The digital divide is starting to close, with the percentage of U.S. households with internet access growing.
According to a new consumer data survey from Leichtman Research Group, 92% of U.S. households get internet service at home. This is an increase from 83% of households in 2018, and 76% of households in 2008.
Broadband makes up 98% of households with an internet service, according to the research group.
These increasing numbers represent a win for the goal of connectivity in the U.S. With each passing year, a fast and reliable internet connection becomes increasingly crucial for everyday life.
“The percentage of households getting internet service at home, including high-speed broadband, reached an all-time high over the past year,” Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research Group said in a statement.
Despite the gains and the high percentage number, there are still plenty of homes without broadband access. There were 125.7 million homes in the U.S. in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The remaining 8% without internet means there are more than 10 million households that can’t get an internet connection.
The survey is part of a larger study called Broadband Internet in the U.S. 2023. Other notable findings from the survey included:
- Seventy percent of broadband subscribers agree that their Internet service meets the needs of their household.
- Sixty-four percent of surveyed broadband subscribers said they were happy with the quality of speed of their connection. The figures rose from 53% satisfied subscribers in 2018.
- Consumers are starting to better understand their internet service. The survey found that 42% of subscribers said they didn’t know what their service’s download speed was – a decrease from 59% in 2018.
- The percentage of broadband subscribers who said that their provider is the only one available in their area dropped from 27% in 2021 to 22% this year.
- Of the 87% of surveyed households with a laptop or desktop computer, 96% of that group has an internet connection at home.
- Survey participants that don’t use a laptop or desktop computer at home made up 64% of those that don’t have internet service at home.