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Pew Internet recently published an updated fact sheet that looked into the growth of internet usage among the US population over the years. The data in the report starts in 2000 when internet usage among US adults was around 52%. This figure gradually climbed to over 60% in 2003 and it took another three years to cross the 70% barrier in 2006.
For the next six years, internet usage among US adults hovered around the 70-79 percent mark although this figure continued to move up over this period. In 2012, the figure breached the 80% figure and at last count in 2016, the internet usage among the American adult population is at 88%. Here is a table with all the relevant data.
| Year | Internet Usage in % |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 52% |
| 2001 | 55% |
| 2002 | 59% |
| 2003 | 61% |
| 2004 | 63% |
| 2005 | 68% |
| 2006 | 71% |
| 2007 | 74% |
| 2008 | 74% |
| 2009 | 76% |
| 2010 | 76% |
| 2011 | 79% |
| 2012 | 83% |
| 2013 | 84% |
| 2014 | 84% |
| 2015 | 86% |
| 2016 | 88% |
US Internet Usage By Age
The millennials in the 18-29 year age-group are by far the most savvy when it comes to internet usage. The usage among this group is at a staggering 99%. For perspective, this figure was at 70% in 2000. Back in the day, the 30-49 year old group had a near 10 point deficit over the then 18-29 year age group at 61%. However, as of today, that deficit has been more or less wiped out. Close to 96% of Americans in the 30-49 year old group today access the internet.
Usage among the 50-64 year group too has been impressive. Back in 2000, this age bracket saw internet usage by only 46% of the population. Today, that figure is as much as 87%. Understandably, the only laggards in this stat are the 65+ year group where only 64% of the population accesses the internet today. The corresponding figure for this group at the turn of the century was 14%. Still, an impressive growth in adoption.
| 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 70% | 61% | 46% | 14% |
| 2001 | 72% | 65% | 50% | 14% |
| 2002 | 76% | 70% | 54% | 18% |
| 2003 | 78% | 72% | 56% | 22% |
| 2004 | 77% | 75% | 61% | 24% |
| 2005 | 83% | 79% | 66% | 28% |
| 2006 | 86% | 82% | 70% | 32% |
| 2007 | 89% | 85% | 71% | 35% |
| 2008 | 89% | 84% | 72% | 38% |
| 2009 | 92% | 84% | 75% | 40% |
| 2010 | 92% | 85% | 74% | 43% |
| 2011 | 94% | 87% | 77% | 46% |
| 2012 | 96% | 91% | 79% | 54% |
| 2013 | 97% | 92% | 81% | 56% |
| 2014 | 97% | 92% | 81% | 57% |
| 2015 | 97% | 95% | 82% | 63% |
| 2016 | 99% | 96% | 87% | 64% |
US Internet Usage By Race
Among whites, the internet usage grew from 53% in 2000 to 88% in 2016. The growth in internet usage is a lot more impressive among the Black population where the number grew from 38% to 85% during the same period. Pew Internet started studying Hispanics only from 2010 and the usage has grown from 71% then to 88% now.
| White | Black | Hispanic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 53% | 38% | |
| 2001 | 57% | 40% | |
| 2002 | 60% | 47% | |
| 2003 | 63% | 50% | |
| 2004 | 65% | 49% | |
| 2005 | 70% | 55% | |
| 2006 | 72% | 59% | |
| 2007 | 75% | 64% | |
| 2008 | 75% | 63% | |
| 2009 | 79% | 69% | |
| 2010 | 78% | 68% | 71% |
| 2011 | 81% | 72% | 72% |
| 2012 | 84% | 77% | 79% |
| 2013 | 85% | 79% | 80% |
| 2014 | 85% | 79% | 81% |
| 2015 | 87% | 81% | 82% |
| 2016 | 88% | 85% | 88% |
US Internet Usage By Gender
There is little to separate internet usage and adoption between male and female users in the United States. Back in 2000, 54% of adult males used the internet as compared to only 50% of women. The corresponding figure for 2016 is 89% for men and 86% for women.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 54% | 50% |
| 2001 | 57% | 53% |
| 2002 | 61% | 57% |
| 2003 | 63% | 60% |
| 2004 | 66% | 61% |
| 2005 | 69% | 67% |
| 2006 | 72% | 70% |
| 2007 | 75% | 73% |
| 2008 | 74% | 73% |
| 2009 | 77% | 75% |
| 2010 | 77% | 76% |
| 2011 | 80% | 78% |
| 2012 | 83% | 82% |
| 2013 | 84% | 84% |
| 2014 | 84% | 84% |
| 2015 | 86% | 86% |
| 2016 | 89% | 86% |
US Internet Usage By Income
Higher incomes correlate with higher usage of the internet. In 2000, just over a third of people from households with less than $30,000 annual income had access to the internet. Today, the corresponding figure is over 79%. Not surprisingly, people from high household incomes have always had good access to the internet. In 2000, 81% of people with a household income of over $75,000 had access to the internet and today, that number is 98% – very few people from this income group still don’t access the internet.
| Less than $30K | $30K-$49K | $50K-$75K | $75K+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 34% | 58% | 72% | 81% |
| 2001 | 36% | 60% | 75% | 84% |
| 2002 | 39% | 64% | 76% | 85% |
| 2003 | 41% | 66% | 81% | 87% |
| 2004 | 44% | 68% | 83% | 88% |
| 2005 | 49% | 73% | 86% | 92% |
| 2006 | 52% | 75% | 86% | 92% |
| 2007 | 58% | 74% | 86% | 93% |
| 2008 | 54% | 78% | 88% | 95% |
| 2009 | 60% | 79% | 92% | 95% |
| 2010 | 61% | 81% | 88% | 95% |
| 2011 | 64% | 85% | 90% | 97% |
| 2012 | 70% | 87% | 93% | 97% |
| 2013 | 72% | 86% | 93% | 97% |
| 2014 | 74% | 86% | 93% | 96% |
| 2015 | 76% | 86% | 94% | 97% |
| 2016 | 79% | 90% | 95% | 98% |
US Internet Usage By Education Levels
Adult Americans who are not even high school graduates continue to struggle when it comes to internet usage. The latest figure shows the usage numbers in this category to be just about 68%. For perspective, less than one-fifths of this population used the internet at the start of the millennium. College graduates have always been most likely to use the internet. While 78% already had access to internet in 2000, nearly everyone today does.
| Less than high school graduate | High school graduate | Some college | College graduate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19% | 40% | 67% | 78% |
| 2001 | 21% | 43% | 68% | 81% |
| 2002 | 24% | 48% | 73% | 83% |
| 2003 | 25% | 51% | 75% | 85% |
| 2004 | 27% | 53% | 76% | 86% |
| 2005 | 32% | 58% | 80% | 89% |
| 2006 | 37% | 61% | 83% | 91% |
| 2007 | 40% | 65% | 85% | 92% |
| 2008 | 38% | 65% | 86% | 93% |
| 2009 | 40% | 68% | 87% | 94% |
| 2010 | 41% | 68% | 87% | 93% |
| 2011 | 43% | 72% | 89% | 94% |
| 2012 | 52% | 75% | 91% | 96% |
| 2013 | 54% | 75% | 92% | 96% |
| 2014 | 55% | 76% | 91% | 96% |
| 2015 | 62% | 78% | 92% | 96% |
| 2016 | 68% | 81% | 94% | 98% |
US Internet Usage Among Urban/Rural Population
When it comes to internet usage, there is little to separate the urban areas from the suburbs. The internet usage among these locations have not deviated by more than a handful of poicnts at point in time. What’s more surprising though is that suburban areas have always had higher internet usage than urban areas. In 2000, urban areas had a 53% internet usage while this figure was 56% in the suburbs. In 2016, the corresponding figure for urban and suburban areas stood at 89% and 90% respectively.
Rural areas are a whole different story. Back in 2000, rural US had a 42% usage rate. Over time though, this has significantly improved and in 2016, the number stood at 81%.
| Urban | Suburban | Rural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 53% | 56% | 42% |
| 2001 | 55% | 59% | 46% |
| 2002 | 61% | 63% | 49% |
| 2003 | 64% | 65% | 51% |
| 2004 | 65% | 67% | 53% |
| 2005 | 69% | 70% | 60% |
| 2006 | 71% | 73% | 62% |
| 2007 | 75% | 77% | 63% |
| 2008 | 75% | 77% | 63% |
| 2009 | 73% | 76% | 68% |
| 2010 | 78% | 79% | 69% |
| 2011 | 80% | 81% | 73% |
| 2012 | 84% | 84% | 75% |
| 2013 | 86% | 85% | 78% |
| 2014 | 85% | 85% | 79% |
| 2015 | 87% | 88% | 78% |
| 2016 | 89% | 90% | 81% |
