The Demographics of U.S. Smartphone and Tablet Users

A little more than two-thirds of American adults (68%) now own a smartphone, representing a rapid rise from about half that proportion (35%) in mid-2011, details the Pew Internet & American Life Project in a recent study.

Tablet ownership has also been on a rapid upward trajectory, increasing from 3% of American adults in 2010 to 45% this year. So who owns these devices?

Not surprisingly, smartphone ownership is highest among youth, with 86% of 18-29-year-olds reporting ownership of a smartphone, although 30-49-year-olds (83%) are close behind. A majority (58%) of 50-64-year-olds also own a smartphone, though adoption falls to 30% among those aged 65 and up.

It’s a slightly different pattern for tablet adoption, with ownership highest among the 30-49 group (57%), followed by the 18-29 bracket (50%). While ownership is again lower among older generations, the gap isn’t as large as with smartphones, as 37% of those aged 50-64 and 32% of adults aged 65 and older report owning a tablet.

Smartphone and tablet ownership also have different patterns when sorting by gender and race/ethnicity. While smartphone ownership is slightly higher among men (70%) than women (66%), the opposite is true for tablets, owned by 47% of women and 43% of men.

And while tablet ownership is considerably higher among non-Hispanic whites (47%) than Blacks (38%) and Hispanics (35%), smartphone ownership rates are generally consistent, highest among Blacks (65%) and lowest among Hispanics (64%).

Smartphone and tablet ownership patterns are more similar when looking at income and education, with penetration rising alongside educational attainment and household income.

For example, adults with at least a college degree are almost twice as likely as those without a high school degree to own a smartphone (81% vs. 41%). And while a bare majority (52%) of lower-income (<$30k) adults own a smartphone, that figure rises to 87% among those in higher-income ($75k+) households.

The gaps in ownership are wider, however, among tablet owners. For example, adults in higher-income households are more than 3 times as likely as those in lower-income households to own a tablet (62% vs. 19%). And those with at least a college degree are more than twice as likely as those without a high school degree to own the device (67% vs. 28%).

The Pew study also looks at ownership of several other devices, including computers, game consoles, e-readers, MP3 players, and gaming devices.

Unlike with mobile devices, penetration rates of these other gadgets have either stalled or gradually declined in recent years, with e-reader ownership down substantially this year (19%) from early last year (32%). Some notable demographic results from these analyses include:

  • Computer ownership being far higher among non-Hispanic whites (79%) than Blacks (45%);
  • A majority of adults in the 18-29 (56%) and 30-49 (55%) brackets owning a game console, with this figure down to 8% among those aged 65 and older;
  • Gaming console ownership being higher among women (42%) than men (37%);
  • About half (51%) of adults aged 18-49 owning an MP3 player;
  • E-reader ownership being consistent at 18-19% across age groups; and
  • Ownership of portable gaming devices being broadest among 18-29-year-olds (21%) and higher-income households (21%).

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