Americans that live in higher-income homes are more likely to use the Internet to get the news, own multiple Internet devices and pay bills online, according to a Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project report.
About 95 percent of Americans who live in households earning $75,000 or more a year use the Internet at least occasionally, compared with 70 percent of those living in households earning less than $75,000.
Even among those who use the Internet, the financially better off are more likely than those with lesser income to use technology.
Of the 95 percent of higher-income Internet users, about 99 percent use the Internet at home, compared with 93 percent of the Internet users in lower brackets. Meanwhile, 93 percent of higher-income home Internet users have some type of high-speed access (e.g., DSL, cable modem, T-1) versus 85 percent of the Internet users who live in households earning less than $75,000 per year.
In addition, about 95 percent of higher income households own some type of cell phone compared with 83 percent in households with less income.
Also, the Internet users in higher income households are more likely than others to go online multiple times a day, both at home and at work. Those in the higher income households are the most active participants in a range of online activities.
For example, 93 percent of the Internet users in households earning $75,000 or more use email, while 80 percent access news online. About 71 percent pay bills online and 48 percent have used their cell phone to send or receive email.
"Those who are better off financially capitalize on many of the tools that define Internet use," said Jim Jansen, Senior Fellow at the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and author of a report about Internet usage among higher-income households. "These higher-income Americans use the Internet in higher numbers and greater frequency than their less well-off peers."
Those in higher-income households are also more likely than those in lesser-income households to own a variety of information and communications gear.
About 79 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 or more own desktop computers, compared with 55 percent of those living in less well-off homes. Meanwhile, 70 percent of higher-income households own iPods or other MP3 players, compared with 42 percent in a lower income bracket.
And finally, 9 percent of those living in higher-income households own tablet computers such as iPads, compared with 3 percent in less well-off homes.
Reach TechNewsDaily senior writer Samantha Murphy at smurphy@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @SamMurphy_TMN