Almost Half of US Adults in $75k+ Households Own Tablets

October 5, 2012

This article is included in these additional categories:

Boomers & Older | Household Income | Men | Mobile Phone | Women | Youth & Gen X

47% of Americans living in households with annual household income (HHI) of $75,000 or more now own tablets, according to [download page] an October 2012 report from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. That figure drops to 32% among those living in households earning $50,000-$74,999, 27% in households earning $30,000-$49,999, and 10% in households earning less than $30,000.

This ownership skew towards more affluent households is in line with June results from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and Frank N. Magid associates, which found that $100k+ households accounted for 20% of the tablet user base, as compared to 12% of the survey sample. Similarly, those with an HHI of at least $50k accounted for 59% of the tablet users, versus 41% of the total sample.

Overall, one-quarter of American adults now own tablet computers, according to the Pew report. That’s up from just 4% in September 2010, and a significant rise from January of this year, when Pew reported that tablet ownership had nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December 2011.

Tablet Ownership Rises Alongside Education Level

Details from Pew’s latest report reveal that the tablet ownership rate reaches 41% among Americans with a college education or greater, while it is right around the national average among those with some college education (27%). High school graduates (18%) and those without a high school diploma (7%) are less likely than the average American to own a tablet.

In terms of the gender breakdown, women are slightly more likely than men to claim ownership of a tablet (27% vs. 24%).

Tablet App Use Rises With Income, Falls With Age

US online adults who own a tablet and use tablet applications also skew wealthier than other American online adults (presumably as the ownership sample is more affluent), according to Forrester Research (reported via MarketingProfs), with an average HHI of $109,400, compared to the base sample’s income of $76,900.

Generation X (aged 32-45) accounts for the largest share of tablet users, at 39%, followed by Generation Y (23-31; 29%), while younger Baby Boomers account for just 11% of the tablet app user population.

About The Data: The Pew results are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from July 16 to August 7, 2012, among a sample of 2,253 adults, age 18 and older. Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,353) and cell phone (900, including 469 without a landline phone).

The Forrester survey base was comprised of 5,130 US online adults, of which 469 own a tablet and use tablet applications.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This