Contents
- Household computer ownership statistics by householder age
- Household computer ownership statistics by household composition and language
- Household computer ownership statistics by disability and housing tenure
- Household computer ownership statistics by income and education
- household computer ownership: Home computer ownership statistics in historical and international context
- Sources
Household computer ownership statistics by householder age
In the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, computer ownership varied across household age groups. The measure here is the share of households reporting any computer type; it does not isolate desktops or laptops. Among households with a householder aged 15–34, 98.9% had any computer type. The figure was 98.7% for ages 35–44 and 96.8% for ages 45–64. For households with a householder aged 65 years and older, it was 87.5%.
| Householder age | Households with any computer type, 2021 |
|---|---|
| 15–34 years | 98.9% |
| 35–44 years | 98.7% |
| 45–64 years | 96.8% |
| 65 years and older | 87.5% |
The age categories show high ownership in each group, with the reported share lower among households in the oldest category. These are household-level results classified by the age of the householder, not estimates of the percentage of individuals in each age group who personally own a computer. The table reports percentages and does not give the household counts in this summary. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021, Table 1, p. 4.
Household computer ownership statistics by household composition and language
Household composition also corresponds with different reported ownership levels in the 2021 ACS. Among households without members under 18, 93.4% had any computer type; among households with member(s) under 18, the share was 98.9%. These categories describe whether children under 18 were present in a household. They do not distinguish the number of children, their ages, or which household member used a computer.
| Household classification | Households with any computer type, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Without members under 18 | 93.4% |
| With member(s) under 18 | 98.9% |
The same table classifies households by limited English-speaking status. It reports 95.3% ownership for households classified “No” and 89.6% for those classified “Yes.” The “Yes” definition is specific: no household member aged 14 and over speaks English at home or speaks English very well. It should not be read as a broad measure of language preference, multilingualism, or computer proficiency. Source for both comparisons: U.S. Census Bureau, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021, Table 1, p. 4, including footnote 2.
Taken together, these figures describe associations between household classifications and the presence of any computer type. They do not establish why the percentages differ, nor do they measure access to broadband or how frequently computers are used. The ACS table’s measure is computer presence at the household level, and the language classification has its own defined threshold.
Household computer ownership statistics by disability and housing tenure
The 2021 ACS reports that 96.7% of households without a member with a disability had any computer type. For households with at least one member with a disability, the share was 90.5%. These categories refer to whether any household member has a disability, not whether the householder has one or whether a computer includes accessibility features.
Housing tenure provides another household comparison. Any computer type was reported by 95.8% of owner-occupied households and 93.6% of renter-occupied households. The categories identify whether the home was owner- or renter-occupied; the figures do not describe the household’s housing costs, duration of residence, or the computer’s ownership arrangement.
| Household classification | Group | Any computer type, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Member disability status | No member with a disability | 96.7% |
| Member disability status | At least one member with a disability | 90.5% |
| Housing tenure | Owner occupied | 95.8% |
| Housing tenure | Renter occupied | 93.6% |
All four values are percentages of U.S. households in the named category, from the 2021 ACS 1-year estimates. The disability and tenure classifications are separate breakdowns; the table does not cross-tabulate them. These reported differences alone do not identify causes or show how device type, internet access, or accessibility needs vary within each group. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021, Table 1, p. 4.
Household computer ownership statistics by income and education
The 2021 ACS shows a stepwise pattern across the reported household income bands. Any computer type was present in 85.1% of households earning less than $25,000, 93.4% of those earning $25,000–$49,999, and 97.6% of those earning $50,000–$99,999. The reported shares were 98.9% for incomes of $100,000–$149,999 and 99.3% for $150,000 or more.
| Household income | Households with any computer type, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Less than $25,000 | 85.1% |
| $25,000–$49,999 | 93.4% |
| $50,000–$99,999 | 97.6% |
| $100,000–$149,999 | 98.9% |
| $150,000 or more | 99.3% |
The income bands are the categories presented in the Census table. This is a comparison of households by income, not of individual earnings, and the table does not show whether income was measured before or after taxes in the summary provided. It also does not establish that income differences caused differences in household computer ownership. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021, Table 1, p. 5.
Education is classified by the householder’s attainment. In households where the householder had less than a high-school education, 83.8% had any computer type. The figure was 90.7% when the householder was a high-school graduate, including equivalency; 96.8% for some college or an associate degree; and 98.6% for a bachelor’s degree or higher. As with income, the categories show how household ownership was distributed across the reported groups, not a causal effect of educational attainment. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021, Table 1, p. 5.
Income and education are separate breakdowns in this account. The supplied observations do not show their joint distribution, so they cannot tell how ownership differs among households that share both an income band and an education category. The Census table also distinguishes “Any computer type” from “Desktop or laptop computer,” which is a separate measure. The percentages above refer only to any computer type; they should not be substituted for desktop-or-laptop ownership.
household computer ownership: Home computer ownership statistics in historical and international context
Historical figures offer context, but they cover different countries, survey periods, and definitions. In Great Britain, the share of households with a home computer rose from 13% in 1985 to 80% in 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) General Lifestyle Survey overview. For 2011, ONS separately reported home computer ownership among families with dependent children: 88% for lone-parent families and 97% for other families with dependent children. The family figures use a narrower population than all households, so they should not be treated as the overall Great Britain rate. Source: ONS, Housing and Consumer Durables: General Lifestyle Survey Overview 2011, section 3, Figure 4.2 and accompanying text.
For the UK, a separate ONS response gives a 90% home-computer figure for private households in April 2020–March 2021, drawing on Table A45 of the Living Costs and Food Survey. That period and population differ from the Great Britain figures above. The 90% figure is not a continuation of the earlier series presented on the same basis in the 2011 overview. Source: ONS, “Percentage of homes and individuals with technological equipment,” response referring to Table A45.
Statistics Canada reported that 45% of Canadian households had a home computer in 1998, compared with 23% reporting they owned a computer in 1993. A later Survey of Household Spending release reported that 55% of households owned a computer in 2000, 60% in 2001, and over 64% in 2002. These are historical Canadian household measures; the 1998 release uses “having a home computer” in its table, while the 2002 release describes households reporting computer ownership. Sources: Statistics Canada, Household spending, dwelling characteristics and household facilities, 1998; Statistics Canada, Survey of Household Spending, 2002](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/031217/dq031217b-eng.htm).
A more recent observation in this selected set comes from Spain’s 2025 ICT equipment survey. It reports that 83.8% of households had some type of computer, including desktop computers, laptops, and tablets. The stated population is households with at least one member aged 16–74. It is therefore not directly comparable with figures covering all households or using a home-computer definition. Source: Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), Survey on Equipment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Households, Year 2025, p. 1.
Across these examples, the historical record documents rising household computer presence within particular national series, while the cross-country figures illustrate why definitions and population boundaries matter. “Home computer,” “computer ownership,” and “any computer type” are not guaranteed to represent identical measures. Survey year, geographic coverage, and age limits also vary. These observations provide context for household computer ownership statistics; they do not form a single harmonized ranking or establish a present-day rate for every country.
Sources
- Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021
- Percentage of homes and individuals with technological equipment
- Housing and Consumer Durables: General Lifestyle Survey Overview 2011
- Household spending, dwelling characteristics and household facilities, 1998
- Survey of Household Spending, 2002
- Survey on Equipment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Households, Spain: Year 2025