An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
This report compares national-level data about computer use, Internet access and types of Internet subscriptions from the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) to the 2013 Current Population Survey (CPS). The Current Population Survey has collected data about computer use since 1984 and about Internet access since 1997. The American Community Survey began collecting data about computer and Internet access in 2013. These two surveys sometimes provide differing estimates of the prevalence of computer ownership and Internet use in the U.S. We highlight differences in both the number and percentage of households and people with these characteristics. Second, we discuss possible problems in collecting accurate data on mobile broadband use. Because changes were made to the ACS questionnaire beginning in 2016, the analysis here only applies to ACS data collected in 2013 to 2015. Data about computer and Internet use are not collected for those living in group quarters such as prisons, dormitories, and nursing homes. Therefore, this analysis only includes those living in households.
Share
Related Information
WORKING PAPER
Computer and Internet Use Working PapersSome content on this site is available in several different electronic formats. Some of the files may require a plug-in or additional software to view.
Top