Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet

The internet represents a fundamental shift in how Americans connect with one another, gather information and conduct their day-to-day lives. For more than 15 years, Pew Research Center has documented its growth and distribution in the United States. Explore the patterns of internet and home broadband adoption below.

Internet use over time

When Pew Research Center began systematically tracking Americans’ internet usage in early 2000, about half of all adults were already online. Today, 93% of American adults use the internet.

Internet use

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet

Year	U.S. adults
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%
2018	89%
2019	90%
2021	93%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Who uses the internet

For some demographic groups – such as young adults, college graduates and those from high-income households – internet usage is near ubiquitous. Even so, adoption gaps remain based on factors such as age, income, and education.

Internet use by age

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by age

	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%
2018	98%	97%	87%	66%
2019	100%	97%	88%	73%
2021	99%	98%	96%	75%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Internet use by race/ethnicity

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by race/ethnicity

	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%
2018	89%	87%	88%
2019	92%	85%	86%
2021	93%	91%	95%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Internet use by gender

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by gender

	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%
2018	89%	88%
2019	90%	91%
2021	94%	93%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Internet use by income

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by annual household income

	Less than $30,000	$30,000-$49,999	$50,000-$74,999	$75,000+
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%
2018	81%	93%	97%	98%
2019	82%	93%	97%	98%
2021	86%	91%	98%	99%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Internet use by education

% of U.S. adults who use the internet, by education level

	Less than high school graduate	High school graduate	High school or less	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%
2018	65%	84%		93%	97%
2019	71%	84%		95%	98%
2021			86%	97%	98%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. ‘High school or less’ includes both ‘Less than high school graduate’ and ‘High school graduate’. The 2021 sample is too small to separate these two categories.

Source: Surveys conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Internet use by community type

% of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by community type

	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%
2018	92%	90%	78%
2019	91%	94%	85%
2021	95%	94%	90%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys conducted during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use over time

The proportion of American adults with high-speed broadband service at home increased rapidly between 2000 and 2010. In recent years, however, broadband adoption growth has been much more sporadic. Today, roughly three-quarters of American adults have broadband internet service at home.

Home broadband use

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home

	U.S. adults
3/31/2000	1%
3/1/2001	6%
9/10/2001	7%
9/19/2001	7%
10/1/2001	6%
10/7/2001	6%
10/18/2001	8%
11/18/2001	8%
12/23/2001	9%
1/31/2002	9%
5/19/2002	11%
7/26/2002	11%
10/6/2002	15%
10/27/2002	12%
11/24/2002	15%
12/22/2002	12%
3/24/2003	15%
3/25/2003	16%
5/20/2003	16%
6/24/2003	16%
8/3/2003	17%
12/14/2003	19%
3/1/2004	24%
3/17/2004	25%
6/17/2004	23%
7/3/2004	25%
11/22/2004	26%
11/30/2004	25%
2/9/2005	29%
3/21/2005	29%
6/7/2005	33%
12/8/2005	37%
12/31/2005	36%
2/6/2006	41%
3/28/2006	42%
4/6/2006	42%
8/31/2006	43%
12/4/2006	46%
12/30/2006	44%
9/5/2007	51%
12/2/2007	54%
1/13/2008	51%
5/11/2008	54%
8/10/2008	58%
8/31/2008	57%
12/4/2008	56%
12/20/2008	55%
4/19/2009	62%
6/21/2009	62%
9/14/2009	62%
12/27/2009	59%
1/19/2010	61%
5/30/2010	64%
9/13/2010	60%
11/24/2010	60%
12/21/2010	62%
5/22/2011	60%
8/26/2011	62%
1/8/2012	67%
2/19/2012	65%
4/3/2012	66%
11/10/2012	68%
12/9/2012	65%
5/19/2013	70%
9/30/2013	70%
4/12/2015	66%
7/12/2015	67%
11/15/2015	67%
4/4/2016	70%
11/6/2016	73%
1/10/2018	65%
2/7/2019	73%
2/8/2021	77%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Who has home broadband

As is true of internet adoption more broadly, home broadband adoption varies across demographic groups. Racial minorities and those with lower levels of education and income are less likely to have broadband service at home.

Home broadband use by age

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by age

	18-29	30-49	50-64	65+
3/31/2000	1%	1%	0%
3/1/2001	7%	8%	5%	1%
9/10/2001	9%	9%	6%	1%
9/19/2001	10%	9%	7%	1%
10/1/2001	8%	8%	5%
10/7/2001	8%	9%	4%	1%
10/18/2001	10%	9%	7%	2%
11/18/2001	10%	10%	5%	2%
12/23/2001	12%	11%	5%	2%
1/31/2002	14%	10%	7%	1%
5/19/2002	14%	13%	9%	2%
7/26/2002	12%	14%	9%	3%
10/6/2002	18%	19%	13%	2%
10/27/2002	19%	17%	7%	1%
11/24/2002	22%	18%	11%	2%
12/22/2002	17%	14%	11%	3%
3/24/2003	22%	20%	12%	2%
3/25/2003	23%	20%	13%	3%
5/20/2003	20%	19%	16%	4%
6/24/2003	24%	19%	15%	3%
8/3/2003	25%	21%	14%	3%
12/14/2003	28%	25%	14%	4%
3/1/2004	34%	28%	22%	5%
3/17/2004	33%	31%	23%	7%
6/17/2004	27%	30%	20%	7%
7/3/2004	32%	31%	24%	7%
11/22/2004	36%	32%	23%	7%
2/9/2005	37%	35%	27%	9%
3/21/2005	38%	37%	26%	7%
6/7/2005	44%	39%	32%	7%
12/8/2005	46%	45%	34%	11%
12/31/2005	46%	43%	34%	11%
2/6/2006	51%	48%	40%	13%
3/28/2006	54%	47%	45%	13%
4/6/2006	55%	51%	38%	14%
8/31/2006	52%	54%	41%	14%
12/4/2006	61%	54%	41%	16%
12/30/2006	58%	55%	40%	15%
9/5/2007	66%	60%	50%	17%
1/13/2008	64%	63%	47%	21%
5/11/2008	69%	68%	49%	19%
8/10/2008	70%	67%	55%	27%
8/31/2008	73%	68%	52%	24%
12/4/2008	72%	68%	51%	24%
12/20/2008	67%	63%	52%	26%
4/19/2009	74%	71%	60%	30%
6/21/2009	74%	75%	58%	31%
9/14/2009	78%	69%	61%	29%
12/27/2009	77%	67%	56%	25%
1/19/2010	79%	70%	57%	27%
5/30/2010	76%	74%	62%	30%
9/13/2010	78%	68%	56%	27%
11/24/2010	75%	71%	58%	27%
12/21/2010	71%	71%	63%	33%
5/22/2011	72%	72%	57%	28%
8/26/2011	76%	70%	60%	30%
2/19/2012	72%	74%	65%	35%
4/3/2012	75%	77%	62%	39%
11/10/2012	76%	78%	66%	41%
12/9/2012	75%	74%	62%	41%
5/19/2013	80%	78%	69%	43%
9/30/2013	81%	77%	68%	47%
4/12/2015	75%	73%	66%	40%
7/12/2015	75%	76%	62%	48%
11/15/2015	75%	74%	67%	47%
4/4/2016	80%	78%	66%	49%
11/6/2016	77%	81%	75%	51%
1/10/2018	67%	70%	68%	50%
2/7/2019	77%	77%	79%	59%
2/8/2021	70%	86%	79%	64%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use by race

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by race/ethnicity

	White	Black	Hispanic
3/31/2000	1%	1%
9/10/2001	8%	3%
9/19/2001	7%	6%
10/1/2001	6%	3%
10/7/2001	7%
10/18/2001	8%	5%
12/23/2001	9%	5%
1/31/2002	9%	5%
5/19/2002	11%	6%
7/26/2002	11%	6%
10/6/2002	14%	12%
10/27/2002	13%	7%
11/24/2002	15%	11%
12/22/2002	13%	4%
3/24/2003	16%	7%
3/25/2003	17%	7%
5/20/2003	17%	8%
6/24/2003	18%	9%
8/3/2003	18%	12%
12/14/2003	20%	12%
3/1/2004	25%	13%
3/17/2004	25%	20%
6/17/2004	25%	10%
7/3/2004	26%	14%
11/22/2004	27%	16%
11/30/2004	28%
2/9/2005	32%	13%
3/21/2005	30%	14%
6/7/2005	34%	18%
12/8/2005	39%	24%
12/31/2005	38%	22%
2/6/2006	42%	24%
3/28/2006	40%	35%
4/6/2006	43%	32%
8/31/2006	44%	34%
12/4/2006	48%	33%
12/30/2006	45%	37%
9/5/2007	51%	42%
12/2/2007	56%	38%
1/13/2008	53%	41%
5/11/2008	56%	41%
8/10/2008	57%	48%
8/31/2008	57%	46%
12/4/2008	59%	39%
12/20/2008	59%	43%
4/19/2009	64%	43%
6/21/2009	65%
9/14/2009	68%	51%
12/27/2009	63%	50%
1/19/2010	63%	49%
5/30/2010	66%	54%
9/13/2010	64%	50%	49%
11/24/2010	65%	49%	43%
12/21/2010	66%	51%	49%
5/22/2011	65%	49%	46%
8/26/2011	66%	49%	51%
1/8/2012	67%	60%
2/19/2012	69%	57%	44%
4/3/2012	70%	54%	51%
11/10/2012	72%	60%	47%
12/9/2012	70%	53%	49%
5/19/2013	74%	64%	53%
9/30/2013	74%	62%	56%
4/12/2015	70%	52%	50%
7/12/2015	71%	56%	53%
11/15/2015	73%	55%	47%
4/4/2016	75%	66%	47%
11/6/2016	78%	65%	58%
1/18/2018	72%	57%	47%
2/7/2019	79%	66%	61%
2/8/2021	80%	71%	65%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use by gender

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by gender

	Men	Women
3/31/2000	1%	1%
3/1/2001	7%	5%
9/10/2001	8%	6%
9/19/2001	9%	5%
10/1/2001	7%	5%
10/7/2001	8%	5%
10/18/2001	11%	4%
11/18/2001	9%	6%
12/23/2001	10%	7%
1/31/2002	10%	7%
5/19/2002	12%	9%
7/26/2002	12%	9%
10/6/2002	17%	12%
10/27/2002	15%	9%
11/24/2002	18%	11%
12/22/2002	14%	11%
3/24/2003	18%	13%
3/25/2003	18%	14%
5/20/2003	19%	13%
6/24/2003	19%	14%
8/3/2003	19%	15%
12/14/2003	22%	17%
3/1/2004	27%	21%
3/17/2004	30%	22%
6/17/2004	27%	20%
7/3/2004	28%	23%
11/22/2004	29%	23%
11/30/2004	27%	24%
2/9/2005	31%	27%
3/21/2005	31%	28%
6/7/2005	36%	30%
12/8/2005	40%	34%
12/31/2005	39%	32%
2/6/2006	42%	39%
3/28/2006	45%	39%
4/6/2006	46%	39%
8/31/2006	47%	40%
12/4/2006	49%	43%
12/30/2006	47%	42%
9/5/2007	54%	49%
12/2/2007	58%	51%
1/13/2008	55%	48%
5/11/2008	57%	52%
8/10/2008	58%	58%
8/31/2008	59%	54%
12/4/2008	61%	52%
12/20/2008	56%	54%
4/19/2009	63%	61%
6/21/2009	62%	61%
9/14/2009	64%	60%
12/27/2009	61%	58%
1/19/2010	65%	58%
5/30/2010	64%	64%
9/13/2010	62%	59%
11/24/2010	60%	61%
12/21/2010	65%	60%
5/22/2011	60%	60%
8/26/2011	65%	59%
1/8/2012	67%	67%
2/19/2012	66%	64%
4/3/2012	66%	66%
11/10/2012	68%	67%
12/9/2012	65%	66%
5/19/2013	71%	69%
9/30/2013	70%	70%
4/12/2015	65%	66%
7/12/2015	67%	67%
11/15/2015	67%	67%
4/4/2016	72%	68%
11/6/2016	74%	72%
1/10/2018	66%	64%
2/7/2019	73%	73%
2/8/2021	77%	77%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use by income

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by annual household income

	Less than $30,000	$30,000-$49,999	$50,000-$74,999	$75,000+
3/31/2000	0%	0%	1%	2%
9/10/2001	2%	4%	8%	20%
9/19/2001	3%	8%	10%	16%
10/1/2001	2%	5%	8%	14%
10/7/2001	3%	4%
10/18/2001	4%	5%	10%	19%
11/18/2001	4%	7%	11%	18%
12/23/2001	4%	7%	10%	23%
1/31/2002	4%	6%	11%	22%
5/19/2002	5%	8%	13%	25%
7/26/2002	4%	10%	14%	23%
10/6/2002	6%	11%	26%	32%
10/27/2002	7%	10%	12%	26%
11/24/2002	7%	13%	16%	34%
12/22/2002	5%	12%	16%	27%
3/24/2003	7%	11%	22%	32%
3/25/2003	7%	11%	22%	33%
5/20/2003	7%	14%	25%	30%
6/24/2003	7%	14%	21%	37%
8/3/2003	8%	14%	22%	38%
12/14/2003	9%	16%	25%	42%
3/1/2004	10%	23%	36%	46%
3/17/2004	13%	25%	27%	49%
6/17/2004	12%	18%	31%	48%
7/3/2004	12%	19%	35%	48%
11/22/2004	13%	25%	34%	54%
11/30/2004	12%	24%	37%	50%
2/9/2005	15%	27%	32%	58%
3/21/2005	15%	27%	38%	56%
6/7/2005	18%	29%	44%	63%
12/8/2005	21%	30%	46%	64%
12/31/2005	17%	30%	52%	63%
2/6/2006	22%	32%	51%	67%
3/28/2006	29%	40%	52%	69%
4/6/2006	22%	44%	49%	68%
8/31/2006	22%	39%	56%	74%
12/4/2006	26%	44%	50%	77%
12/30/2006	24%	46%	61%	73%
12/2/2007	40%	52%	69%	78%
1/13/2008	28%	51%	61%	77%
5/11/2008	31%	53%	67%	82%
8/10/2008	38%	59%	68%	79%
8/31/2008	36%	53%	71%	83%
12/4/2008	31%	61%	73%	85%
12/20/2008	33%	57%	69%	83%
4/19/2009	39%	61%	79%	85%
6/21/2009	45%	53%	83%	87%
9/14/2009	42%	66%	82%	88%
12/27/2009	41%	62%	78%	83%
1/19/2010	45%	61%	74%	87%
5/30/2010	42%	65%	79%	87%
9/13/2010	40%	64%	80%	88%
11/24/2010	42%	66%	75%	89%
12/21/2010	41%	65%	81%	88%
5/22/2011	40%	70%	79%	88%
8/26/2011	41%	65%	81%	89%
1/8/2012	47%	67%	81%	88%
2/19/2012	45%	64%	82%	91%
4/3/2012	46%	68%	85%	87%
11/10/2012	47%	71%	83%	90%
12/9/2012	46%	69%	79%	89%
5/19/2013	54%	70%	84%	88%
9/30/2013	52%	71%	85%	91%
4/12/2015	44%	72%	83%	90%
7/12/2015	47%	64%	78%	89%
11/15/2015	45%	68%	81%	88%
4/4/2016	49%	73%	80%	91%
11/6/2016	53%	71%	83%	93%
1/10/2018	45%	67%	79%	87%
2/7/2019	56%	72%	87%	92%
2/8/2021	57%	74%	87%	92%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use by education

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by education level

	Less than high school graduate	High school graduate	High school or less	Some college	College graduate
3/31/2000		1%		0%	1%
3/1/2001	2%	4%		8%	11%
9/10/2001	2%	5%		8%	13%
9/19/2001	1%	4%		11%	12%
10/1/2001		5%		6%	10%
10/7/2001		4%		8%	11%
10/18/2001	3%	6%		9%	12%
11/18/2001	1%	5%		11%	14%
12/23/2001	3%	4%		11%	17%
1/31/2002	4%	4%		11%	16%
5/19/2002	3%	6%		14%	18%
7/26/2002	3%	7%		15%	17%
10/6/2002	3%	10%		20%	24%
10/27/2002	9%	6%		13%	22%
11/24/2002	4%	10%		18%	24%
12/22/2002	2%	7%		15%	23%
3/24/2003	4%	12%		17%	26%
3/25/2003	4%	12%		18%	27%
5/20/2003	5%	11%		20%	25%
6/24/2003	5%	10%		24%	24%
8/3/2003	4%	12%		20%	29%
12/14/2003	9%	12%		24%	31%
3/1/2004	7%	16%		31%	40%
3/17/2004	10%	19%		31%	39%
6/17/2004	8%	16%		29%	38%
7/3/2004	6%	18%		28%	42%
11/22/2004	7%	14%		31%	47%
11/30/2004		13%		31%	47%
2/9/2005	12%	19%		34%	47%
3/21/2005	9%	20%		36%	47%
6/7/2005	13%	23%		39%	52%
12/8/2005	13%	27%		44%	56%
12/31/2005	14%	25%		44%	55%
2/6/2006	19%	29%		50%	58%
3/28/2006	19%	30%		49%	63%
4/6/2006	17%	32%		48%	63%
8/31/2006	12%	31%		52%	66%
12/4/2006	17%	34%		55%	69%
12/30/2006	16%	32%		53%	68%
9/5/2007	26%	39%		63%	72%
12/2/2007	22%	43%		63%	75%
1/13/2008	21%	40%		61%	72%
5/11/2008	29%	39%		64%	78%
8/10/2008	24%	48%		68%	78%
8/31/2008	22%	44%		67%	82%
12/4/2008	20%	45%		67%	81%
12/20/2008	17%	43%		65%	84%
4/19/2009	27%	51%		69%	82%
6/21/2009		46%		75%	86%
9/14/2009	25%	54%		71%	84%
12/27/2009	24%	45%		73%	82%
1/19/2010	28%	49%		71%	82%
5/30/2010	31%	51%		75%	86%
9/13/2010	22%	49%		72%	82%
11/24/2010	22%	50%		71%	82%
12/21/2010	27%	51%		76%	80%
5/22/2011	22%	48%		71%	83%
8/26/2011	22%	52%		73%	85%
1/8/2012	23%	56%		80%	87%
2/19/2012	25%	52%		76%	90%
4/3/2012	34%	55%		74%	87%
11/10/2012	29%	55%		78%	87%
12/9/2012	27%	56%		73%	85%
5/19/2013	37%	57%		78%	89%
9/30/2013	28%	58%		80%	90%
4/12/2015	22%	53%		75%	86%
7/12/2015	30%	54%		74%	87%
11/15/2015	22%	56%		75%	88%
4/4/2016	24%	59%		80%	90%
11/6/2016	34%	62%		80%	91%
1/10/2018	24%	56%		68%	85%
2/7/2019	46%	59%		77%	93%
2/8/2021			59%	80%	94%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. ‘High school or less’ includes both ‘Less than high school graduate’ and ‘High school graduate’. The 2021 sample is too small to separate these two categories. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Home broadband use by community type

% of U.S. adults who say they have a broadband connection at home, by community type

	Urban	Suburban	Rural
3/31/2000	1%	1%	0%
3/1/2001	7%	7%	2%
9/10/2001	8%	8%	3%
9/19/2001	9%	8%	3%
10/1/2001	6%	7%	3%
10/7/2001	7%	9%	2%
10/18/2001	9%	9%	2%
12/23/2001	11%	10%	4%
1/31/2002	9%	11%	4%
5/19/2002	10%	14%	4%
7/26/2002	12%	13%	3%
10/6/2002	18%	17%	6%
10/27/2002	16%	13%	6%
11/24/2002	18%	17%	6%
12/22/2002	16%	13%	6%
3/24/2003	18%	17%	8%
3/25/2003	19%	17%	9%
5/20/2003	20%	17%	8%
6/24/2003	18%	20%	7%
8/3/2003	20%	19%	9%
12/14/2003	21%	23%	10%
3/1/2004	26%	29%	10%
3/17/2004	27%	29%	14%
6/17/2004	27%	27%	12%
7/3/2004	29%	29%	12%
11/22/2004	29%	28%	16%
11/30/2004	29%	29%	11%
2/9/2005	29%	33%	19%
3/21/2005	32%	33%	18%
6/7/2005	38%	34%	21%
12/8/2005	41%	40%	23%
12/31/2005	36%	40%	23%
2/6/2006	42%	46%	24%
3/28/2006	38%	39%	19%
4/6/2006	45%	47%	25%
8/31/2006	46%	46%	28%
12/4/2006	47%	51%	29%
12/30/2006	48%	46%	32%
9/5/2007	52%	54%	35%
12/2/2007	60%	56%	41%
1/13/2008	54%	56%	34%
5/11/2008	56%	59%	38%
8/10/2008	63%	59%	43%
8/31/2008	57%	62%	40%
12/4/2008	55%	61%	44%
12/20/2008	54%	57%	36%
4/19/2009	62%	63%	42%
6/21/2009	58%	60%	43%
9/14/2009	60%	63%	50%
12/27/2009	60%	64%	47%
1/19/2010	64%	63%	52%
5/30/2010	67%	69%	49%
9/13/2010	62%	63%	51%
11/24/2010	61%	65%	55%
12/21/2010	62%	68%	52%
5/22/2011	62%	63%	52%
8/26/2011	64%	65%	55%
1/8/2012	74%	69%	48%
2/19/2012	65%	70%	53%
4/3/2012	67%	70%	53%
11/10/2012	70%	71%	55%
12/9/2012	64%	67%	63%
5/19/2013	70%	73%	62%
9/30/2013	70%	74%	60%
4/12/2015	65%	69%	58%
7/12/2015	68%	72%	50%
11/15/2015	67%	71%	56%
4/4/2016	72%	71%	61%
11/6/2016	73%	76%	63%
1/10/2018	67%	70%	58%
2/7/2019	75%	79%	63%
2/8/2021	77%	79%	72%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. The Center has used several different question wordings to identify broadband users in recent years, which may account for some variance in broadband adoption figures between 2015 and 2018. Our survey conducted in July 2015 used a directly comparable question wording to the one conducted in January 2018.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2000-2021.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency over time

There has been a steady decline of those who use smartphones as their primary means of online access at home in recent years. Today, 15% of American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users – meaning they own a smartphone, but do not have traditional home broadband service.

Smartphone dependency

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones

	U.S. adults
2013	8%
2014
2015	13%
2016	12%
2017
2018	20%
2019	17%
2021	15%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Who is smartphone dependent

Reliance on smartphones for online access is especially common among younger adults, lower-income Americans and those with a high school education or less.

Smartphone dependency by age

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by age

	18-29	30-49	50-64	65+
2013	12%	9%	7%	3%
2015	19%	16%	11%	7%
2016	17%	13%	11%	7%
2018	28%	24%	16%	10%
2019	22%	18%	14%	12%
2021	28%	11%	13%	12%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency by race

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by race

	White	Black	Hispanic
2013	6%	10%	16%
2015	10%	19%	23%
2016	9%	15%	23%
2018	14%	24%	35%
2019	12%	23%	25%
2021	12%	17%	25%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency by gender

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by gender

	Men	Women
2013	9%	8%
2015	14%	13%
2016	12%	12%
2018	20%	19%
2019	17%	16%
2021	14%	15%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency by income

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by annual household income

	Less than $30,000	$30,000-$49,999	$50,000-$74,999	$75,000+
2013	12%	9%	5%	5%
2015	20%	15%	10%	6%
2016	21%	12%	10%	5%
2018	31%	22%	14%	9%
2019	26%	20%	10%	6%
2021	27%	19%	6%	6%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency by education

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by education level

	Less than high school graduate	High school graduate	High school or less	Some college	College graduate
2013	14%	11%		8%	4%
2015	21%	17%		14%	6%
2016	27%	15%		12%	5%
2018	39%	22%		21%	10%
2019	32%	24%		16%	4%
2021			23%	15%	4%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. ‘High school or less’ includes both ‘Less than high school graduate’ and ‘High school graduate’. The 2021 sample is too small to separate these two categories.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Smartphone dependency by community type

% of U.S. adults who say they do not use broadband at home but own smartphones, by community type

	Urban	Suburban	Rural
2013	9%	7%	9%
2015	15%	12%	15%
2016	12%	12%	14%
2018	22%	17%	17%
2019	17%	13%	20%
2021	16%	12%	17%

Download data as .csv

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2013-2021. Data for each year based on a pooled analysis of all surveys containing broadband and smartphone questions fielded during that year.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Find out more

Find more in-depth explorations of internet and home broadband patterns in the U.S. by following the links below.

7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they? April 2, 2021
Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2021 June 3, 2021
Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption June 22, 2021
Home broadband adoption, computer ownership vary by race, ethnicity in the U.S. July 16, 2021
Home digital divides persist between rural, urban and suburban America August 19, 2021
Americans with disabilities less likely than those without to own some digital devices September 10, 2021

All reports and blog posts related to internet access.

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Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet

Table of Contents

Internet use over time

Who uses the internet

Home broadband use over time

Who has home broadband

Smartphone dependency over time

Who is smartphone dependent

Find out more