By Aijaz Alam
What percentage of Americans use the internet and have broadband?
97% of US adults say they use the internet, according to Pew Research Center's National Public Opinion Reference Survey of 5,511 adults (30 January to 18 June 2026). 78% subscribe to home broadband and 16% are smartphone-only. Use is near universal under 65; among adults 65 and older it is 89%.
- 97%US adults who use the internetPew Research Center, Jan-Jun 2026
- 78%US adults who subscribe to broadband at homePew, Jan-Jun 2026
- 16%US adults who are smartphone-only: a smartphone but no home broadbandPew, Jan-Jun 2026
- 89%US adults 65 and older who use the internet, the lowest age groupPew, Jan-Jun 2026
- 97%US teens 13 to 17 who use the internet dailyPew, Sep-Oct 2025
- 94.7%Individuals in the US who used the internet in the last three monthsITU DataHub, 2024
The numbers
The full breakdown
Internet, broadband and smartphone-only use in the US
| Measure | Share | Period |
|---|---|---|
| US adults who use the internet | 97% | Jan-Jun 2026 |
| US adults who subscribe to home broadband | 78% | Jan-Jun 2026 |
| US adults who are smartphone-only (smartphone, no home broadband) | 16% | Jan-Jun 2026 |
| US teens 13 to 17 who use the internet daily | 97% | Sep-Oct 2025 |
| US teens 13 to 17 who are online almost constantly | Four-in-ten | Sep-Oct 2025 |
Adults: Pew Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet (19 Oct 2026). The ITU figure for the US (94.7% of individuals online in the last three months, 2024) is from the ITU DataHub, indicator Individuals using the Internet. Teens: Pew report Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025 (9 Dec 2025), 1,458 teens; Pew gives the almost-constant share in words.
US adults online, with home broadband and smartphone-only, by group (2026)
| Group | Use the internet | Home broadband | Smartphone-only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 18-29 | 99% | 74% | 24% |
| Ages 30-49 | 99% | 83% | 14% |
| Ages 50-64 | 98% | 83% | 12% |
| Ages 65+ | 89% | 71% | 16% |
| White | 97% | 82% | 13% |
| Hispanic | 96% | 70% | 23% |
| Black | 93% | 72% | 19% |
| Asian (English speakers) | 98% | 81% | 16% |
| Men | 96% | 79% | 15% |
| Women | 97% | 78% | 17% |
| Household income under $30,000 | 91% | 57% | 29% |
| $30,000 to $69,999 | 97% | 77% | 18% |
| $70,000 to $99,999 | 99% | 86% | 12% |
| $100,000 or more | 99% | 92% | 7% |
| High school or less | 93% | 65% | 23% |
| Some college | 98% | 82% | 15% |
| College graduate | 99% | 89% | 9% |
| Urban | 97% | 75% | 20% |
| Suburban | 97% | 84% | 11% |
| Rural | 95% | 72% | 20% |
| All US adults | 97% | 78% | 16% |
National Public Opinion Reference Survey, 30 Jan to 18 Jun 2026, 5,511 adults online, by mail or by phone; margin of error plus or minus 1.8 points overall, larger for groups.
US adults with home broadband and smartphone-only users, selected surveys
| Survey | Home broadband | Smartphone-only |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2000 | 1% | Not measured |
| Dec 2010 | 62% | Not measured |
| Sep 2013 | 70% | 8% |
| Nov 2016 | 73% | 12% |
| Feb 2019 | 73% | 17% |
| Feb 2021 | 77% | 15% |
| Sep 2023 | 80% | 15% |
| Jun 2024 | 79% | 15% |
| Jun 2025 | 78% | 16% |
| Jan-Jun 2026 | 78% | 16% |
Broadband by Pew's survey end date; smartphone-only by survey year (Pew gives it from 2013). Pew changed how people could answer in 2023 (web and mail) and 2024 (web, mail and phone), so compare across those years with care.
Over time
US adults who use the internet, every Pew survey year since 2000
| Year | All US adults | Ages 18-29 | Ages 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 52% | 70% | 14% |
| 2001 | 55% | 72% | 14% |
| 2002 | 59% | 76% | 18% |
| 2003 | 61% | 78% | 22% |
| 2004 | 63% | 77% | 24% |
| 2005 | 68% | 83% | 28% |
| 2006 | 71% | 86% | 32% |
| 2007 | 74% | 89% | 35% |
| 2008 | 74% | 89% | 38% |
| 2009 | 76% | 92% | 40% |
| 2010 | 76% | 92% | 43% |
| 2011 | 79% | 94% | 46% |
| 2012 | 83% | 96% | 54% |
| 2013 | 84% | 97% | 56% |
| 2014 | 84% | 97% | 57% |
| 2015 | 86% | 97% | 63% |
| 2016 | 88% | 99% | 64% |
| 2018 | 89% | 98% | 66% |
| 2019 | 90% | 100% | 73% |
| 2021 | 93% | 99% | 75% |
| 2023 | 95% | 97% | 88% |
| 2024 | 96% | 99% | 90% |
| 2025 | 96% | 99% | 90% |
| 2026 | 97% | 99% | 89% |
Phone surveys from 2000 to 2021; web and mail in 2023; web, mail and phone from 2024. Each year pools all Pew surveys that year. No figures for 2017, 2020 and 2022.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97% | Jan-Jun 2026 | Pew Research Center | US adults 18 and older who say they use the internet, any device, any frequency |
| 94.7% | 2024 | ITU | Individuals in the US who used the internet from any location in the last three months (ITU DataHub) |
| 78% | Jan-Jun 2026 | Pew Research Center | US adults who subscribe to broadband at home, a narrower measure than being online |
| 16% | Jan-Jun 2026 | Pew Research Center | Adults online only through a smartphone, with no home broadband |
| 97% | Sep-Oct 2025 | Pew Research Center | US teens 13 to 17 who use the internet every day, a different age group and question |
Most figures for internet use in the US fall between about 95% and 97%, and the gaps come from who is counted and what counts as using the internet.
Pew asks adults 18 and older whether they use the internet at all, on any device. The UN agency ITU, on its DataHub, gives the share of individuals who used the internet from any location in the last three months; its latest US figure is 94.7% for 2024. A different year, time window or age range can give a different share.
Broadband is a separate question. Being online is not the same as having a broadband subscription at home: 97% of adults use the internet but 78% have home broadband. The gap is mostly people who go online only through a smartphone (16%), who are more often young, lower income, Hispanic or rural.
Survey method also matters. Pew moved from phone to web and mail in 2023 and added phone back in 2024, so part of the change around those years may come from the method rather than behaviour.
What it means
How to use these numbers
Being online is close to universal in the US. Only about 3% of adults say they do not use the internet, and almost all adults under 65 do. The remaining gap is mostly older adults: 89% of those 65 and older are online, up from 14% in 2000.
Home broadband is where the real divide is. 78% of adults have it, and the share has hardly changed since 2021 (77% then, 80% in 2023). In households earning under $30,000 a year only 57% have home broadband, and 29% rely on a smartphone alone, against 92% and 7% in households earning $100,000 or more.
That matters for anyone building websites or online services. A large group of lower-income, younger, Hispanic and rural adults reach the internet mainly through a phone, so pages, forms and payments that only work well on a computer leave them out.
For teens the question is no longer access: 97% go online every day.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- Pew Research Center, Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet (19 Oct 2026)
- Sample
- National Public Opinion Reference Survey: 5,511 US adults, online, by mail or by phone, 30 Jan to 18 Jun 2026; margin of error plus or minus 1.8 points
- Definitions
- Internet user: says they use the internet. Home broadband: subscribes to high-speed internet at home. Smartphone-only: owns a smartphone but has no home broadband
- Teens
- Pew, Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025: 1,458 US teens 13 to 17, Ipsos KnowledgePanel, 25 Sep to 9 Oct 2025
- ITU
- ITU DataHub, Individuals using the Internet, United States, 2024: share of individuals who used the internet from any location in the last three months
- Last changed
- 31 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- Pew Research Center Survey
- Facts and Figures, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Official data
Cite this page
APA
MLA
HTML link
FAQ
More questions people ask
How many Americans do not use the internet?
About 3% of US adults say they do not use the internet (Pew, 2026). Among adults 65 and older the share offline is higher: 89% of them are online.
What share of low-income Americans have home broadband?
57% of adults in households earning less than $30,000 a year subscribe to home broadband, against 92% in households earning $100,000 or more (Pew, 2026).
What does smartphone-only mean?
Someone who owns a smartphone but has no broadband subscription at home. 16% of US adults are smartphone-only, rising to 24% of adults 18 to 29 and 29% of lower-income adults.
Do rural Americans have less internet access?
A little less. 95% of rural adults use the internet and 72% have home broadband, against 97% and 84% of suburban adults (Pew, 2026).
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (Pew Research Center, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)). Free to cite with a link to this page.