Four in Five of All U.S. Adults – an Estimated 178 Million – Go Online

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the latest Harris Poll, the number of adults who are online at home, in the office, at school, library or other locations continues to grow at a steady rate. In the past year, the number of online users has reached an estimated 178 million¹, a ten percent increase.

In research among 2,062 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone in July and October, 2007, Harris Interactive^® found that 79 percent of adults are now online. This is a steady rise over the past few years, from 77 percent in February/April 2006, 74 percent in February/April 2005, 66 percent in the spring of 2002, 64 percent in 2001 and 57 percent in Spring of 2000. When Harris Interactive first began to track Internet use in 1995, only nine percent of adults reported they went online.

The amount of time that people are spending online has also risen. The average number of hours per week that people are spending online is now at 11 hours, up from 9 hours last year and 8 hours in 2005.

Internet Access Increases at Home and at Work

The proportion of adults who are now online at home has risen to 72 percent, up from 70 percent in 2006 and 66 percent in the spring of 2005. The percentage of those online at work has also risen, now at 37 percent, and up from 35 percent in 2006. The largest increase is among those adults who are online at a location other than their home or work as this has risen from 22 percent in 2006 to 31 percent today. It appears people who do not have access at home or work are increasingly turning to other outlets to get online.

The Demographic Profile of Internet Users in the United States Looks Like the Country as a Whole

As Internet penetration continues to grow, the demographic profile of Internet users continues to look more like that of the nation as a whole. It is still true that more young than older people, and more affluent than low-income people, are online. However, nine percent of those online are now age 65 or over (compared to 16% of all adults who are 65 or over), 39 percent of those online (compared to 47% of all adults) did not attend at least some college and 13 percent have incomes of less than $25,000 (compared to 17% of all adults).

TABLE 1
ONLINE FROM HOME, WORK OR OTHER LOCATION - TRENDS 1995–2007
“At home, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At work, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At another location, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
"Excluding email, how many hours per week, on average, do you typically spend on the Internet or World Wide Web?"
Base: All adults
		Online Adults								Average (Mean) Hours Per Week Spent Online
		Total		Online at Home		Online at Work		Online at Other Location
		%		%		%		%
2007
July/October		79		72		37		31		11
2006
February/April		77		70		35		22		9
2005
February/April		74		66		36		21		9
2004
June/ August		73		65		34		17		8
2003
October/December		69		61		31		16		9
2002
November/December		67		57		28		18		7
February/March		66		55		30		19		8
2001
September/October		64		52		28		19		7
March/April		64		53		27		20		7
2000
October/November		63		49		29		17		7
April/May		57		45		24		15		7
1999
December		56		46		N/A		N/A		7
1998
January/February		35		22		22		N/A		N/A
1997
May/June		30		16		18		N/A		N/A
1996
June/September		19		16		16		N/A		N/A
1995
September/November		9		N/A		N/A		N/A		N/A
Note: N/A means “not asked”

TABLE 2
PC AND INTERNET USE - TRENDS 1995-2007
”Do you personally use a computer at home, work or another location?”
“At home, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At work, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At another location, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
Base: All adults
		Proportion of All Adults (from work, home, school or other location)				Percent of Computer Users Who Are Online
		Use PC		Are Online
		%		%		%
2007
July/October		81		79		97
2006
February/April		81		77		95
2005
February/April		79		74		94
2004
June/ August		78		73		93
2003
October/December		75		69		92
2002
November/December		74		67		92
February/March		74		66		90
2001
September/October		73		64		88
March/April		72		64		89
2000
October/November		74		63		85
April/May		69		57		83
1999
December		69		56		81
June/July		65		48		74
January/February		63		41		65
1998
January/February		63		35		56
1997
May/June		61		30		49
1996
June/September		54		19		35
1995
September/November		50*		9		18
Notes:
1. All samples of 2,000 or more adults, conducted by telephone.
2. "Are Online" includes all adults who use Internet from home, office, school, library or other location.
* Estimated from other sources.

TABLE 3
PROFILE OF ONLINE POPULATION
(July/October 2007)
“At home, do you personally use a computer to Access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At work, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At another location, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
Base: All adults
		Total U.S. Adult Online Population		Total U.S. Adult Population*		Percentage Point Difference
		%		%		%
AGE
18 – 29		25		22		+3
30 – 39		20		18		+2
40 – 49		21		20		+1
50+		32		40		-8
50 – 64		23		24		-1
65+		9		16		-7
SEX
Men		50		48		+2
Women		50		52		-2
RACE/ETHNICITY
White		73		75		-2
Black		13		11		+2
Hispanic		13		13		0
EDUCATION
High school or less		39		47		-8
Some college		30		27		+3
College graduate (or postgraduate)		30		26		+4
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $25,000		13		17		-4
$25,000 to less than $50,000		23		22		+1
$50,000 and over		53		51		+2
* Based on data from the March 2007 U.S. Current Population Survey

TABLE 4
ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF ADULTS WHO ARE ONLINE (IN MILLIONS)
“At home, do you personally use a computer to Access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At work, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
“At another location, do you personally use a computer to access the Internet/World Wide Web?”
Base: All adults
		In Millions
2007
July/October		178*
2006
February/April		172
2005
February/April		163
2004
June/August		156
2003
October/December		146
2002
November/December		140
February/March		137
2001
September/October		127
March/April		126
2000
October/November		121
April/May		114
1999
December		113
1998
January/February		70
1997
May/June		59
1996
June/September		33
1995
September/November		17.5
* Based on July 2006 U.S. Census estimate released January 2007 (225,600,000 total adults aged 18 or over)

Methodology

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone within the United States in July 2007 (July 10 and 16, 2007) and October 2007 (October 16 and 22, 2007) among 2,062 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in the household, size of place (urbanicity) and number of phone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.

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¹ Based on July 2006 U.S. Census estimate released January 2007 (225,600,000 total U.S. adults aged 18 or over).