The digital divide has not disappeared, as research reveals
a correlation between household income and Internet usage,
with high earners spending the most time online.
The Capital region of the United States — composed of
Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC — has the greatest
percentage of affluent Internet users, with nearly 36 percent
earning an annual household income over $75,000, followed by
New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode
Island, Maine, and New Hampshire) at just over 35 percent. The
findings come from a Pew
Internet & American Life Project study that analyzed
the nation’s online population and regionally categorized
users.
While the Capital region has the highest number of
high-income Internet surfers, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon
and Washington) has the greatest percentage of under $30,000
per year users. Interestingly, when Pew analyzed online
tenure, the two regions ranked the highest for Internet users with
more than three years online experience.
Nationally, and in most of the regions, the highest income
earners represent the largest online population. The
exceptions are the Industrial Midwest, the Border States, the
South, Southeast, and Midwest, where the $30,000 to $50,000
annual income range boasts the most Internet users.
| Online Population by Annual Household Income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $30,000 |
$30,000 – $50,000 |
$50,000 – $75,000 |
Over $75,000 |
Refused | |
| California | 18.8% | 19.9% | 14.6% | 30.8% | 15.9% |
| Mid-Atlantic PA, NJ, DE, NY |
17.6% | 22.0% | 18.9% | 25.1% | 16.5% |
| Industrial Midwest IL, IN, OH, MI |
15.3% | 25.5% | 18.9% | 23.2% | 17.0% |
| Mountain CO, UT, ID, NV, WY, MT |
15.7% | 22.8% | 22.9% | 23.9% | 14.7% |
| Capital Region MD, VA, DC |
12.6% | 16.4% | 18.3% | 35.8% | 16.8% |
| New England CT, MA, VT, RI, ME, NH |
13.9% | 17.8% | 17.4% | 35.1% | 15.9% |
| Border States TX, NM, AZ |
17.9% | 27.2% | 14.0% | 24.2% | 16.7% |
| South TN, AL, MS, LA, WV, KY, AK |
21.7% | 26.1% | 17.2% | 20.9% | 14.1% |
| Southeast FL, GA, NC, SC |
20.7% | 24.6% | 16.1% | 25.7% | 13.0% |
| Upper Midwest MN, ND, SD, WI |
18.4% | 20.9% | 21.8% | 24.5% | 14.4% |
| Midwest MO, NE, KS, OK, IA |
18.6% | 27.9% | 20.0% | 20.8% | 12.7% |
| Pacific Northwest OR, WA |
25.6% | 23.2% | 17.6% | 20.4% | 13.1% |
| NATIONAL | 18.3% | 23.2% | 17.7% | 25.3% | 15.4% |
| Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project | |||||
Measurements from comScore Media Metrix
further revealed the link between Internet usage and household
income, with those earning above $100,000 annually spending
the most time online and viewing the most pages.
| U.S. Internet Users by Household Income August 2003, Home, Work and University Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Users | Average Usage Time per Month | Average Pages Viewed per Month | |
| $15,000 – $24,999 | 11,422,000 | 23.3 hrs | 2,292 |
| $25,000 – $39,999 | 18,144,000 | 26.4 hrs | 2,526 |
| $40,000 – $59,999 | 37,719,000 | 26.4 hrs | 2,670 |
| $60,000 – $74,999 | 23,206,000 | 26.4 hrs | 2,577 |
| $75,000 – $99,999 | 24,654,000 | 27.5 hrs | 2,636 |
| $100,000 or more | 25,793,000 | 27.6 hrs | 2,964 |
| Total Internet Users | 148,811,000 | 26.5 hrs | 2,648 |
| Source: comScore Media Metrix | |||
comScore’s August analysis also revealed:
- Nearly 84 percent of Internet users with a household
income of $100,000 or more visited a retail site.
- Americans with household incomes of $100,000 or more are
20 percent more likely to visit a Travel site than the
average Internet user. More than half (54 percent) of
affluent Internet users visited a travel site, compared to
47 percent of the total Internet population.
- Affluent Internet users are 10 percent more likely to
visit news sites than the average Internet user, as 61
percent of the high income users visited a site in the
general news category.
Traffic intelligence information from Hitwise supports the link
between income and Internet usage. Analysis of over 150 of the
Hitwise U.S. business and market oriented categories shows
that the bulk of the September 2003 visitors came from
households with annual incomes greater than $75,000, at nearly
36 percent.
Those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 were responsible
for more than 22 percent of the monthly traffic; households in
the $35,000 to $50,000 income range accounted for nearly 17
percent; $25,000 to $35,000 = over 10 percent; $15,000 to
$25,000 = just over 7 percent; and households below $15,000
comprised a little more than 6 percent of the September 2003
Internet traffic.
