High income US households with children younger than 18 are most likely to use the internet, representing a disproportionately large percentage of the US internet universe, according to an April 2011 study from The Nielsen Company. Data from “The New Digital American Family” indicates households earning $75,000 or more in annual income represent 17% of the internet universe, a figure 30% larger than the 13% of total US population they represent.
Middle, Lower Class Households w/Kids Also Disproportionately Use Web
Middle class households with children younger than 18 earning $50,000 to $74,999 annually also use the internet at a disproportionately high rate. These households constitute 11% of the internet universe, a 37.5% larger figure than the 8% of the total US population they represent.
Interestingly, lower class households with children younger than 18 earning less than $50,000 annually use the internet at a 33% higher rate than their share of US population (16% compared to 12%), meaning they are more likely to be online than middle class households.
Households with Kids 1/3 of Family Marketplace
Looking at other US household trends, Nielsen finds that one-third of households have children. The largest single share of the US family marketplace is comprised of Baby Boomers and older generations (born in 1964 or earlier) without children, who represent 49% of all households. The remainder of households consists of consumers born in 1965 or later without children.
Growth Rate of Households with Kids Varies Dramatically
Growth rates of households with children vary dramatically by ethnic segment. Overall, the 2010-2020 growth rate of households with children is expected to be 4%. However, this figure varies from close to 30% for Hispanic households to less than 0% for white households. African-American households have an expected rate of less than 5%, while Asian and other households are both expected to grow by more than 20% in the next 10 years.
Looking at expected growth rates of households with children by income, Nielsen expects the poorest households to grow the most rapidly. Households defined as struggling will grow by almost 12%, while affluent households will slightly decline and wealthy households will only grow about 2%. Upper middle and lower middle class households are also only expected to grow at very low rates.
Other Findings
- Almost three-fourths of Americans older than age 18 were married in 1960, but only 52% are today.
- Hispanics represent the fastest-growing segment of the multi-cultural nation, growing 40% in the past 10 years and numbering 50 million people.
- Households with children younger than age 18 will be predominantly multi-cultural by 2020 (Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American); 40% already are multi-cultural today due in large part to immigration.
- High income families view less TV but spend more time viewing with kids, using time-shifted media four times more often than low income households.
Grandparents Grow into Major Consumer Segment
There are currently 69.6 million grandparents in the US, a figure expected to grow another 11% to roughly 76 million between now and 2015, according to February 2011 data from The Nielsen Company. Nielsen research reveals that grandparent households spend 4.4% more per year than all other households, which equates to an extra spend of more than $300 a year.
