CT Ranks #4 in High-Speed Internet Use; #14 in Computer Ownership, Census Data Shows

Connecticut ranks #14 in the nation in computer ownership, and #4 in high-speed internet use, according to national data compiled by the U.S. Census. Overall, 83.8 percent of U.S. households reported computer ownership, with 78.5 percent of all households having a desktop or laptop computer, and 63.6 percent having a handheld computer, according to the recently released data.

The top ten in computer ownership were Utah, New Hampshire, Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Maryland and New Jersey. Also just ahead of Connecticut were Hawaii, Massachusetts and Idaho.

Nationwide, 88.4 percent of the population lives in a household with a computer. In Connecticut, it is 90.8 percent. Utah leads the way at 94.9 percent. At the bottom of the list are West Virginia, Alabama, New Mexico and Mississippi, all at just under 83 percent.

The Census Bureau data also indicated that, on average, 78.1 percent of Americans live in a household with high-speed Internet use. The top ranked states were New Hampshire (85.7%), Massachusetts (85.3%), New Jersey (84.5%), and Connecticut (83.9%). Rounding out the top ten are Utah, Maryland, Hawaii, Washington, Colorado and Rhode Island. The lowest percentages were in New Mexico, Arkansas and Mississippi.

In analyzing the data from metropolitan areas, the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that none of Connecticut’s metro regions made the nation’s top 30 in computer ownership, but the Bridgeport-Stamford- Norwalk metropolitan region was ranked #7 in the nation in high-speed internet use.

The data used in the report, released in November 2014 for calendar year 2013, comes from the American Community Survey, a large and continuous national level data collection effort performed by the Census Bureau. Computer and Internet data from the ACS are based on a sample of approximately 3.5 million addresses.

Nationwide, 74.4 percent of all households reported Internet use, with 73.4 percent reporting a high-speed connection.

Of the 25 states with rates of computer ownership above the national average, 17 were located in either the West or Northeast. Of the 26 states with rates of high-speed Internet subscriptions above the national average, 18 were located in either the West or Northeast.

The Census Bureau also reported that although household computer ownership was consistently higher than household Internet use, both followed similar patterns across demographic groups. For example, computer ownership and Internet use were most common in homes with relatively young householders, and both indicators dropped off steeply as a householder’s age increased.

The most common household connection type was via a cable modem (42.8 percent), followed by mobile broadband (33.1 percent), and DSL connections (21.2 percent).