Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 218.71. Number and percentage distribution of 5- to 17-year-old students, by home internet access, race/ethnicity, and locale: 2017
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Race/ethnicity and
locale
Number of
students
living in
households1
(in thousands)
Percentage distribution of students,1 by home internet access2
Total Access with a broadband subscription Access
without a
subscrip-
tion3
Either no
access or
only dial-up
access
Total, any
broadband
subscription
Fixed
broadband
(of any
sort)4
Mobile
broadband
(alone or
with dial-up)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Total5  51,953 (23.4) 100.0 (†) 91.3 (0.08) 79.4 (0.11) 11.9   (0.07) 2.3   (0.03) 6.4   (0.07)
City 15,792 (32.0) 100.0 (†) 89.8 (0.13) 76.8 (0.16) 12.9   (0.14) 2.6   (0.07) 7.7   (0.11)
Large 8,989 (20.5) 100.0 (†) 89.4 (0.17) 75.7 (0.20) 13.7   (0.20) 2.3   (0.09) 8.3   (0.15)
Midsize 3,337 (16.4) 100.0 (†) 90.4 (0.21) 78.0 (0.31) 12.4   (0.30) 2.9   (0.14) 6.7   (0.20)
Small 3,466 (16.9) 100.0 (†) 90.1 (0.27) 78.5 (0.39) 11.5   (0.29) 3.1   (0.16) 6.9   (0.23)
Suburban 21,525 (37.9) 100.0 (†) 94.0 (0.10) 85.1 (0.12) 8.9   (0.08) 2.0   (0.05) 4.1   (0.09)
Large 18,370 (36.6) 100.0 (†) 94.2 (0.11) 85.5 (0.13) 8.7   (0.09) 1.9   (0.05) 3.9   (0.09)
Midsize 2,035 (15.1) 100.0 (†) 92.9 (0.30) 83.7 (0.43) 9.1   (0.35) 2.3   (0.17) 4.8   (0.26)
Small 1,120 (12.0) 100.0 (†) 93.2 (0.40) 81.9 (0.59) 11.2   (0.46) 2.3   (0.22) 4.6   (0.35)
Town 4,805 (38.5) 100.0 (†) 88.8 (0.25) 75.0 (0.39) 13.8   (0.26) 2.8   (0.10) 8.5   (0.22)
Fringe 1,319 (17.0) 100.0 (†) 91.7 (0.47) 80.4 (0.63) 11.4   (0.52) 2.2   (0.18) 6.0   (0.43)
Distant 2,213 (21.3) 100.0 (†) 87.8 (0.30) 73.2 (0.43) 14.5   (0.33) 3.1   (0.16) 9.2   (0.27)
Remote 1,274 (16.6) 100.0 (†) 87.4 (0.49) 72.4 (0.58) 15.0   (0.44) 2.7   (0.20) 9.9   (0.46)
Rural 9,830 (40.9) 100.0 (†) 89.1 (0.16) 73.3 (0.19) 15.8   (0.13) 2.4   (0.06) 8.5   (0.14)
Fringe 4,919 (29.6) 100.0 (†) 92.0 (0.19) 79.3 (0.25) 12.7   (0.23) 2.1   (0.10) 5.9   (0.18)
Distant 3,864 (27.5) 100.0 (†) 86.9 (0.25) 67.9 (0.33) 19.0   (0.23) 2.5   (0.10) 10.6   (0.23)
Remote 1,047 (13.6) 100.0 (†) 83.0 (0.44) 64.9 (0.53) 18.0   (0.38) 3.9   (0.24) 13.2   (0.38)
                                   
White 26,452 (12.8) 100.0 (†) 94.2 (0.08) 84.9 (0.12) 9.3   (0.07) 1.9   (0.04) 4.0   (0.07)
City 5,123 (21.7) 100.0 (†) 94.4 (0.15) 87.3 (0.20) 7.1   (0.17) 2.0   (0.09) 3.5   (0.14)
Large 2,303 (12.1) 100.0 (†) 94.5 (0.25) 87.9 (0.25) 6.6   (0.21) 1.7   (0.14) 3.8   (0.22)
Midsize 1,195 (10.1) 100.0 (†) 95.2 (0.31) 88.3 (0.45) 6.9   (0.30) 2.2   (0.17) 2.7   (0.28)
Small 1,625 (13.9) 100.0 (†) 93.8 (0.26) 85.8 (0.43) 8.0   (0.37) 2.4   (0.17) 3.8   (0.22)
Suburban 10,924 (27.1) 100.0 (†) 96.6 (0.09) 90.6 (0.13) 6.0   (0.09) 1.4   (0.06) 2.0   (0.07)
Large 9,050 (22.9) 100.0 (†) 96.8 (0.10) 91.1 (0.14) 5.7   (0.10) 1.4   (0.07) 1.9   (0.07)
Midsize 1,188 (11.2) 100.0 (†) 95.7 (0.30) 88.6 (0.49) 7.1   (0.41) 1.5   (0.16) 2.8   (0.25)
Small 686 (9.7) 100.0 (†) 95.5 (0.36) 87.2 (0.55) 8.3   (0.50) 1.9   (0.27) 2.6   (0.26)
Town 2,837 (22.4) 100.0 (†) 93.4 (0.20) 82.9 (0.38) 10.5   (0.27) 2.2   (0.12) 4.4   (0.17)
Fringe 824 (11.6) 100.0 (†) 95.0 (0.37) 86.5 (0.55) 8.5   (0.42) 1.9   (0.23) 3.1   (0.33)
Distant 1,311 (14.5) 100.0 (†) 92.6 (0.28) 81.2 (0.49) 11.4   (0.39) 2.6   (0.18) 4.9   (0.23)
Remote 702 (9.7) 100.0 (†) 93.1 (0.40) 81.7 (0.67) 11.3   (0.53) 2.1   (0.24) 4.9   (0.35)
Rural 7,568 (29.9) 100.0 (†) 90.8 (0.17) 75.9 (0.21) 14.9   (0.15) 2.3   (0.07) 7.0   (0.15)
Fringe 3,749 (23.5) 100.0 (†) 93.4 (0.22) 81.6 (0.28) 11.9   (0.25) 2.0   (0.10) 4.6   (0.20)
Distant 3,073 (22.8) 100.0 (†) 88.5 (0.29) 70.3 (0.37) 18.2   (0.24) 2.3   (0.10) 9.2   (0.27)
Remote 745 (9.0) 100.0 (†) 86.7 (0.47) 70.0 (0.57) 16.7   (0.47) 3.8   (0.28) 9.5   (0.36)
                                   
Black 6,960 (18.7) 100.0 (†) 85.9 (0.23) 69.6 (0.28) 16.3   (0.22) 3.3   (0.12) 10.9   (0.22)
City 3,247 (17.6) 100.0 (†) 84.8 (0.30) 66.8 (0.39) 18.0   (0.36) 3.4   (0.17) 11.8   (0.29)
Large 1,992 (12.8) 100.0 (†) 85.3 (0.44) 67.7 (0.50) 17.7   (0.48) 3.0   (0.22) 11.6   (0.40)
Midsize 708 (9.6) 100.0 (†) 86.0 (0.63) 67.0 (1.04) 19.1   (0.92) 2.9   (0.32) 11.1   (0.59)
Small 547 (8.6) 100.0 (†) 81.4 (0.92) 63.5 (1.12) 17.9   (0.93) 5.2   (0.51) 13.4   (0.77)
Suburban 2,636 (18.5) 100.0 (†) 90.1 (0.35) 77.5 (0.42) 12.7   (0.33) 2.9   (0.21) 7.0   (0.32)
Large 2,356 (15.7) 100.0 (†) 90.5 (0.38) 78.2 (0.43) 12.3   (0.32) 2.6   (0.20) 6.9   (0.37)
Midsize 192 (7.0) 100.0 (†) 88.2 (1.25) 74.5 (1.74) 13.7   (1.46) 4.8   (0.96) 7.0   (1.04)
Small 88 (3.8) 100.0 (†) 83.6 (2.37) 64.1 (2.62) 19.5   (2.26) 6.0   (1.50) 10.5   (2.11)
Town 508 (9.5) 100.0 (†) 76.4 (0.87) 55.0 (1.04) 21.4   (0.89) 4.1   (0.48) 19.6   (0.81)
Fringe 102 (4.7) 100.0 (†) 78.9 (2.77) 59.1 (2.54) 19.8   (2.27) 3.6 ! (1.35) 17.5   (2.42)
Distant 280 (6.7) 100.0 (†) 77.5 (0.93) 55.4 (1.50) 22.0   (1.35) 3.6   (0.53) 18.9   (0.92)
Remote 126 (4.0) 100.0 (†) 71.8 (2.19) 50.5 (2.20) 21.3   (1.87) 5.6   (1.03) 22.6   (1.98)
Rural 570 (9.5) 100.0 (†) 80.4 (0.68) 62.1 (1.00) 18.2   (0.75) 3.8   (0.44) 15.9   (0.70)
Fringe 274 (6.7) 100.0 (†) 85.9 (0.94) 71.6 (1.35) 14.3   (1.05) 3.1   (0.61) 11.0   (0.93)
Distant 232 (6.6) 100.0 (†) 76.1 (1.09) 54.3 (1.41) 21.8   (1.24) 4.5   (0.68) 19.3   (1.08)
Remote 64 (2.9) 100.0 (†) 71.9 (2.44) 50.1 (2.77) 21.8   (2.00) 4.0   (1.08) 24.1   (2.55)
                                   
Hispanic 12,946 (11.7) 100.0 (†) 87.3 (0.17) 71.4 (0.22) 15.9   (0.17) 3.0   (0.08) 9.8   (0.17)
City 5,428 (22.2) 100.0 (†) 86.5 (0.26) 69.7 (0.31) 16.8   (0.27) 3.1   (0.12) 10.4   (0.25)
Large 3,558 (15.2) 100.0 (†) 86.8 (0.29) 69.5 (0.35) 17.3   (0.34) 2.7   (0.13) 10.6   (0.28)
Midsize 1,046 (11.6) 100.0 (†) 86.1 (0.50) 70.5 (0.65) 15.7   (0.57) 4.2   (0.28) 9.7   (0.49)
Small 824 (10.0) 100.0 (†) 85.6 (0.72) 69.7 (0.94) 15.9   (0.67) 3.7   (0.33) 10.7   (0.68)
Suburban 5,424 (24.0) 100.0 (†) 89.5 (0.26) 76.1 (0.33) 13.4   (0.26) 2.8   (0.12) 7.7   (0.24)
Large 4,724 (20.3) 100.0 (†) 89.8 (0.27) 76.5 (0.35) 13.3   (0.28) 2.8   (0.13) 7.4   (0.24)
Midsize 458 (8.7) 100.0 (†) 86.4 (0.93) 73.7 (1.09) 12.7   (0.80) 3.8   (0.49) 9.8   (0.83)
Small 242 (6.5) 100.0 (†) 89.3 (1.22) 72.0 (1.59) 17.2   (1.18) 1.7   (0.34) 9.0   (1.19)
Town 1,088 (12.9) 100.0 (†) 83.1 (0.60) 64.3 (0.81) 18.8   (0.68) 3.4   (0.26) 13.6   (0.54)
Fringe 300 (8.4) 100.0 (†) 87.0 (1.21) 70.4 (1.65) 16.5   (1.42) 2.8   (0.50) 10.2   (1.09)
Distant 474 (7.6) 100.0 (†) 81.1 (0.83) 61.9 (1.03) 19.2   (0.84) 3.9   (0.44) 15.0   (0.72)
Remote 314 (6.7) 100.0 (†) 82.3 (1.10) 61.9 (1.15) 20.4   (1.12) 3.2   (0.44) 14.6   (1.06)
Rural 1,006 (13.3) 100.0 (†) 84.1 (0.67) 62.8 (0.79) 21.3   (0.59) 2.5   (0.23) 13.3   (0.61)
Fringe 564 (9.6) 100.0 (†) 85.9 (0.97) 67.1 (1.13) 18.8   (0.87) 2.5   (0.35) 11.6   (0.89)
Distant 342 (7.8) 100.0 (†) 82.3 (0.81) 57.0 (1.22) 25.2   (1.13) 2.4   (0.39) 15.4   (0.73)
Remote 100 (3.9) 100.0 (†) 80.5 (1.60) 58.6 (1.80) 21.9   (1.62) 3.4   (0.51) 16.0   (1.53)
                                   
Asian 2,527 (10.7) 100.0 (†) 96.3 (0.17) 89.4 (0.24) 6.9   (0.19) 1.4   (0.11) 2.3   (0.13)
City 1,066 (9.3) 100.0 (†) 95.8 (0.26) 87.6 (0.41) 8.2   (0.33) 1.1   (0.14) 3.1   (0.24)
Large 663 (8.5) 100.0 (†) 94.9 (0.37) 85.5 (0.63) 9.4   (0.51) 1.2   (0.20) 3.9   (0.34)
Midsize 178 (5.1) 100.0 (†) 96.6 (0.59) 90.3 (0.99) 6.3   (0.83) 1.1   (0.32) 2.3   (0.55)
Small 225 (5.7) 100.0 (†) 97.5 (0.51) 91.5 (0.82) 6.0   (0.66) 0.8   (0.20) 1.7   (0.42)
Suburban 1,293 (10.1) 100.0 (†) 96.9 (0.25) 91.3 (0.32) 5.7   (0.27) 1.6   (0.20) 1.5   (0.16)
Large 1,197 (9.6) 100.0 (†) 97.0 (0.27) 91.3 (0.33) 5.6   (0.28) 1.6   (0.21) 1.5   (0.17)
Midsize 62 (2.9) 100.0 (†) 96.8 (0.88) 91.6 (1.34) 5.3   (1.00) 1.7 ! (0.54) 1.4 ! (0.68)
Small 34 (2.4) 100.0 (†) 95.7 (1.64) 88.7 (2.34) 7.0   (1.76) 1.7 ! (0.80)   (†)
Town 61 (3.0) 100.0 (†) 93.9 (1.17) 82.7 (2.10) 11.2   (1.64) 2.0 ! (0.79) 4.2   (0.88)
Fringe 20 (1.7) 100.0 (†) 99.8 (0.30) 89.8 (3.01) 10.0   (2.99)   (†)   (†)
Distant 20 (1.4) 100.0 (†) 88.4 (3.07) 78.4 (3.80) 10.0   (2.23)   (†) 8.4   (2.33)
Remote 21 (1.6) 100.0 (†) 93.7 (1.94) 80.1 (3.08) 13.6   (2.72)   (†) 3.7 ! (1.31)
Rural 108 (3.5) 100.0 (†) 95.0 (0.79) 87.4 (1.23) 7.7   (0.98) 2.1 ! (0.68) 2.9   (0.50)
Fringe 83 (3.2) 100.0 (†) 96.7 (0.87) 89.8 (1.43) 6.9   (1.19) 1.5 ! (0.73) 1.8   (0.45)
Distant 20 (1.4) 100.0 (†) 90.0 (2.62) 79.2 (3.39) 10.8   (2.21)   (†) 5.4 ! (1.94)
Remote 5 (0.7) 100.0 (†) 88.3 (4.05) 80.8 (4.98) 7.5 ! (2.87)   (†) 10.4 ! (3.89)
                                   
Pacific Islander6 93 (3.6) 100.0 (†) 85.6 (1.9) 70.1 (2.6) 15.4   (2.2) 3.6   (1.0) 10.9   (1.6)
American Indian/
      Alaska Native6
393 (5.0) 100.0 (†) 75.8 (0.8) 57.1 (0.8) 18.7   (0.7) 4.0   (0.4) 20.3   (0.7)
Two or more races6 2,392 (17.9) 100.0 (†) 94.5 (0.2) 84.4 (0.3) 10.2   (0.3) 1.7   (0.1) 3.8   (0.2)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Includes all students who are 5 to 17 years old and live in a household.
2 Percentages refer to students whose household members access the Internet at home by the means specified. "Either no access or only dial-up access" includes households where no member accesses the Internet at home as well as households where members access the Internet only with a dial-up service.
3 Includes respondents living in a city or town that provides free internet services for its residents.
4 Excludes mobile broadband, but includes all other non-dial-up internet service, such as DSL, cable modem, and fiber-optic cable.
5 Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
6 Data for this race category cannot be broken out by locale.
NOTES: Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States. However, this table includes only students living in households, because respondents living in group quarters (e.g., shelters, healthcare facilities, or correctional facilities) were not asked about internet access. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2017, Restricted-Use Data File. (This table was prepared April 2019.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest