Broadband Adoption Rates Highest Among Affluent Surfers

Posted on April 23, 2004

Nielsen//NetRatings, a provider Internet audience measurement and analysis, reported that affluent Americans are the fastest growing income group online. Surfers with total household incomes of $150K and higher grew 31 percent year-over-year at home to nearly 7.9 million individuals (see Table 1). Those earning between $75K-100K increased to 26.4 million in March 2004, as compared to 20.7 million a year ago. Internet users with upper incomes ranging from $100K-150K rose 24 percent since last March.

Table 1: Year-Over-Year Internet Access Growth by Income Level (US, Home) Unique Audience (000)

Income Level*	Mar-03 Unique Audience (000)	Mar-04 Unique Audience (000)	Yearly Percent Growth (%)
$150,000+	6,010	7,873	31%
$75,000 - 99,999	20,732	26,393	27%
$100,000 - 149,999	14,356	17,786	24%
$0 - 24,999	7,961	9,399	18%
$25,000 - 49,999	33,074	37,826	14%
$50,000 - 74,999	38,165	42,473	11%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2004
*Income level based on combined total household annual earnings

Broadband Adoption Rates Highest Among Affluent Surfers

Internet users earning upper-level incomes have a higher concentration of broadband adopters. Broadband surfers made up 69 percent of the total audience for those with incomes of $150K and above, as compared to 31 percent accessing via dial-up (see Table 2). Those earning between $100K-$150K showed a 61/39 split favoring high speed, while Internet users with incomes between $75K-$100K posted an even split among narrowband and broadband users.

Middle and lower income surfers accessing the Internet via broadband posted much smaller concentrations. Almost two-thirds of individuals with household earnings between $25K-50K log online via narrowband, with just 36 percent accessing through broadband. Broadband composition is even less for lower income surfers earning between $0-25K, with just 25 percent accessing via cable, DSL or other high speed.

"Cost plays a tremendous part in Internet access patterns," said Kenneth Cassar, director of strategic analysis, Nielsen//NetRatings. "While broadband has become much less expensive over the past few years, it's still a significant cost as compared to narrowband. Couple high-speed access with other utility expenses, and households with tighter budgets simply would not be able to afford the luxury of having broadband."

Table 2: Broadband vs. Narrowband by Household Income March 2004 (U.S., Home)

Income Level	Narrowband	Broadband
$150,000+	31%	69%
$100,000 - 149,999	39%	61%
$75,000 - 99,999	50%	50%
$50,000 - 74,999	54%	46%
$25,000 - 49,999	64%	36%
$0 - 24,999	75%	25%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2004