage
points. See Appendix B, Table B2 for estimates of computer use and standard errors for population subgroups. The last
time the CPS included data on computer use was in 2003.
3

All comparisons referenced in this paper have been tested for statistical significance, and are significant at the
90 percent confidence level.
4

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

The finding that a relatively small share of the population owned handheld devices raises the
question whether households with handheld devices differ in their demographic characteristics
from others. Table 1 shows demographic information for three groups: households that owned
a handheld device (alone or in addition to a personal computer), those with a personal
computer only, and those with no computer of any type. Handheld devices were more
prevalent in higher-income households – almost one-third of households (31 percent) with a
handheld device had family incomes exceeding $100,000 in 2010, compared to 16 percent of
households with a personal computer only, and three percent of households with no computer.
In general, households that reported using a handheld device had younger and more educated
householders than those without a handheld device or computer.5
Table 1. Household Characteristics by Type of Computer at Home, 2010
Handheld device
alone or in
combination

Personal computer
only (Desktop,
laptop, netbook,
or notebook)

No computer

42
14%
31%
18%
48%
89%
10%

49
23%
16%
28%
33%
83%
16%

57
57%
3%
42%
10%
79%
21%

Mean Age* (years)
Income < $25,000
Income > $100,000
High school diploma*
College degree or more*
Urban
Rural

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Handheld devices include smartphones and other Internet-capable devices of similar functionality.
*These are attributes of the householder.

The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents the housing unit where the subject household
resides, or, if there is no such person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees.
5

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

3. Household Internet Adoption, 2010
3.1 Types of Household Internet Adoption
In 2010, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of all American households utilized broadband
Internet access services, up four percentage points (64 percent) from the previous year.6 Figure
3 shows that cable modem and DSL were, by far, the leading broadband technologies for
residential Internet access, with 32 percent and 23 percent of households, respectively, utilizing
these services.7 Other broadband technologies, such as mobile broadband, fiber optics, and
satellite technologies, accounted for a small segment of household Internet connections.
A shrinking share of home Internet users – about three percent of households in 2010 – used
dial-up to access the Internet, down from five percent in 2009. By combining the percentages
of households with broadband Internet access and those with dial-up services, we note that
seven out of every ten (71 percent) American households had home Internet access service in
2010. Another nine percent of households had Internet users who only accessed the Internet
outside the home. Together, these figures suggest that 80 percent of American households in
2010 had at least one Internet user, up three percentage points from the previous year.

A household with at least one of the following high-speed, high capacity, two-way Internet services is considered to
have broadband: DSL, cable modem, fiber optics, satellite, mobile broadband, or some other non-dial-up Internet
connection. The CPS did not ask about the speed of the particular broadband service a household uses because of the
difficulty of gathering the information. The household-level estimate on broadband Internet access based on the total
sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.38 percentage points, based on a standard of error of 0.23 percentage
points. See Appendix B, Table B2 for estimates of Internet access and standard errors for population subgroups.
6

7
The shares of households with DSL, cable modem, fiber optics, and satellite technologies shown in Figure 3 include
households that reported having only that specific type of technology. The vast majority of households with these
technologies had only one type of Internet technology. In contrast, the six percent of households with mobile
broadband includes households that reported having mobile broadband, either alone or in addition to other types of
technologies. The category “Other broadband services” includes unspecified technology types, or any other
combination of listed technology types excluding mobile broadband. For example, the total share of households with
DSL was 24.6 percent, including 23.4 percent with DSL alone, 0.8 percent with DSL and mobile broadband, and 0.4
percent with DSL and other broadband service. Similarly, the total share of households with cable modem was 33.9
percent, with 32.0 percent with cable modem alone, 1.4 percent with cable modem and mobile broadband, and 0.5
percent with cable modem and other broadband service.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 3: Household Internet Adoption
by Type of Technology, 2010

Satellite
2%
Fiber optics
3%

Other broadband
services
2%

No Internet use
20%
Cable modem
32%
68% have some type of
broadband Internet service
at home

Outside home
Internet use only
9%

Dial-up
3%
DSL
23%

Mobile broadband
only or with other
Internet services
6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Other broadband services include unspecified service types, or any other combination of listed service types
excluding mobile broadband.

3.2 Mobile Broadband Internet Use at Home
The explosive growth of wireless technologies in recent years reflects Americans’ desire to carry
portable devices that provide communications capabilities they previously could only access at
home or work. Mobile broadband services offer Internet access utilizing service providers’
cellular networks. Mobile broadband is unique in its ability to function wherever radio signals
are available, rather than at a fixed location (or, where Wi-Fi routers are used, a small range of
locations). This feature supports a continuous Internet connection using mobile devices, and
enables the use of location-aware online services. Smartphones with “data plans” represent the
most common way people obtain mobile broadband service. In addition, mobile users may
access mobile broadband services with cards, adapters, and base stations that connect computers

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

and other Internet-ready devices.8 CPS data suggest that a small share of households (six
percent) utilized mobile broadband services at home in 2010 (Figure 3).9
Home mobile broadband adoption was more widespread in households reporting use of a
handheld device. Figure 4 compares Internet use between two groups - households that
reported owning a handheld device (alone or in addition to a personal computer) and
households that did not own any handheld device but reported owning a personal computer.
According to Figure 4, approximately one in five households (21 percent) with a handheld
device used mobile broadband (Figure 4, right panel), compared to only four percent of
households with personal computers (Figure 4, left panel).
In addition to having a stronger preference for mobile broadband Internet access, users of
handheld devices were also more likely than their counterparts using only personal computers to
subscribe to fiber optic broadband services and less likely to subscribe to DSL services. Six
percent of households with a handheld device reported fiber optics use, compared to three
percent of households with no handheld device but with a personal computer; DSL was used in
23 percent of households with a handheld device versus 33 percent of households with only a
personal computer.

For purposes of the CPS, mobile broadband does not refer to Wi-Fi networks, which ultimately rely on a different
transmission mode (e.g., one might have a cable modem at home that is connected to a Wi-Fi base station for wireless
Internet access at home, but from the provider’s perspective it is a cable connection). It also does not include satellite
connections.
8

9
Note that Figure 3 refers only to mobile broadband adoption at home. This differs from our finding that 19 percent
of households used a handheld device (see Figure 2), which alone does not indicate mobile broadband use inside the
home. The higher mobile broadband adoption rates reported in some other studies measure activities that are not
strictly limited to the use of a mobile broadband device at home. For example, an OECD study found mobile
broadband subscriptions to be 44.4 per 100 people in the United States (OECD, 2010). This number includes both
home and “business” subscriptions. Also, a Pew study found that 40 percent of American adults use their cell phones to
access the Internet, email, or instant messaging, regardless of whether the cell phones are used inside or outside the
home (Smith, 2010). Similarly, a working paper from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that
30 percent of American adults used their cell phones to send emails, access web pages, or download applications
(FCC, 2010).

8
DSL
33%

No Internet
8%
Dial-up
4%

Cable modem
39%

DSL
23%

No Internet
4%
Dial-up
1%

Connection Type, Handheld Device Users
(alone or in combination)

Fiber optics
6%

Mobile
broadband
21%

Satellite
2%

Other
broadband
services
3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement, October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Connection Type, Personal Computer Users

Cable modem
43%

Mobile
broadband
4%
Fiber optics
3%

Other
broadband
services
2%
Satellite
2%

Figure 4: Internet Connection Technology by Home Computer Type, Households, 2010

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 5 compares Internet use for urban and rural households. Note that this report uses
metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas as proxies for urban and rural areas, respectively.10
Home mobile broadband penetration in 2010 was similar among urban (7 percent) and rural
households (6 percent). Both urban and rural households report cable modem and DSL as the
leading broadband technologies for residential broadband Internet access. Urban households,
however, were more likely to use fiber optics and cable modem connections, and less likely to
utilize DSL and dial-up services than their rural counterparts.

10
The geographic variable for identifying a household’s location as urban or rural is not available in the CPS public use
files. This report uses the terms “urban” and “rural” to refer to metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, respectively.
The definition of a metropolitan area (effective since 2000) is based on “core based statistical area” (CBSA), which
includes both metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. According to the 2000 standards, each CBSA must have
at least one urban area with at least 10,000 inhabitants. Each metropolitan statistical area must contain at least one
urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more. Each micropolitan statistical area must contain at least one urban
cluster with population of between 10,000 and 50,000. As of June 6, 2003, there are 362 metropolitan statistical areas
and 560 micropolitan statistical areas in the United States. For more information, see U.S. Census Bureau (2010a) and
Office of Management and Budget (2010).

10
DSL
23%

Other
broadband
services
1%

Dial-up
2%

Cable modem
19%

Rural Households

DSL
27%

No Internet
use
28%

Dial-up
5%

Outside
home
Internet
use only
11%

Cable modem
39%

Mobile
broadband
only or with other
Internet services
6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement, October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Fiber
optics
1%

Outside
home Satellite
3%
Internet
use only
9%

Mobile
broadband
only or with other
Internet services
7%

No Internet
use
18%

Urban Households

Cable modem
35%

Satellite
1%
Fiber optics
4%

Other
broadband
services
2%

Figure 5: Internet Connection Type by Urban and Rural Location, 2010

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

4. Computer and Home Internet Use by Household
Demographic Characteristics and Geography, 2010
This section studies how computer use and home Internet adoption vary across households with
different demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. It also examines the impact of
geographic location on computer ownership and home Internet access. The results are useful to
identify groups that lagged – or led – in adoption of these technologies in 2010. Sections 4.1
and 4.2 look at Internet adoption rates by demographic attributes and geography. Section 4.3
utilizes regression analysis to evaluate specifically broadband Internet adoption among
comparable households.
The results indicate that households with lower incomes and less education, as well as Blacks,
Hispanics, people with disabilities, and rural residents were less likely to have home Internet
access service. However, differences in socio-economic attributes do not entirely explain why
certain racial and ethnic groups or rural residents lagged in adoption. Further, households
without computers comprised the vast majority of non-adopters of home broadband Internet
access services. Predictably, the majority of computer users also utilized broadband at home.

4.1 Demographic and Geographic Gaps in Computer and Internet Use
Figure 6 shows that home computer use and Internet adoption are strongly associated with
income. Almost half (46 percent) of the households in the lowest-income category did not have
a computer, compared to only four percent of the highest-income households.
Focusing on broadband, adoption exhibited a similar relationship with income. Less than half
(43 percent) of all households with annual household incomes below $25,000 in 2010 reported
having broadband Internet access at home, compared with the vast majority (93 percent) of
households with incomes exceeding $100,000. Dial-up service, however, accounted for a very
small segment of households with Internet access irrespective of income (ranging from one
percent to three percent of all households depending on income).
The total share of households with computers, as shown by the blue segments of each vertical
bar in Figure 6, consists of households with broadband, dial-up, and those that reported having
a computer, but no Internet access. The vast majority of this computer-using group had
broadband Internet access at home. Moreover, this pattern was visible across income groups,
suggesting that broadband adoption was more consistent among computer users than among all
households across income groups. Almost four-fifths (79 percent) of households with computers
and incomes below $25,000 used broadband at home, compared to 96 percent of computerusing households with incomes exceeding $100,000.11

These percentages are based on calculations set forth in Appendix B, Table B2.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 6: Computer and Internet Use
by Household Income, 2010
100%

4%
2%

7%
12%
90%

24%

80%

3%
2%

4%
3%

46%
7%

70%

No computer

60%

50%

Computer,
no Internet

8%
3%

88%

93%

81%

40%

Dial-up
Broadband

66%
30%

20%

43%

10%

0%
Less than
$25,0000

$25,000$50,000

$50,000$75,000

$75,000$100,000

$100,000
or more

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Figure 7 illustrates home Internet access and computer ownership by presence of school-age
children (between 6 and 17 years of age). Households with one or more children between 6 and
17 years of age were more likely to own a computer (86 percent) and to have home broadband
Internet access services (78 percent) than households with no school-age children (computer
and broadband adoption rates were 74 percent and 65 percent, respectively).12 Dial-up Internet
access service was also less prevalent among households with school-age children (2 percent)
than those without children (3 percent).

Percentages in this paragraph are based on calculations of the actual numbers (see Appendix B, Table B2) and may not
precisely equal the sum of the percentages shown in the accompanying figure due to rounding.
12

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 7: Computer and Internet Use
by Presence of School-Age Children, 2010
100%
14%
90%
27%
80%

6%
2%
6%

70%

No computer

60%

Computer,
no Internet

50%

Dial-up
40%

Broadband

78%
65%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Households with
school-age children

Households without
school-age children

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

We find a similar relationship between home computer use and broadband adoption. The
substantial majority of households with computers had broadband Internet access. Among
computer owners, 91 percent of households with one or more school-age children, and 88
percent of households with no school-age child, utilized broadband (see Appendix B, Table B2).
Figure 8 shows home computer use and Internet adoption by householder age. Older
householders, particularly those ages 65 and older, were less likely than their younger
counterparts to live in a home with a computer (55 percent) or have broadband Internet access
service at home (45 percent). Unsurprisingly, the differences in broadband adoption across age
categories were much less pronounced among computer owners. Among households with
computers, 91 percent of householders ages 16 to 44 years had broadband service, compared to
82 percent of their older counterparts, 65 years and older (see Appendix B, Table B2).

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 8: Computer and Internet Use
by Householder Age, 2010
100%

90%

80%

16%

20%

6%
5%
2%

45%

70%

No computer

60%

50%

40%

77%

Computer,
no Internet

Dial-up
Broadband

72%

30%
45%

20%

10%

0%
16-44 years

45-64 years

65 years and older

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Figure 9 displays the data by race and ethnicity. Asian households exhibited the highest rates of
home computer ownership (86 percent) and broadband service (81 percent), followed by White
households (80 percent owned a computer and 72 percent had home broadband Internet
services).13 Hispanic households and Black households lagged behind – only about two-thirds
of Black households and Hispanic households (65 percent and 67 percent, respectively) had a
computer at home, and only slightly more than half of all Black and Hispanic households (55
percent and 57 percent, respectively) had broadband service.14 Households headed by American
As described in the Data and Methodology section (Appendix A), the data on race and ethnicity (as well as education,
age, disability status, and foreign-born status) are for the householder. As a result, “White households” (for example)
refer to households headed by a White person. The same definition applies to Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American
Indian or Alaska Native households. Data for Whites, Blacks, Asians, and American Indians and Alaska Natives do not
include people of Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
13

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Indian or Alaska Native householders also had computer use (66 percent) and broadband
adoption (52 percent) rates that trailed the national average (see Appendix B, Table B2).15
Figure 9: Computer and Internet Use
by Householder Race and Ethnicity, 2010
100%
14%
90%

20%
4%

80%

33%

35%
2%

5%
3%

70%

50%

No computer

60%

Computer,
no Internet
Dial-up

40%

81%

Broadband
72%

30%

55%

57%

20%

10%

0%
Asian,
non-Hispanic

White,
non-Hispanic

Black,
non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Data for only computer-using households show a less pronounced race- and ethnicity-related
gap in broadband adoption. Among households using computers, broadband Internet adoption
rates were 94 percent for Asians, 90 percent for Whites, and 86 percent for both Black and
Hispanic households (see Appendix B, Table B2). This again suggests that computer use is
strongly correlated with broadband Internet access at home.
Figure 9 does not include data on American Indian and Alaska Native householders due to data limitations for this
group by Internet connection technology.
15

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 10 shows home computer use and Internet adoption by householder’s disability status.16
Almost half of all households headed by someone with a disability did not have a computer at
home (46 percent), compared to a much smaller segment (20 percent) of homes where the
householder had no disability. Households headed by people with disabilities were also much
less likely to subscribe to broadband service than those with no disability.
Figure 10: Computer and Internet Use
by Householder Disability Status, 2010
100%

90%

20%

80%
46%

5%
3%

70%

No computer

60%

50%

Computer,
no Internet

Dial-up

3%
40%

Broadband
72%

30%

20%

43%

10%

0%
Householder with a disability

Householder with no disability

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Among computer-using households, 80 percent of homes headed by someone with a disability
used broadband at home, compared to 90 percent of those headed by someone with no
disability (see Appendix B, Table B2).
In the CPS, a civilian adult is considered to have a disability if he or she reported having at least one of the following
conditions: (1) hearing impairment; (2) blindness or impaired vision despite wearing glasses; (3) physical, mental, or
emotional condition that impairs the ability to concentrate, remember, or make decisions; (4) difficulty walking or
climbing stairs; (5) difficulty dressing or bathing; or (6) physical, mental, or emotional condition that impairs the
ability to do errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping (Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census
Bureau, 2010).
16

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

The next three figures show household computer ownership and Internet use data by
geographic location. Figure 11 demonstrates that one out of five urban households (22 percent)
did not own a computer in 2010, compared to roughly one out of three (30 percent) rural
households. Urban (metropolitan) dwellers also were more likely than their rural (nonmetropolitan) counterparts to have broadband Internet access at home (70 percent compared
to 57 percent). Rural residents were more likely to utilize dial-up services to go online – five
percent of rural households utilized dial-up services, compared with two percent of urban dwellers.
Figure 11: Computer and Internet Use
by Urban and Rural Location, 2010
100%

90%

22%
30%

80%
5%
70%
2%

No computer

60%

Computer,
no Internet

50%

Dial-up
40%

Broadband
70%

30%

57%

20%

10%

0%
Urban (Metropolitan)

Rural (Non-metropolitan)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Among computer owners, 90 percent of urban households and 82 percent of rural households
used broadband services (see Appendix B, Table B2).
Figure 12 shows computer and Internet use by state. Proportions of households without a
computer at home ranged from about one-third of households (33 percent) in Mississippi to
13 percent of households in Utah. Average broadband adoption in 2010 varied by state from

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

about half (52 percent) of all households in Mississippi to 80 percent in Utah. Broadband
Internet access service was the leading mode for residential Internet access, while dial-up service
accounted for a small segment of online households regardless of state.17
Figure 12: Computer and Internet Use by State, 2010
(by Household Broadband Adoption Rate)
Utah

80%

New Hampshire

78%

Washington

77%

Massachusetts

76%

Connecticut

75%

Oregon

75%

Kansas

75%

Nevada

74%

Arizona

74%

Maryland

74%

Alaska

73%

New Jersey

73%

California

73%

Wyoming

73%

Idaho

72%

District of Columbia

72%

Colorado

72%

North Dakota

71%

Rhode Island

71%

Minnesota

71%

Wisconsin

71%

Florida

70%

Virginia

70%

Vermont

69%

Hawaii

69%

10%

20%

Broadband

30%

Dial-up

40%

50%

60%

70%

Computer, no Internet

80%

90%

100%

No Computer

Note that states are ordered by estimated average household broadband usage rate for ease of understanding and not
as a specific ranking. Rates for broadband, Internet, and computer use should be understood in the context of their
associated confidence intervals, set forth in Appendix B, Tables B5 and B6.
17

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 12: Computer and Internet Use by State, 2010, cont’d
(by Household Broadband Adoption Rate)
New York

69%

Nebraska

69%

Illinois

69%

Georgia

69%

Delaware

68%

Iowa

67%

Pennsylvania

67%

Maine

67%

Texas

67%

Michigan

66%

South Dakota

66%

North Carolina

65%

Missouri

64%

Ohio

64%

Oklahoma

62%

Montana

61%

Louisiana

60%

South Carolina

60%

Tennessee

59%

West Virginia

59%

Indiana

59%

Kentucky

58%

New Mexico

58%

Alabama

56%

Arkansas

52%

Mississippi

52%

10%

20%

Broadband

30%

Dial-up

40%

50%

60%

70%

Computer, no Internet

80%

90%

100%

No Computer

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Because of sampling variability, average adoption rates for two states may not be different from one another in a
statistically significant way. Tables B5 and B6 in Appendix B provide the 90 percent confidence interval for each state.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

The pattern of generally higher broadband adoption in urban compared to rural areas occurred
across states. Figure 13 shows the share of urban and rural households with broadband service
by state. The urban-rural gap in broadband adoption varied from zero percent in California
(that is, average broadband adoption rates were practically the same in urban and rural areas of
California) to 26 percent in Mississippi, where the average broadband adoption rates ranged
from 67 percent in urban areas to 41 percent in rural areas.18

Id. See Appendix B, Tables B7, B8.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 13: Broadband Internet Use in Urban and Rural Locations,
by State, 2010
(by Overall Household Broadband Adoption Rate)
New Hampshire

81%

72%

Washington

77%

68%

Connecticut

75%

69%

Oregon

77%

66%

Kansas

79%

67%

Arizona

64%

Maryland

64%

Alaska

76%
75%
77%

66%
73%
73%

California
Wyoming

78%

71%

Idaho

78%

62%

North Dakota

78%

64%

Minnesota

65%

Wisconsin

65%

Florida

72%
71%

60%

Virginia

72%

73%

49%

Vermont

81%

64%

Hawaii

64%

New York

64%

Nebraska

71%
69%
75%

59%

Illinois

58%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Urban

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Rural

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 13: Broadband Internet Use in Urban and Rural Locations,
by State, 2010, cont’d
(by Overall Household Broadband Adoption Rate)
72%

Georgia

49%
71%

Delaware

59%
73%

Iowa

60%
68%
66%

Pennsylvania

74%

Maine

61%
68%

Texas

60%
68%

Michigan

60%
72%

South Dakota

59%
69%

North Carolina

58%
69%

Missouri

49%
66%

Ohio

57%
68%

Oklahoma

50%
69%

Montana

57%
64%

South Carolina

50%
64%

Tennessee

46%
64%

West Virginia

52%
61%

Indiana

55%
65%

Kentucky

49%
61%

New Mexico

48%
59%

Alabama

47%
56%

Arkansas

46%

Mississippi

67%

41%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Urban

50%

60%

70%

80%

Rural

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: The following states were not included in this figure due to data limitations for rural areas in the CPS: Colorado,
Louisiana, Nevada, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Utah. The District of Columbia had no rural areas.
In 2010, the average broadband adoption rates for the urban areas in these states were as follows: Colorado - 71 percent,
Louisiana - 63 percent, Nevada - 75 percent, Rhode Island - 71 percent, Massachusetts - 76 percent, New Jersey - 73
percent, and Utah - 79 percent. Because of sampling variability, average adoption rates for two states may not be
different from one another in a statistically significant way. Tables B7 and B8 in Appendix B provide the 90 percent
confidence interval for each state.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

4.2 A Detailed Look at Computer and Broadband Internet Use by
Demographic Characteristics and Geography
This section provides a more detailed analysis of the survey results with respect to demographic
characteristics and geography. The previous section identified the households exhibiting low
and high levels of computer use and Internet access service adoption, and separately, their urban
or rural locations. This section combines the “who” and “where” in our identification of low
and high adopters.
Table 2 shows computer use and broadband Internet adoption by race, ethnicity, income, and
education within urban and rural areas. Households headed by someone without a high school
diploma had particularly low home computer use and broadband service adoption, while rural
households displayed slightly lower rates than their urban counterparts. Among households
headed by someone without a high school diploma, 39 percent of rural households and
46 percent of urban households used a computer; and 26 percent of rural households and
35 percent of urban households had broadband service. Compared to the national average of
68 percent, broadband Internet adoption was also particularly low among rural households with
incomes less than $25,000 (35 percent), and rural households headed by someone of American
Indian or Alaska Native background (31 percent).

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table 2: Household Computer Use and Broadband Internet Adoption
by Urban/Rural Location, Race, Ethnicity, Income, and Education, 2010
Household Characteristic

Computer Use

Broadband
Adoption

Urban

Rural

Urban

Rural

78%

70%

57%

All Households

Race and Ethnicity*
White, non-Hispanic

82%

72%

75%

60%

Black, non-Hispanic

66%

53%

57%

41%

Hispanic

67%

57%

58%

46%

Asian, non-Hispanic

86%

85%

81%

83%

American Indian and Alaska Native, non-Hispanic

74%

52%

66%

31%

Household Income
Less than $25,0000

56%

49%

45%

35%

$25,000-$50,000

76%

74%

67%

60%

$50,000-$75,000

88%

87%

82%

76%

$75,000-$100,000

93%

91%

89%

82%

$100,000 or more

96%

94%

93%

87%

No high school diploma

46%

39%

35%

26%

High school diploma

68%

64%

59%

50%

Some college

84%

82%

75%

69%

College degree or more

93%

89%

88%

80%

Education*

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Data for Whites, Blacks, Asians, and American Indians and Alaska Natives do not include people of Hispanic
origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
*These are attributes of the householder.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table 3 contains data on computer use and broadband Internet adoption by race, ethnicity,
family income, and urban or rural location. Rural Black and Hispanic households with family
incomes below $25,000 had the lowest rates of home computer use (44 percent for Blacks,
45 percent for Hispanics) and broadband Internet adoption (32 percent for Blacks, 30 percent
for Hispanics).
Table 3: Household Computer Use and Broadband Internet Adoption
by Urban/Rural Location, Race, Ethnicity, and Income, 2010
Race, Ethnicity, and Income

Computer Use

All Households

Broadband
Adoption

Urban

Rural

Urban

Rural

78%

70%

57%

White, non-Hispanic
Less than $25,0000

60%

50%

49%

36%

$25,000-$50,000

78%

75%

69%

62%

$50,000-$75,000

89%

87%

83%

76%

$75,000 or more

96%

93%

92%

85%

Black, non-Hispanic
Less than $25,0000

49%

44%

39%

32%

$25,000-$50,000

70%

64%

60%

47%

$50,000-$75,000

83%

77%

76%

70%

$75,000 or more

90%

85%

84%

81%

Less than $25,0000

49%

45%

38%

30%

$25,000-$50,000

71%

60%

53%

$50,000-$75,000

84%

85%

77%

79%

$75,000 or more

93%

86%

88%

76%

Hispanic

Table 4 displays a similar pattern of computer use and broadband Internet adoption by race and
educational attainment, and by urban or rural location. Households headed by a Black
householder without a high school diploma and living in rural areas exhibited the lowest levels
of home computer use (27 percent) and broadband Internet adoption (16 percent).

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table 4: Household Computer Use and Broadband Internet Adoption
by Urban/Rural Location, Race, Ethnicity, and Education 2010
Computer
Use

Householder Characteristic
All Households

Broadband
Adoption

Urban

Rural

Urban

Rural

78%

70%

57%

White, non-Hispanic
No high school diploma

47%

42%

37%

27%

High school diploma

70%

65%

62%

52%

Some college

86%

83%

78%

70%

College degree or more

93%

90%

89%

80%

Black, non-Hispanic
No high school diploma

36%

27%

16%

High school diploma

57%

50%

47%

38%

Some college

74%

73%

64%

56%

College degree or more

87%

82%

81%

75%

No high school diploma

47%

38%

35%

28%

High school diploma

65%

59%

56%

45%

Some college

83%

81%

74%

73%

College degree or more

90%

83%

84%

72%

Hispanic

4.3 Marginal Effects of Household Characteristics on the Likelihood that a
Household Uses Broadband Internet Access Service
The finding that socio-economic characteristics, as well as race, ethnicity, and geographic
location are highly correlated with household technology usage patterns might be misleading, as
these household attributes are themselves correlated with each other. For instance, income and
education are likely to be higher in urban areas if employment opportunities requiring high
levels of skill and specialization are disproportionately located in urban areas. As a result, it is
not clear from the tabulations how much of the urban-rural gap in home broadband adoption
results from socio-economic differences between urban and rural residents. The same issue
applies for the tabulations by race and ethnicity.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

By utilizing regression analysis, we can estimate the marginal or “isolated” association between
technology usage and a particular household characteristic.19 For example, one way of
estimating the marginal effect of living in an urban area on broadband adoption is by
comparing broadband adoption among urban and rural households that are otherwise similar
with respect to key determinants of broadband adoption, such as income, education, race,
ethnicity, age, state of residence, and other factors. In other words, the marginal effect of living
in an urban rather than a rural location is the gap in average broadband adoption between
urban and rural households, after accounting for differences in socio-economic and
demographic characteristics.
The rest of this section utilizes regression analysis to estimate the relationship between selected
demographic and geographic characteristics and home broadband Internet adoption. The
factors for which we control in this analysis include household income, education, age, race,
ethnicity, foreign-born status, household composition (total number of persons in a household
and whether a related school-age child lives there), disability status, and geographic location
(urban-rural location and state). For characteristics like education, race, ethnicity, age, disability
status, and foreign-born status, we use information for the householder.
Note that the CPS data do not provide information on availability and price of Internet access
services in a household’s immediate location, both of which are important determinants of
adoption. Even though we are unable to control directly for price and availability, the
regression analysis accounts for a household’s geographic location (urban or rural location, the
population size of a household’s urban area, and state) and therefore would capture some of the
variation in price and availability along these geographic dimensions.20
We present the results from this regression analysis in Table B4 of Appendix B. Figures 14-18
graphically present the gaps in broadband adoption. Each figure uses a pair of bars to display
the adoption gap between two groups of households. Within each pair, the left bar (which is
also the longer bar) shows the simple gap in average adoption before controlling for other
household attributes. The right bar (which is also the shorter bar) shows the remaining
adoption gap which is unexplained by our model, that is, it is the remaining gap after
accounting for differences in household demographic, socio-economic, and geographic
characteristics. Within each figure, the left panel (or pair of bars) presents the adoption gap
information based on data for all households, and the right panel shows the information based
on the sample of computer owners only.

Household characteristics include income, education, age, race, disability status, citizenship status, presence of
children, and population density. See Table B4 in Appendix B for more detail.
19

The results presented in Appendix B, Table B4 show the urban-rural gap by urban area size.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 14 shows the adoption gaps between urban and rural households. According to Figure
11 from the previous section, 70 percent and 57 percent of urban and rural households,
respectively, reported having broadband service at home, identifying a 13 percentage point gap
in broadband adoption between urban and rural households (represented by the left bar in the
left panel of Figure 14). After we account for socio-economic and demographic differences
between urban and rural households, the remaining adoption gap is five percentage points
(represented by the right bar in the left panel of Figure 14).
The right panel of Figure 14 shows the urban-rural adoption gap among computer users only.
Ninety percent of urban households with computers and 82 percent of rural households with
computers reported having broadband at home, indicating an eight percentage point gap.
After accounting for socio-economic and demographic attributes, the gap declines to five
percentage points. This suggests that, even among computer owners of similar income,
education, age, and other demographic characteristics, urban dwellers were on average five
percentage points more likely than their rural counterparts to adopt home broadband service.
The variation in price and availability of broadband services could account for part of this
unexplained urban-rural gap.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 14: Broadband Internet Adoption Gap
between Urban and Rural Households, 2010

Percentage Point Gap in Adoption

Gap in average adoption

Gap in average adoption after
controlling for household
characteristics

15
13

10
8

0
Broadband adoption at home
(all households)

Broadband adoption at home
(computer-using households only)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Turning to the data by race and ethnicity, Figure 9 showed that Asian households displayed the
highest rates of broadband adoption (81 percent), followed by White (72 percent), Hispanic (57
percent), and Black (55 percent) households. This suggests that Asian households on average
were nine percentage points more likely to have broadband Internet access services than White
households. In addition, White households were 17 percentage points and 15 percentage points
more likely than Black and Hispanic households, respectively, to have home broadband Internet
access. Once we control for socio-economic and geographic differences, the broadband
adoption gap between Asians and Whites disappears (Figure 15), whereas the gap between
White and Black households, and between White and Hispanic households both decline to
11 percentage points (left panels, Figures 16 and 17). An important topic for future research

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

would be the persistence of broadband adoption gaps between the latter groups even after
accounting for demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors.
Computer users, on the contrary, displayed much less disparate broadband adoption rates across
race and ethnicity. Ninety-four percent of Asian households, 90 percent of White households,
86 percent of Black households, and 86 percent of Hispanic households with computers used
broadband at home, implying adoption gaps of four percentage points between Asian and
White, White and Black, and White and Hispanic households. Controlling for demographic
characteristics and geography erases the Asian and White difference, and reduces both the
White-Black and White-Hispanic gaps to three percentage points.
Figure 15: Broadband Internet Adoption Gap
between non-Hispanic Asian and White Households, 2010

Percentage Point Gap in Adoption

Gap in average adoption

Gap in average adoption after
controlling for household
characteristics

0
Broadband adoption at home
(all households)

Broadband adoption at home
(computer-using households only)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 16: Broadband Internet Adoption Gap
between non-Hispanic White and Black Households, 2010
20

Gap in average adoption

Gap in average adoption after
controlling for household
characteristics

Percentage Point Gap in Adoption

16
15

11
10

4
3

0
Broadband adoption at home
(all households)

Broadband adoption at home
(computer-using households only)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 17: Broadband Internet Adoption Gap
between non-Hispanic White and Hispanic Households, 2010

Percentage Point Gap in Adoption

Gap in average adoption

Gap in average adoption after
controlling for household
characteristics

11
10

4
3

0
Broadband adoption at home
(all households)

Broadband adoption at home
(computer-using households only)

Turning to the data by disability status, Figure 10 showed 43 percent of households headed by
someone with a disability used broadband, compared to 72 percent of households headed by
someone with no disability, implying a 29 percentage point gap in broadband Internet access.
Once we control for income, education, age, and other key attributes, the gap in broadband
Internet access declines to six percentage points or about one-fifth of the original gap (see left
panel, Figure 18). Looking at computer owners exclusively shows smaller differences (10
percentage point difference before and three percentage point difference after controlling for
demographic factors and geography, as shown in Figure 18, right panel). This suggests that
differences in demographic and socio-economic attributes and geography explain a substantial
portion of the disability-related broadband gap, even among computer owners.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 18: Broadband Internet Adoption Gap
between Householders with no Disability and with Disability, 2010
35

Percentage Point Gap in Adoption

Gap in average adoption

Gap in average adoption after
controlling for household
characteristics

10
10
6
3
5

0
Broadband adoption at home
(all households)

Broadband adoption at home
(computer-using households only)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

The regression results presented in this section suggest that income and education are strongly
associated with broadband Internet access at home, but are not the sole determinants. Other
factors, such as race, ethnicity, and urban-rural location are also independently associated with
technology usage patterns. The adoption gaps are less pronounced among computer users, that
is, computer use and broadband adoption strongly correlate, perhaps because both exhibit
strong associations with demographic and socio-economic attributes.
The CPS data do not provide information on price and availability of broadband Internet access
in a household’s immediate location, which is why we are unable to directly account for these
factors. Consequently, we are unable to distinguish how much of the variation across socioeconomic and geographic dimensions results from factors related to demand as opposed to
supply considerations. Lower demand for broadband Internet access or lack of affordability
may partially explain why some households decline to adopt broadband Internet access service,
but other reasons may include lack of supply or availability of residential broadband services.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

5. Non-Adoption of Internet Access Services at Home, 2010
The CPS Supplement asked households using dial-up Internet access services (hereafter referred
to as “dial-up households”) to state their main reason for not having broadband Internet service
at home (tabulations shown on the left panel of Figure 19). In addition, the CPS asked
households without Internet service or a home computer to state their main reason for not
having home Internet access (tabulations shown on the right panel of Figure 19). The reasons
for non-adoption are likely to have significant policy implications. For example, if lack of
availability of broadband services is the main impediment to broadband adoption at home, then
policies to expand usage may require attracting broadband providers to offer service. However,
if there is a lack of information about broadband service availability, or a perceived lack of need
or interest in broadband, then policies may incorporate public awareness campaigns.
Note that households’ responses on the main reason for not using broadband Internet at home
reflect their subjective opinions since the survey respondent may not have adequate information
on pricing, availability, or the value of Internet access services. For instance, one may believe
that broadband Internet access is not available in the area, but be misinformed. As a result, we
caution that any comparison across households, while informative, requires careful analysis.
The left panel of Figure 19 shows that expense, lack of need, and lack of availability were the
main impediments to broadband adoption for dial-up households. One-third of dial-up users
reported “lack of need” (33 percent), about one-third reported “too expensive” (34 percent),
and about one-fourth (27 percent) reported “lack of availability.” Note that dial-up households
accounted for three percent of American households in 2010.
In contrast, almost half (47 percent) of households without a computer or home Internet access
stated lack of need as their main reason for not having home Internet services (right panel of
Figure 19). About one-fourth (24 percent) reported affordability, and 15 percent reported
inadequate computer as the primary reason for no home Internet access. Note that those
households reporting no Internet access or home computer were a much larger group (29
percent) than the collective dial-up households (representing about three percent of American
households).

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 19: Main Reason for Not Having Home Internet Access Service, 2010
100%

7%
2%

90%

15%
80%

27%
5%

70%
2%
60%

24%
Other reasons

50%

34%

No computer/computer inadequate
Not available in area

40%

Can use it somewhere else
Too expensive

30%

Don't need it, not interested

47%

20%
33%
10%
0%
Main reason for no broadband
Internet, as reported by Dial-up users
(Number of households = 3.4 million)

Main reason for no Internet at all,
as reported by those with no home
Internet access and/or no computer
(Number of households = 34.6 million)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Figure 20 tabulates the main reason for no Internet access at home separately for those
households with, and those without, a computer at home. Among households that owned a
computer but did not have home Internet access, expense was the most commonly provided
reason (37 percent), followed by lack of need (28 percent). On the contrary, among households
that did not own a computer, lack of need or demand dominated (52 percent).

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 20: Main Reason for Not Having Home Internet Access Service,
by Household Computer Ownership, 2010
100%
90%

5%
16%
17%

80%

8%
4%

3%
70%

0.3%

9%
21%

60%
Other reasons
50%
37%

No computer/computer inadequate
Not available in area

40%

Can use it somewhere else
Too expensive

30%

Don't need it, not interested

52%

20%
28%
10%
0%
Computer, no Internet
(Number of households = 6.8 million)

No computer
(Number of households = 27.8 million)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

The CPS asked households that responded “too expensive” as their main reason for not having
home Internet service to indicate what costs most concerned them – the fixed costs of
purchasing a computer or installing home Internet access services, or the recurring monthly
subscription costs. Figure 21 tabulates these responses. The left panel of Figure 21 shows that,
among dial-up households stating expense or affordability as their main reason for not having
broadband, the cost of monthly Internet access service was a more serious concern than fixed
costs. The vast majority (75 percent) of these households cited the monthly service cost and
another 10 percent reported both the monthly service cost and fixed costs as their main
impediments to adopting broadband Internet access at home. These responses are not
surprising. Since dial-up users likely have already incurred the fixed costs of computers and
equipment, the monthly subscription costs outweighed the fixed costs of computers and
installation as the primary obstacle to home broadband service.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Among households that reported affordability as their main reason for not having any Internet
access, both the fixed costs of purchasing a computer and equipment, as well as the monthly
subscription costs were important (shown on the right panel of Figure 21). One-third of these
households (33 percent) reported both monthly subscription and fixed costs, slightly more than
one-fourth (27 percent) reported monthly cost alone, and almost one-third (30 percent)
reported the fixed cost of a computer and equipment as their primary obstacle to having
Internet access.
Figure 21: Detailed Reasons Why Internet Access Service
Was Too Expensive
100%

1%
10%

90%
33%

80%
70%
Unspecified reason
60%
50%

Fixed cost and monthly
Internet service
75%

27%

Monthly Internet service
40%

Fixed cost (installation of internet
service alone or in combination
with computer)

30%

Fixed cost (computer/hardware)

20%

30%
10%
0%

9%
4%
Dial-up households listing "too
expensive" as main reason for
no broadband use

Households with no Internet
access listing "too expensive"
as main reason for no Internet

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

6. Internet Use Outside the Home, 2010
This report demonstrates that persistent differences exist in the adoption rate for broadband
Internet access services across demographic groups, and that socio-economic and geographic
factors, as well as demand or need, affordability, and availability all play significant roles in
household adoption decisions. The variation in broadband Internet access across demographic
groups points to an important area of investigation – do people who lack home broadband
Internet access services use the Internet at locations outside the home and, if so, where do they
access it? The expanded questions of the October 2010 CPS allow us to take a closer look at
this topic.
Section 3 showed that more than two-thirds of American households (68 percent) utilized home
broadband Internet access in 2010. According to Figure 22, the majority of these broadband
households also used the Internet outside the home. Forty-three percent of American
households had broadband Internet access at home and used the Internet outside the home,
while 25 percent of households had broadband at home but did not use the Internet outside the
home. Three percent of American households used dial-up at home – almost two percent of
households had dial-up and did not use the Internet outside the home, and one percent of
households both used dial-up and found additional locations outside the home from which they
connected to the Internet.
Figure 22: Household Distribution of Internet Access Points, 2010

No Internet use
20%
Broadband
at home
and Internet
outside home
43%

No Internet at home,
Internet outside the
home
9%

Dial-up at home and
no Internet outside
Broadband at home
the home
and no outside
2%
Internet access
25%
Dial-up at home and
Internet outside the
home
1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Figure 23 shows the tabulation results for locations outside of the home where people reported
accessing the Internet. In general, those without broadband Internet access at home depended
more heavily on public libraries or someone else’s house for Internet access than those with
broadband service. The left bar of Figure 23 shows that residents of households with no
broadband primarily accessed the Internet at work, school, or the public library. Those with
broadband Internet access at home (showed by the right bar) primarily connected to the
Internet at work or school, but relied less heavily on public libraries or someone else’s house.
Only four percent of broadband households reported accessing the Internet at a public library,
compared to 20 percent of those without broadband Internet access at home. About two
percent of broadband households also accessed the Internet at someone else’s house, compared
to 12 percent of non-broadband households.
Figure 23: Internet Access Outside the Home,
by Home Broadband Adoption, 2010
100%
90%

5%
12%

4%
5%
9%

5%
2%

80%
11%
70%
60%

24%

20%

13%

Other places
Someone
else's house
Public Libraries

50%
21%

School and work

40%

School
30%
50%

52%

Dial-up at home

Broadband at home

Work

20%
34%
10%
0%
No broadband at home

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Respondents could select up to seven different locations where they accessed the Internet outside of home. We
developed mutually exclusive categories for Figure 23. “Work” includes households that accessed the Internet at work
only, as well as households that accessed the Internet at work and some other location (other than school). “School”
includes households that accessed the Internet at school only or in combination with some other location (other than
work). “Public libraries” include households that accessed the Internet at public libraries only or in combination with
locations other than work or school. “Someone else’s house” includes households who accessed the Internet at someone
else’s house only or in combination with other places aside from work, school, or a public library. “Other places”
include community centers, Internet cafés/coffee shops, or unspecified places.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

7. Conclusion
President Obama is dedicated to “connecting every part of America to the digital age” (NTIA,
2011). For policymakers, that commitment means ensuring that households have access to
broadband services to give them the opportunity to participate in the information economy. As
demonstrated in this report, while broadband adoption continues to grow, disparities persist.
Households in certain demographic and geographic groups are less likely than their peers to use
broadband services and, more importantly, these gaps remain to varying degrees even after
socio-economic and geographic factors have been taken into account. The data and analyses
provide policymakers with empirical evidence to help them address such disparities and find
ways to enable all Americans to embrace the digital age.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

References
Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Bureau of the Census. “CPS Record Layout for Basic Labor
Force Items, Standard Public Use Files.” Current Population Survey, January 2010, Accessed
June 12, 2011. http://smpbff2.dsd.census.gov/pub/cps/basic/201001-/jan10dd.txt
Economics and Statistics Administration and National Telecommunications and Information
Administration. “Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the
United States.” November 2010, Accessed May 26, 2011. http://www.esa.doc.gov/Reports/
exploring-digital-nation-home-broadband-Internet-adoption-united-states
Federal Communications Commission. “Broadband Adoption and Use in America.” OBI
Working Paper Series No. 1, February 2010, Accessed September 7, 2011.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296442A1.pdf
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Digital Nation: Expanding
Internet Usage.” February 2011, Accessed May 26, 2011. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2011/
digital-nation-expanding-internet-usage-ntia-research-preview
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Digital Nation: 21st Century
America’s Progress Toward Universal Broadband Internet Access, February 2010, Accessed
June 15, 2011.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/ntia_internet_use_report_february_2011.pdf
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD Broadband
Statistics. “Table 1d (2): OECD Terrestrial mobile wireless broadband subscriptions per 100
inhabitants, by technology, June 2010.” Accessed May 26, 2011.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/35/39574709.xls
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB Bulletin No. 04-03, “Update of Statistical
Area Definitions and Additional Guidance on Their Uses.” Accessed June 23, 2010.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins_fy04_b04-03/
Smith, Aaron. “Mobile Access 2010.” Pew Internet and American Life Project, Pew Research
Center, July 7, 2010, Accessed September 7, 2011.
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx
U.S. Bureau of the Census. “School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement File Technical
Documentation, CPS-09.” Current Population Survey, October 2009, Accessed September 7,
2011. http://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsoct09.pdf
U.S. Bureau of the Census (a). “Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.” Accessed
September 7, 2011. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/aboutmetro.html
White House Office of the Press Secretary. Remarks by the President on Fiscal Policy in
Washington, DC April 13, 2011, Accessed September 21, 2011.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/13/remarks-president-fiscal-policy

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Appendix A: Data and Methodology
This report uses data from the October 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly
survey of a representative sample of the U.S. noninstitutional population that provides data on
labor force participation, income, and demographic characteristics of households. In addition,
this report analyzes data from the most recent (October 2010) CPS School Enrollment and
Internet Use Supplement, a special supplement to the CPS that periodically gathers information
on Internet use.21
The October 2010 School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement asked each surveyed
household whether someone in that household used or owned a computer, used the Internet,
and the locations from which they accessed the Internet (home, office, school, library, and other
places). In addition, the survey asked the household which of the following technologies
members utilized to connect to the Internet from home: dial-up service, DSL, cable modem,
fiber optics, satellite, mobile broadband, or some other Internet connection technology. Using
these data, it is possible to determine whether a household owned a personal computer (i.e.,
desktop, laptop, netbook, or notebook) or a handheld device, as well as the type of broadband
technology (i.e., DSL, cable modem, fiber optics, satellite, or mobile broadband) members
utilized to connect to the Internet. The survey also asked those households that did not access
Internet services to state their main reason for not doing so.
Our sample consists of all households where the head of the household or “householder” is at
least 16 years of age.22 About 54,300 household records comprise our sample, representing
119.5 million American households. We analyze computer ownership and broadband Internet
use at the household level and its association with household-level characteristics, such as
income, size and composition, and geographic location.23 For characteristics like education,
race, ethnicity, age, disability status, and foreign-born status, we use information for the
householder. In this report we use the words “adoption,” “use,” “utilization,” and “access”
interchangeably to indicate that a household reported having Internet access.
Data on computer use, as well as the types of broadband technology that online households
utilized, have not been available since the early 2000s. The supply and demand for both mobile
devices and residential Internet access services have changed enormously during this period.
The data from the October 2010 CPS make it possible to identify the preferred or most
common types of computers and access technologies used for residential Internet access,
including the prevalence of mobile broadband technologies and handheld devices.

This report analyzes data from the most recent survey conducted in October 2010, the ninth such Internet survey
conducted since the early 1990s. For a more detailed description of the survey, see Bureau of Labor Statistics and
U.S. Census Bureau, 2010.
21

22
The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents the housing unit, or, if there is no such
person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees.

Detailed data on computer use and broadband adoption both at the household and individual level are presented in
Appendix B, Tables B1, B2, and B3.
23

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Appendix B: Statistical Tables
Table B1: Computer Ownership by Demographic Characterisitics, 2010
Total
All households
(standard error)
Less than $25,0000
$25,000 to $50,000
$50,000 to $75,000
$75,000 to $100,000
$100,000 or more

No High School Diploma
High School Diploma
Some College
College Degree or More

White, Non-Hispanic
Black, Non-Hispanic
American Indian and
Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic
Asian, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic

Male
Female

Average Age (years)

Has a disability
Does not have a disability

Metropolitan area
Non-metropolitan area

119,516,167
(328,675)

Desktop, laptop,
netbook or notebook
only (no handheld)

57.8%
(0.2%)
Household Income
34,509,443
45.1%
(245,038)
(0.4%)
32,961,706
62.1%
(240,331)
(0.4%)
21,228,025
66.5%
(197,966)
(0.5%)
12,472,081
66.6%
(154,594)
(0.6%)
18,344,912
58.3%
(185,178)
(0.5%)
Householder Education
14,150,347
38.0%
(157,219)
(0.6%)
34,946,796
55.0%
(235,012)
(0.4%)
34,167,814
64.1%
(232,836)
(0.4%)
36,251,210
62.5%
(238,567)
(0.3%)
Householder Race and Ethnicity
83,598,462
60.1%
(315,569)
(0.2%)
14,853,701
50.2%
(130,599)
(0.5%)
730,295
53.4%
(34,336)
(2.4%)
4,667,055
61.2%
(76,205)
(0.9%)
14,137,933
52.2%
(159,699)
(0.7%)
Householder Sex
60,041,712
58.5%
(287,815)
(0.3%)
59,474,455
57.2%
(286,923)
(0.3%)
Householder Age
49.9
49.4
(0.3)
(0.3)
Householder Disability Status
16,381,088
45.2%
(168,292)
(0.5%)
102,746,723
59.9%
(326,579)
(0.2%)
Household Geographic Location
99,413,612
57.8%
(325,338)
(0.2%)
19,236,331
58.0%
(221,876)
(0.6%)

Handheld mobile
device alone or
in combination

No Computer

18.3%
(0.2%)

23.3%
(0.2%)

8.9%
(0.2%)
13.5%
(0.3%)
20.8%
(0.4%)
25.9%
(0.6%)
36.5%
(0.5%)

45.6%
(0.4%)
24.0%
(0.3%)
12.2%
(0.3%)
6.9%
(0.3%)
4.0%
(0.2%)

6.2%
(0.3%)
11.6%
(0.2%)
19.0%
(0.3%)
28.9%
(0.3%)

55.6%
(0.6%)
33.1%
(0.3%)
16.4%
(0.3%)
7.7%
(0.2%)

19.3%
(0.2%)
14.3%
(0.4%)
12.2%
(1.6%)
24.8%
(0.8%)
14.0%
(0.5%)

20.0%
(0.2%)
35.1%
(0.5%)
34.4%
(2.3%)
13.6%
(0.7%)
33.5%
(0.7%)

20.0%
(0.2%)
16.6%
(0.2%)

20.8%
(0.2%)
25.8%
(0.2%)

42.3
(.05)

57.4
(0.6)

8.3%
(0.3%)
19.8%
(0.2%)

46.1%
(0.5%)
19.7%
(0.2%)

19.7%
(0.2%)
11.4%
(0.4%)

21.9%
(0.2%)
30.3%
(0.6%)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B2: Computer Use, Internet and Broadband Adoption at the Household
Level, by Demographic Characteristics and Geographic Locations, 2010
Total
All households
(standard error)

Computer use Internet use
All
All
households households

119,516,167
76.7%
(328,675)
(0.2%)
Household Income
Less than $25,0000
34,509,443
54.4%
(245,038)
(0.4%)
$25,000 to $50,000
32,961,706
76.1%
(240,331)
(0.3%)
$50,000 to $75,000
21,228,025
87.8%
(197,966)
(0.3%)
$75,000 to $100,000
12,472,081
93.1%
(154,594)
(0.3%)
$100,000 or more
18,344,912
96.0%
(185,178)
(0.2%)
Householder Education
No High School Diploma
14,150,347
44.5%
(157,219)
(0.6%)
High School Diploma
34,946,796
66.9%
(235,012)
(0.3%)
Some College
34,167,814
83.6%
(232,836)
(0.3%)
College Degree or More
36,251,210
92.3%
(238,567)
(0.2%)
Householder Race and Ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic
83,598,462
80.0%
(315,569)
(0.2%)
Black, Non-Hispanic
14,853,701
64.9%
(130,599)
(0.5%)
American Indian and Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic
730,295
65.6%
(34,336)
(2.3%)
Asian, Non-Hispanic
4,667,055
86.4%
(76,205)
(0.7%)
Hispanic
14,137,933
66.6%
(159,699)
(0.7%)
Householder Sex
Male
60,041,712
79.2%
(287,815)
(0.2%)
Female
59,474,455
74.2%
(286,923)
(0.2%)
Householder Age
16 to 44 years
47,979,027
84.4%
(266,130)
(0.2%)
45 to 64 years
46,162,699
80.4%
(262,325)
(0.3%)
65 years and older
25,374,441
55.4%
(205,050)
(0.4%)
Household Type
Households with school-age children
29,996,963
86.3%
(220,445)
(0.3%)
Households without school-age children
89,519,204
73.5%
(319,994)
(0.2%)

Broadband adoption
All
Computer-using
households
households

71.1%
(0.2%)

68.2%
(0.2%)

88.9%
(0.1%)

45.9%
(0.4%)
69.3%
(0.4%)
83.7%
(0.4%)
90.1%
(0.4%)
94.1%
(0.2%)

42.9%
(0.4%)
65.8%
(0.4%)
80.7%
(0.4%)
87.8%
(0.4%)
92.6%
(0.3%)

78.8%
(0.4%)
86.6%
(0.3%)
91.9%
(0.3%)
94.4%
(0.3%)
96.4%
(0.2%)

35.7%
(0.5%)
60.3%
(0.4%)
77.4%
(0.3%)
89.2%
(0.2%)

33.1%
(0.5%)
56.9%
(0.4%)
74.3%
(0.3%)
87.2%
(0.2%)

74.6%
(0.7%)
85.0%
(0.3%)
88.9%
(0.3%)
94.5%
(0.2%)

74.9%
(0.2%)
57.8%
(0.5%)
56.8%
(2.4%)
82.8%
(0.7%)
59.1%
(0.7%)

71.8%
(0.2%)
55.5%
(0.5%)
52.3%
(2.4%)
80.9%
(0.7%)
56.9%
(0.7%)

89.7%
(0.2%)
85.5%
(0.5%)
79.6%
(2.4%)
93.7%
(0.5%)
85.5%
(0.6%)

74.0%
(0.2%)
68.1%
(0.3%)

71.2%
(0.3%)
65.3%
(0.3%)

89.9%
(0.2%)
87.9%
(0.2%)

78.3%
(0.3%)
75.3%
(0.3%)
49.6%
(0.4%)

76.7%
(0.3%)
72.0%
(0.3%)
45.5%
(0.4%)

90.8%
(0.2%)
89.5%
(0.2%)
82.1%
(0.4%)

80.4%
(0.3%)
67.9%
(0.2%)

78.1%
(0.3%)
64.9%
(0.2%)

90.5%
(0.2%)
88.3%
(0.2%)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B2: Computer Use, Internet and Broadband Adoption at the Household
Level, by Demographic Characteristics and Geographic Locations, 2010
(cont’d)

Total

Computer use Internet use
All
All
households households

Broadband adoption
All
Computer-using
households
households

Householder Disability Status
Has a disability
Does not have a disability

Citizens (including foreign-born)
Non-citizen

Metropolitan Area
Non-metropolitan Area

Less than 1,000,000
1,000,000 to 2,499,999
2,500,000 to 499,999,999
5,000,000 or more
Sample Size
Population

16,381,088
54.0%
(168,292)
(0.5%)
102,746,723
80.3%
(326,579)
(0.2%)
Household Citizenship Status
111,737,231
77.3%
(328,557)
(0.2%)
7,778,937
68.0%
(134,834)
(0.8%)
Urban-Rural Status
99,413,612
78.1%
(325,338)
(0.2%)
19,236,331
69.7%
(221,876)
(0.6%)
Metropolitan Area (CBSA) Size
32,045,595
76.5%
(277,640)
(0.4%)
20,735,483
77.5%
(187,425)
(0.4%)
20,540,004
82.2%
(186,626)
(0.4%)
22,272,392
77.5%
(193,541)
(0.4%)
54,269
119,516,167

46.4%
(0.5%)
74.9%
(0.2%)

43.1%
(0.5%)
72.2%
(0.2%)

79.8%
(0.6%)
89.9%
(0.1%)

71.8%
(0.2%)
60.7%
(0.9%)

68.9%
(0.2%)
58.3%
(0.9%)

89.1%
(0.1%)
85.7%
(0.7%)

72.8%
(0.2%)
62.0%
(0.6%)

70.4%
(0.2%)
57.3%
(0.6%)

90.1%
(0.2%)
82.1%
(0.6%)

70.8%
(0.4%)
72.2%
(0.4%)
77.3%
(0.4%)
73.0%
(0.4%)

67.9%
(0.4%)
69.8%
(0.4%)
75.0%
(0.4%)
71.2%
(0.4%)

88.9%
(0.3%)
90.0%
(0.3%)
91.2%
(0.3%)
91.8%
(0.4%)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B3: Computer Use, Internet and Broadband Adoption at the Individual
Person Level, by Demographic Characteristics and Geographic Location, 2010
Total
All people age 3 and older
(standard error)
Less than $25,0000
$25,000 to $50,000
$50,000 to $75,000
$75,000 to $100,000
$100,000 or more

No High School Diploma
High School Diploma
Some College
College Degree or More

White, Non-Hispanic
Black, Non-Hispanic
American Indian and Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic
Asian, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic

Male
Female

3 to 15 years
16 to 44 years
45 to 64 years
65 years and older

Households with school-age children
Households without school-age children

292,065,057
(298,963)
Household Income
71,475,861
(472,342)
77,222,903
(482,761)
54,694,545
(432,720)
34,663,881
(362,174)
54,007,868
(430,771)
Education
41,927,111
(271,156)
71,043,770
(325,529)
65,686,166
(318,033)
63,715,654
(315,025)
Race and Ethnicity
190,266,571
(590,558)
35,096,831
(321,363)
1,750,907
(104,476)
13,413,301
(197,574)
46,368,897
(189,554)
Sex
142,927,723
(602,891)
149,137,334
(604,465)
Age
53,674,951
(456,464)
118,971,154
(587,627)
80,541,611
(529,334)
38,877,341
(399,433)
Household Type
122,429,615
(590,756)
169,635,442
(602,859)

Computer
use

Internet
use

Broadband
adoption

81.4%
(0.2%)

65.0%
(0.2%)

63.0%
(0.2%)

59.6%
(0.4%)
79.3%
(0.3%)
89.6%
(0.3%)
93.9%
(0.3%)
96.9%
(0.2%)

40.6%
(0.4%)
60.0%
(0.4%)
73.5%
(0.4%)
80.1%
(0.4%)
86.2%
(0.3%)

38.4%
(0.4%)
57.4%
(0.4%)
71.3%
(0.4%)
78.3%
(0.5%)
85.1%
(0.3%)

64.2%
(0.3%)
73.4%
(0.2%)
87.1%
(0.2%)
93.3%
(0.1%)

43.9%
(0.4%)
56.5%
(0.3%)
77.0%
(0.2%)
87.1%
(0.2%)

42.1%
(0.4%)
53.7%
(0.3%)
74.4%
(0.2%)
85.4%
(0.2%)

85.3%
(0.2%)
70.2%
(0.6%)
68.7%
(2.9%)
90.3%
(0.7%)
71.3%
(0.7%)

71.4%
(0.2%)
52.5%
(0.7%)
51.2%
(3.1%)
70.6%
(1%)
47.5%
(0.8%)

69.1%
(0.2%)
50.7%
(0.7%)
47.1%
(3.1%)
69.3%
(1%)
46.0%
(0.8%)

82.0%
(0.2%)
80.8%
(0.2%)

65.0%
(0.3%)
65.1%
(0.3%)

63.1%
(0.3%)
62.9%
(0.3%)

84.8%
(0.3%)
85.7%
(0.2%)
82.7%
(0.3%)
61.0%
(0.5%)

53.0%
(0.5%)
75.3%
(0.3%)
69.2%
(0.4%)
41.6%
(0.5%)

51.8%
(0.5%)
73.5%
(0.3%)
66.6%
(0.4%)
38.5%
(0.5%)

86.4%
(0.2%)
77.8%
(0.2%)

67.2%
(0.3%)
63.5%
(0.3%)

65.5%
(0.3%)
61.1%
(0.3%)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B3: Computer Use, Internet and Broadband Adoption at the Individual
Person Level, by Demographic Characteristics and Geographic Location, 2010
(cont’d)
Total
Has a disability
Does not have a disability

Citizens (including foreign-born)
Non-citizen

Metropolitan Area
Non-metropolitan Area

Under 1,000,000
1,000,000 to 2,499,999
2,500,000 to 499,999,999
5,000,000 and over
Sample Size
Population

Computer
use

Disability Status
26,615,113
(337,816)
215,757,587
(559,451)
Citizenship Status
271,072,746
(410,258)
20,992,311
(345,420)
Urban-Rural Status
244,464,515
(499,361)
45,509,222
(522,832)
Metropolitan Area (CBSA)
78,090,127
(641,721)
49,326,079
(441,243)
51,180,606
(447,875)
56,773,520
(466,636)
129,494
292,065,057

Internet
use

Broadband
adoption

60.6%
(0.6%)
83.3%
(0.2%)

40.7%
(0.7%)
71.3%
(0.2%)

38.3%
(0.6%)
69.0%
(0.2%)

82.2%
(0.2%)
71.1%
(0.8%)

66.3%
(0.2%)
48.6%
(0.9%)

64.2%
(0.2%)
47.1%
(0.9%)

82.4%
(0.2%)
75.8%
(0.5%)
Size
80.9%
(0.4%)
82.2%
(0.4%)
85.8%
(0.3%)
82.0%
(0.3%)

66.4%
(0.2%)
57.6%
(0.6%)

64.7%
(0.2%)
53.9%
(0.6%)

65.1%
(0.5%)
67.2%
(0.5%)
70.2%
(0.4%)
64.7%
(0.4%)

63.0%
(0.5%)
65.5%
(0.5%)
68.4%
(0.4%)
63.5%
(0.4%)

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B4: Marginal Effects: Regression Broadband Adoption on Demographic
and Geographic Characteristics, 2010
Linear probability models
Household Income: Less than $25,0000
Household Income: $25,000-$50,000
Household Income: $50,000-$75,000
Household Income: $75,000-$100,000
Household Income: $100,000 or more
Education: No High School Diploma
Education: High School Diploma
Education: Some College
Education: College Degree or More
Age
Age squared
White, Non-Hispanic
Black, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
Asian, Non-Hispanic
Other, Non-Hispanic
Disability
Disability-not identified
Foreign-born non-citizen
Total number of persons in household
Has related school-age children
Total number of persons in household for households
with related school-age children (interaction)
Rural (Nonmetropolitan)
Urban (Metropolitan)
Metropolitan Area not identified

Having home broadband
(1)
(2)
Omitted
Omitted
0.1368***
(0.006)
0.2156***
(0.007)
0.2403***
(0.007)
0.2460***
(0.007)
Omitted

0.1366***
(0.006)
0.2153***
(0.007)
0.2395***
(0.007)
0.2441***
(0.007)
Omitted

0.0582***
(0.006)
0.0927***
(0.006)
0.1029***
(0.006)
0.1083***
(0.006)
Omitted

0.0581***
(0.006)
0.0926***
(0.006)
0.1023***
(0.006)
0.1072***
(0.006)
Omitted

0.1320***
(0.008)
0.2465***
(0.008)
0.3048***
(0.008)
0.0093***
(0.001)
-0.0001***
(0)
Omitted

0.1317***
(0.008)
0.2460***
(0.008)
0.3035***
(0.008)
0.0094***
(0.001)
-0.0001***
(0)
Omitted

0.0746***
(0.010)
0.1001***
(0.010)
0.1262***
(0.010)
0.0031***
(0.001)
-0.0000***
(0.000)
Omitted

0.0745***
(0.010)
0.0999***
(0.010)
0.1254***
(0.010)
0.0031***
(0.001)
-0.0000***
(0.000)
Omitted

-0.1099***
(0.007)
-0.1096***
(0.008)
-0.0052
(0.01)
-0.0529***
(0.014)
-0.0634***
(0.007)
0.1065***
(0.02)
-0.0473***
(0.01)
0.0470***
(0.002)
0.1217***
(0.014)
-0.0396***
(0.004)
Omitted

-0.1126***
(0.007)
-0.1113***
(0.008)
-0.0078
(0.01)
-0.0534***
(0.014)
-0.0629***
(0.007)
0.1074***
(0.02)
-0.0487***
(0.01)
0.0472***
(0.002)
0.1224***
(0.014)
-0.0398***
(0.004)
Omitted

-0.0280***
(0.007)
-0.0281***
(0.007)
0.0080
(0.007)
-0.0337**
(0.014)
-0.0328***
(0.007)
0.0636***
(0.010)
-0.0208**
(0.009)
0.0129***
(0.002)
0.0174
(0.012)
-0.0085***
(0.003)
Omitted

-0.0299***
(0.007)
-0.0294***
(0.007)
0.0063
(0.007)
-0.0337**
(0.014)
-0.0323***
(0.007)
0.0650***
(0.010)
-0.0217**
(0.009)
0.0130***
(0.002)
0.0182
(0.012)
-0.0087***
(0.003)
Omitted

0.0528***
(0.006)
0.0617***
(0.023)

Metropolitan size: Less than 1,000,000
Metropolitan size: 1,000,000 to 2,499,999
Metropolitan size: 2,500,000 to 499,999,999
Metropolitan size: 5,000,000 or more
Metropolitan area size not identified
Constant
Sample Size
Estimated Number of Households
R-squared

Having home broadband
(among computer owners)
(1)
(2)
Omitted
Omitted

0.0641**
(0.026)
54,269
119,516,167
0.276

0.0490***
(0.006)
0.0211
(0.022)
0.0492***
(0.007)
0.0529***
(0.008)
0.0676***
(0.008)
0.0661***
(0.009)
0.0287***
(-0.011)
0.0665**
(0.026)
54,269
119,516,167
0.277

0.5704***
(0.028)
41,844
91,702,117
0.073

0.0464***
(0.006)
0.0543***
(0.007)
0.0555***
(0.008)
0.0593***
(0.008)
0.0234**
(0.010)
0.5712***
(0.028)
41,844
91,702,117
0.073

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement, October
2010, and ESA calculations.
Note: Standard errors in parentheses, *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1. The marginal effects presented in the report are
from the first and third columns. The columns labeled (2) include controls for urban (metropolitan) area size. State of
residence is included in the regression. Data for Whites, Blacks, and Asians do not include people of Hispanic origin.
Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B5: Internet and Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
Broadband Adoption

Dial-up Only

90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York

Total
Households Percent
1,924,324
266,132
2,552,907
1,205,789
12,932,685
2,051,111
1,355,754
347,772
288,297
7,631,514
3,846,149
461,347
584,409
5,057,694
2,589,632
1,229,080
1,152,298
1,750,335
1,755,129
545,320
2,214,385
2,501,199
3,956,678
2,135,427
1,135,683
2,401,597
440,582
712,266
1,012,500
526,105
3,221,652
809,399
7,739,363

55.5%
73.4%
74.1%
52.4%
73.1%
71.6%
74.8%
68.4%
71.7%
70.2%
68.6%
69.2%
72.0%
68.7%
58.9%
67.4%
74.6%
57.8%
60.5%
67.4%
74.1%
76.0%
66.3%
70.6%
51.7%
64.4%
61.4%
68.9%
74.2%
77.8%
73.2%
57.7%
69.0%

90 Percent
Confidence Interval

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

52.9%
70.8%
72.1%
49.7%
72.2%
69.2%
72.3%
65.7%
69.2%
69.0%
66.8%
66.5%
69.5%
67.2%
56.6%
64.8%
72.2%
55.0%
57.7%
64.4%
71.9%
73.9%
64.5%
68.2%
48.8%
62.0%
58.8%
66.3%
71.7%
75.3%
71.4%
54.9%
67.7%

58.2%
75.9%
76.2%
55.1%
74.0%
74.0%
77.3%
71.0%
74.2%
71.4%
70.4%
71.8%
74.4%
70.3%
61.1%
70.1%
77.1%
60.6%
63.2%
70.3%
76.4%
78.0%
68.1%
72.9%
54.5%
66.7%
64.0%
71.6%
76.7%
80.3%
75.1%
60.5%
70.3%

4.5%
5.3%
1.3%
6.4%
2.7%
3.1%
1.7%
3.4%
1.7%
1.8%
1.8%
1.9%
3.6%
2.0%
2.4%
3.2%
1.7%
3.5%
2.3%
6.0%
2.2%
1.6%
3.4%
3.1%
6.0%
3.5%
4.0%
2.3%
2.4%
3.2%
1.5%
4.9%
2.0%

3.4%
4.0%
0.8%
5.1%
2.4%
2.2%
0.9%
2.3%
1.0%
1.5%
1.3%
1.1%
2.5%
1.6%
1.7%
2.2%
1.0%
2.5%
1.5%
4.5%
1.5%
1.0%
2.7%
2.2%
4.6%
2.6%
2.9%
1.5%
1.5%
2.1%
1.0%
3.7%
1.7%

5.6%
6.6%
1.8%
7.7%
3.1%
4.1%
2.4%
4.4%
2.4%
2.2%
2.3%
2.7%
4.6%
2.5%
3.2%
4.3%
2.5%
4.6%
3.2%
7.5%
3.0%
2.2%
4.1%
4.0%
7.3%
4.4%
5.0%
3.2%
3.2%
4.2%
2.0%
6.1%
2.4%

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B5: Internet and Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
(cont’d)
Broadband Adoption

Dial-up Only

90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
Households Percent
3,674,129
274,856
4,681,232
1,505,684
1,554,311
5,129,874
429,097
1,804,505
331,836
2,562,953
8,997,268
950,913
263,979
2,935,158
2,781,539
737,127
2,339,106
228,089

65.1%
70.9%
63.9%
62.5%
74.7%
67.4%
70.8%
59.5%
65.5%
59.5%
66.9%
79.7%
69.2%
69.5%
76.7%
59.1%
70.5%
72.9%

90 Percent
Confidence Interval

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

3.1%
68.3%
62.2%
59.7%
72.2%
65.8%
68.1%
56.8%
63.0%
57.2%
65.7%
77.5%
66.4%
67.5%
74.8%
56.5%
68.3%
70.4%

-1.9%
73.4%
65.6%
65.2%
77.2%
68.9%
73.4%
62.3%
68.0%
61.8%
68.1%
81.8%
72.0%
71.5%
78.6%
61.7%
72.8%
75.5%

4.2%
2.2%
3.6%
3.7%
3.6%
2.9%
1.3%
4.3%
3.5%
3.8%
2.7%
2.6%
5.5%
3.5%
3.0%
6.0%
3.2%
1.5%

3.4%
1.4%
2.9%
2.7%
2.5%
2.3%
0.7%
3.1%
2.5%
2.9%
2.3%
1.8%
4.1%
2.7%
2.2%
4.7%
2.3%
0.8%

5.0%
3.1%
4.2%
4.8%
4.7%
3.4%
2.0%
5.4%
4.5%
4.7%
3.1%
3.5%
6.8%
4.3%
3.8%
7.2%
4.0%
2.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B6: Computer Use by State, 2010
Computer, No Internet

No Computer

90 Percent
Confidence
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York

8.5%
6.9%
4.8%
8.8%
5.3%
4.6%
4.5%
4.5%
3.0%
4.6%
6.0%
3.5%
5.8%
4.2%
8.2%
6.1%
4.8%
7.0%
5.6%
5.6%
3.7%
2.7%
6.6%
5.5%
9.8%
8.2%
10.2%
7.6%
4.3%
5.1%
3.4%
8.9%
4.0%

90 Percent
Confidence

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

7.0%
5.4%
3.8%
7.3%
4.8%
3.5%
3.3%
3.3%
2.0%
4.0%
5.1%
2.4%
4.5%
3.5%
6.9%
4.7%
3.6%
5.6%
4.3%
4.2%
2.7%
1.9%
5.7%
4.3%
8.1%
6.9%
8.6%
6.1%
3.2%
3.8%
2.6%
7.3%
3.5%

10.0%
8.4%
5.8%
10.3%
5.8%
5.7%
5.8%
5.7%
4.0%
5.2%
6.9%
4.6%
7.1%
4.9%
9.5%
7.4%
6.1%
8.5%
6.9%
7.0%
4.7%
3.5%
7.6%
6.6%
11.5%
9.6%
11.8%
9.1%
5.5%
6.4%
4.2%
10.5%
4.6%

31.5%
14.4%
19.8%
32.5%
18.8%
20.6%
19.0%
23.8%
23.6%
23.4%
23.6%
25.4%
18.7%
25.0%
30.5%
23.3%
18.8%
31.6%
31.6%
21.1%
20.0%
19.7%
23.6%
20.9%
32.5%
24.0%
24.5%
21.2%
19.1%
13.9%
21.9%
28.5%
24.9%

29.0%
12.4%
17.9%
29.9%
18.0%
18.5%
16.7%
21.4%
21.2%
22.2%
21.9%
22.9%
16.5%
23.6%
28.4%
20.9%
16.6%
29.0%
29.0%
18.5%
17.9%
17.8%
22.0%
18.8%
29.9%
21.9%
22.2%
18.8%
16.9%
11.8%
20.1%
25.9%
23.7%

34.0%
16.5%
21.7%
35.0%
19.7%
22.8%
21.3%
26.3%
26.0%
24.5%
25.2%
27.9%
20.8%
26.5%
32.6%
25.7%
21.0%
34.2%
34.2%
23.6%
22.0%
21.6%
25.2%
23.0%
35.2%
26.1%
26.8%
23.5%
21.3%
15.9%
23.6%
31.0%
26.1%

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B6: Computer Use by State, 2010
(cont’d)
Computer, No Internet

No Computer

90 Percent
Confidence
State
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
Households Percent
3,674,129
274,856
4,681,232
1,505,684
1,554,311
5,129,874
429,097
1,804,505
331,836
2,562,953
8,997,268
950,913
263,979
2,935,158
2,781,539
737,127
2,339,106
228,089

4.5%
4.2%
6.8%
6.3%
6.3%
4.7%
5.3%
6.4%
7.2%
7.0%
7.2%
4.4%
5.7%
6.8%
6.8%
8.7%
4.7%
7.1%

90 Percent
Confidence

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

3.6%
3.1%
5.9%
4.9%
4.9%
4.0%
3.9%
5.0%
5.8%
5.8%
6.6%
3.3%
4.3%
5.7%
5.7%
7.2%
3.7%
5.6%

5.3%
5.3%
7.7%
7.6%
7.7%
5.4%
6.6%
7.7%
8.5%
8.2%
7.9%
5.5%
7.1%
7.9%
8.0%
10.2%
5.7%
8.5%

27.1%
22.7%
25.7%
27.5%
15.4%
25.1%
22.7%
29.9%
23.8%
29.7%
23.2%
13.3%
19.6%
20.2%
13.5%
26.2%
21.6%
18.6%

25.4%
20.3%
24.2%
25.0%
13.3%
23.7%
20.2%
27.3%
21.6%
27.6%
22.2%
11.4%
17.2%
18.5%
11.9%
23.8%
19.6%
16.3%

28.9%
25.0%
27.3%
30.0%
17.4%
26.6%
25.2%
32.4%
26.0%
31.9%
24.3%
15.1%
22.0%
22.0%
15.0%
28.5%
23.6%
20.8%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B7: Urban Area Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
Broadband Adoption
90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York

Total
Households

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

1,394,515
182,990
2,238,063
774,343
12,670,211
1,801,148
1,289,322
273,617
288,297
7,287,051
3,269,179
325,395
365,668
4,407,181
1,862,332
688,449
707,374
961,503
1,505,052
273,340
2,126,207
2,431,918
3,307,369
1,556,618
469,103
1,867,125
149,610
434,971
867,609
321,621
3,221,652
592,076
7,085,604

58.8%
76.9%
75.6%
56.1%
73.1%
71.2%
75.1%
70.9%
71.7%
70.7%
72.1%
71.1%
78.2%
70.3%
60.5%
73.0%
79.2%
65.1%
62.5%
73.7%
74.5%
75.6%
67.6%
72.4%
66.8%
68.6%
69.1%
75.0%
75.4%
81.2%
73.2%
61.4%
69.5%

55.7%
73.9%
73.4%
52.8%
72.2%
68.6%
72.5%
67.9%
69.2%
69.4%
70.2%
68.0%
75.3%
68.7%
57.8%
69.6%
76.3%
61.5%
59.6%
69.8%
72.2%
73.5%
65.7%
69.7%
62.6%
66.0%
64.9%
71.8%
72.8%
78.2%
71.3%
58.2%
68.2%

61.9%
79.9%
77.8%
59.4%
74.0%
73.8%
77.7%
73.9%
74.2%
72.0%
74.0%
74.2%
81.1%
71.9%
63.2%
76.4%
82.1%
68.7%
65.4%
77.6%
76.8%
77.7%
69.5%
75.1%
71.0%
71.2%
73.3%
78.2%
78.0%
84.2%
75.1%
64.6%
70.8%

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B7: Urban Area Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
(cont’d)
Broadband Adoption
90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
Households

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

2,440,415
129,583
3,589,034
1,034,283
1,181,748
4,215,756
429,097
1,213,534
161,230
1,877,190
7,968,051
729,619
82,160
2,526,293
2,566,102
442,531
1,765,333
65,142

69.0%
78.3%
66.0%
68.1%
77.3%
67.7%
70.7%
63.9%
71.9%
64.5%
67.8%
79.5%
81.1%
72.9%
77.4%
63.9%
72.4%
77.5%

66.8%
75.0%
64.1%
64.9%
74.6%
66.0%
68.0%
60.6%
68.5%
61.8%
66.5%
77.0%
76.9%
70.8%
75.4%
60.6%
69.9%
73.0%

71.2%
81.6%
67.9%
71.3%
80.0%
69.4%
73.4%
67.2%
75.3%
67.1%
69.1%
81.9%
85.3%
75.0%
79.4%
67.2%
74.9%
82.0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement,
October 2010, and ESA calculations.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B8: Rural Area Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
Broadband Adoption
90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York

Total
Households

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

529,809
83,143
314,844
431,446
262,475
66,432
74,155
344,463
576,970
135,952
218,741
650,512
727,300
540,631
444,925
788,832
271,980
88,178
649,310
578,809
666,580
534,472
290,972
277,295
204,484
217,324
653,759

47.0%
65.5%
63.6%
45.6%
72.8%
69.0%
59.0%
59.9%
48.9%
64.4%
61.6%
58.4%
54.5%
60.3%
67.3%
49.0%
61.0%
63.6%
59.8%
65.5%
41.1%
49.4%
57.4%
59.3%
72.5%
47.6%
63.8%

40.8%
59.4%
55.7%
40.1%
64.7%
54.1%
51.5%
52.3%
42.9%
58.1%
56.3%
52.8%
49.2%
55.2%
62.0%
43.8%
55.7%
48.4%
54.2%
59.8%
36.6%
43.0%
53.4%
53.7%
67.3%
41.0%
58.2%

53.2%
71.6%
71.5%
51.1%
80.9%
83.9%
66.5%
67.5%
54.9%
70.7%
66.9%
64.0%
59.8%
65.4%
72.6%
54.2%
66.3%
78.8%
65.4%
71.2%
45.6%
55.8%
61.4%
64.9%
77.7%
54.2%
69.4%

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home

Table B8: Rural Area Broadband Adoption by State, 2010
(cont’d)
Broadband Adoption
90 Percent
Confidence Interval
State
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
Households

Percent

Lower
Bound

Upper
Bound

1,233,714
145,273
1,092,197
471,401
372,564
914,118
590,971
170,606
685,763
1,029,217
181,819
408,865
215,436
294,595
573,773
162,947

57.6%
64.3%
57.1%
50.0%
66.5%
65.7%
50.5%
59.5%
45.8%
59.9%
63.8%
48.5%
68.4%
52.0%
64.6%
71.1%

53.5%
59.8%
52.7%
43.9%
59.7%
61.1%
44.5%
55.1%
40.3%
55.4%
59.5%
41.3%
59.1%
46.9%
58.8%
67.3%

61.7%
68.8%
61.5%
56.1%
73.2%
70.3%
56.4%
63.8%
51.3%
64.4%
68.1%
55.7%
77.7%
57.1%
70.4%
74.9%

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File Type	application/pdf
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File Created	2011-11-01