Four in five of all U.S. adults go online

November 13, 2007 | Internet Marketing

The number of U.S. Internet users grew 10% over the past year to reach an estimated 178 million, or 79% of adults, according to the latest Harris Poll. The average number of hours per week spent online is also up, to 11 hours.

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 million, 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).