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Access to the internet

Question:
What data do you have on the use of computers and the Internet?

Response:

This Fast Fact uses data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to describe the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access as well as the percentages with home internet access through a computer and only through a smartphone. Drawing data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), this Fast Fact also examines the main reasons reported for not having home internet access.

Internet Access from Home

In 2021, some 97 percent of 3- to 18-year-olds had home internet access, according to the American Community Survey (ACS). Specifically, 93 percent had access through a computer,1 and 4 percent relied on a smartphone for home internet access.2 The remaining 3 percent had no internet access at home. When compared with the percentage with home internet access overall, there was more variation by race/ethnicity, parental education, and household income in the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds who had access to the internet through a computer.

The percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access varied across racial/ethnic groups. In 2021, the percentage with home internet access was highest for those who were Asian and lowest for those who were American Indian/Alaska Native. Specifically, the percentage with home internet access was

A similar pattern by race/ethnicity was observed for internet access through a computer. The percentage with home internet access through a computer was highest for 3- to 18-year-olds who were Asian (97 percent) and lowest for those who were American Indian/Alaska Native (83 percent).

Overall, the higher the level of parental educational attainment, the higher the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access, ranging from 91 percent for those whose parents had attained less than a high school credential to 99 percent for those whose parents had attained a bachelor’s or higher degree. Similarly, the higher the level of parental educational attainment, the higher the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access through a computer. Specifically, in 2021, the percentage with home internet access through a computer was

Similar to the pattern seen for parental education, the higher the level of family income, the higher the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access. Specifically, in 2021, the percentage with home internet access was highest for those in families in the highest income quarter (99 percent), followed by those in the middle-high quarter (98 percent), the middle-low quarter (97 percent), and the lowest quarter (94 percent).

Reasons for No Internet Access at Home

To understand the barriers to more universal internet access, the Current Population Survey (CPS)4 asked householders what their household’s main reason was for not having access to the internet. In 2021, the two most commonly cited main reasons that 3- to 18-year-olds did not have home internet access were

Other main reasons cited for not having home internet access included the following:

In 2021, among 3- to 18-year-olds who had no internet access at home, the percentages whose main barrier to home internet access was that it was too expensive were lower


1 Refers to the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds with home internet access through one or more of the following types of computers: desktop or laptop, tablet or other portable wireless computer, or “some other type of computer.” Includes children in homes having both smartphones and any of these types of computers.
2 Refers to the percentage of 3- to 18-year-olds who had home internet access only through a smartphone but did not have any of the types of computers listed in endnote 1.
3 Includes those who completed high school through equivalency credentials, such as the GED.
4 Data from the CPS differ from data from the ACS because the ACS asked respondents about internet access and explicitly indicated that having a cell phone service is considered having internet access, while the CPS asked about internet use and made no explicit reference to having a cell phone service. This survey difference may provide some explanation for why the two datasets reported different percentages of 3- to 18-year-olds who “did not have access to the Internet” (3 percent in ACS and 12 percent in CPS in 2021).
5 About 17 percent of families answered “other reasons.”
6 These income levels are “$40,000 to $49,999,” “$50,000 to $74,999,” “$75,000 to $99,999,” and “$100,000 or more.”
7 These income levels are “less than $10,000,” “$10,000 to $19,999,” “$20,000 to $29,999,” and “$30,000 to $39,999.”

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Children’s Internet Access at Home. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cch.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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