It is important to note, however, that Nielsen finds the income group with the largest unique audience online is actually that with annual household salaries between $50,000 and $74,999, with roughly 37.3 million people as of September 2002. The income bracket of between $100,000 and $149,999 has 14.9 million unique at-home and at-work users as of September.
Internet Users by Household Income (Million users; $x000)
September 2001 | September 2002 | Year/Year Growth | |
< $25 | 7.0% | 7.1% | 2% |
25-49.9 | 30.6 | 32.3 | 5 |
50-74.9 | 33.7 | 37.3 | 11 |
75-99.9 | 18.6 | 20.7 | 12 |
100-149.9 | 12.5 | 14.9 | 20 |
150-999.9 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 14 |
To put the Nielsen numbers into better perspective, eMarketer's North America Online Report presents data from the US Department of Commerce (DoC) which indicates that as of September 2001, 44.5 million internet users came from households making $75,000 and over. The DoC numbers also indicate that 30.1 million internet users came from households making between $50,000 and $74,999.
Mediamark Research reported in May 2002 that just 8.9% of households making $150,000 and over had used the internet before, whereas 25.2% of people from households making between $50,000 and $74,999 had used the internet.
Income (x000) and Internet Users as % of Population
$150 | $75-150 | $50-75 | <$50 | |
Total adults | 5.9% | 22.9% | 20.7% | 50.5% |
Any Internet usage | 8.9 | 33.0 | 25.2 | 32.9 |
Have Internet access From anywhere | 7.7 | 28.6 | 23.9 | 39.8 |
Have home net access | 9.5 | 33.6 | 25.2 | 31.6 |
Have work net access | 11.9 | 40.4 | 25.8 | 21.9 |
Used net past 30 days from anywhere | 9.0 | 33.2 | 25.3 | 32.5 |
Used net past 30 days from home | 10.1 | 35.0 | 25.2 | 29.7 |
Used net past 30 days from work | 12.9 | 42.4 | 25.8 | 18.9 |
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