Digital Divide in the United States

The Digital Divide in the US has made improvements in recent years, however, certain indicators such as race and income levels still show large disparities in access to IT.

According to the 2005 Pew Digital Divisions report, 57 percent of African Americans go online vs. 70 percent of whites. As of 2009, the percentage of African Americans that use the internet increased to 64 percent.⁵²  A Pew English language survey found that English-speaking Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites both have 70 percent of the population using the Internet. However, US Census data, collected in Spanish and English, reveal that 37 percent of Hispanics (three years and older) have Internet access vs. 65 percent of non-Hispanic whites (three years old and older).

Figure 11: African Amercan and Total US Internet Users 2000-2008


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There are also large divides between high-income households and low income households. In 2005, 97percent of households earning $150,000 and higher had access to the Internet, while only 64.7 percent of households earning $50,000 or less had access to the Internet.

Despite the inequities in Internet access described above, the United States has made impressive progress in closing its digital divides over the past few years. From 2000 to 2008, the share of all U.S. adults with Internet access increased 135.2%.⁵³  Internet usage in rural areas also trails the national average: 60 percent of rural adults use the Internet from any location, compared with the national average of 71 percent.⁵⁴  The level of broadband Internet access among rural households in the United States has reached 31 percent as of 2007. Nonetheless, rural households with broadband still lag behind both urban and suburban households with broadband by 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively (refer to Figure 14).

Internet usage in rural areas also trails the national average: 60 percent of rural adults use the internet from any location, compared with the national average. The level of broad band Internet access among rural households in the United States reached 31 percent as of 2007. Nonetheless, rural households with broadband by 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively (refer to Figure 14). 

The use of IT has increased among all American population groups, regardless of income, education, race or ethnicity, geographic location, age, or gender. (See figures above.) Groups that have traditionally fallen behind as new information and communication technologies have spread (rural populations, African Americans, women, and Hispanics) have been making dramatic gains in narrowing the digital gap. African Americans and Hispanics are twice as likely to be able to access the Internet than they were 20 months ago. Women have closed the Internet usage gap with men, and the disparity between these two groups is now negligible.   

According to the 2009 Pew Study, when asked why they don’t use the internet: 

• 33% of non-users say they are not interested.
• 12% say they don’t have access.
• 9% say it is too difficult or frustrating.
• 7% say it is too expensive.
• 7% say it is a waste of time.⁵⁵

Some Quick Facts About Internet Use by Americans E-mail is the most popular Internet application: 91percent of all Internet users reporting using e-mail services. The fastest growing Internet applications are online bill-paying and web shopping. Lower-income Internet users reported looking for jobs most frequently on the Internet, signaling growing Internet usage in that income group. Large numbers of Americans access the Internet through public access points in schools, libraries, community centers, and for-profit ventures. Of those who use the Internet outside the home 62.7 percent do so at work, 18.9% at K-12 schools, 8.3 percent in other school setting, 9.6 percent in libraries, .5 percent atCommunity Centers, and 13.8 percent use someone else's computer.