Three-Quarters of US Households Nationwide Had Broadband Connection in 2013-14, Brookings Says
In 2014, more than 87 million households -- or three-quarters of all households nationally -- had a broadband subscription, said a report from the Brookings Institution released Monday. The report used 2013 and 2014 American Community Survey data to track…
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broadband adoption rates, while using other census and Internet speed data to show what factors affect metropolitan adoption rates. Only 46.8 percent of households with annual incomes under $20,000 had a broadband subscription in 2014, compared with 88.8 percent of households earning $50,000 or more, Brookings said. While 54.1 percent of those with less than a high school diploma had a broadband subscription, 91.5 percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher did. Low adoption rates also appear among older age groups -- 64.5 percent of individuals 65 years and older -- while those not in the labor force -- 69.7 percent -- subscribe to broadband at lower rates than the national average. Broadband adoption also varies across different U.S. markets, including the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, the report said. Although these areas tend to have higher adoption rates (77.8 percent) than the country as a whole (75.1 percent), rates can still differ by up to 30 percentage points or more in some cases, it said. Tech centers like San Jose (88.2 percent), Seattle (84.8 percent), and Boston (82.7 percent), for instance, exceed the shares in Lakeland, Florida (64.1 percent), Greensboro, North Carolina (64 percent), and McAllen, Texas (58.1 percent), the report said.