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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 702.12. Percentage distribution of children ages 3 to 18, by whether they have home internet access, whether they have access through computer or only smartphone, and selected child and family characteristics: 2019 and 2021
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child or family characteristic 2019 2021
Number of children ages 3 to 18 living in households1 (in thousands) Percentage distribution of children, by home internet access Number of children ages 3 to 18 living in households1 (in thousands) Percentage distribution of children, by home internet access
Total, all children1 Have internet access No internet access Total, all children1 Have internet access No internet access
Total2 Through desktop or laptop, tablet, or some other type of computer3 Only through smartphone4 Total2 Through desktop or laptop, tablet, or some other type of computer3 Only through smartphone4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Total5 65,227 (48.3) 100.0 (†) 94.6 (0.07) 88.1 (0.12) 6.5 (0.08) 5.4 (0.07) 66,108 (43.8) 100.0 (†) 97.1 (0.04) 92.6 (0.07) 4.5 (0.05) 2.9 (0.04)
Sex                                                
Male 33,382 (34.8) 100.0 (†) 94.6 (0.08) 88.0 (0.13) 6.6 (0.09) 5.4 (0.08) 33,910 (34.0) 100.0 (†) 97.1 (0.05) 92.5 (0.08) 4.6 (0.06) 2.9 (0.05)
Female 31,845 (35.1) 100.0 (†) 94.6 (0.08) 88.3 (0.13) 6.3 (0.09) 5.4 (0.08) 32,199 (33.2) 100.0 (†) 97.1 (0.05) 92.7 (0.09) 4.4 (0.07) 2.9 (0.05)

Race/ethnicity
                                               
White 32,694 (24.7) 100.0 (†) 96.4 (0.08) 92.8 (0.12) 3.5 (0.07) 3.6 (0.08) 31,807 (31.1) 100.0 (†) 97.4 (0.05) 94.6 (0.08) 2.8 (0.06) 2.6 (0.05)
Black 8,772 (32.8) 100.0 (†) 91.3 (0.21) 80.6 (0.28) 10.7 (0.22) 8.7 (0.21) 8,421 (34.7) 100.0 (†) 96.0 (0.17) 88.9 (0.24) 7.1 (0.18) 4.0 (0.17)
Hispanic 16,644 (19.9) 100.0 (†) 92.1 (0.18) 81.1 (0.25) 11.0 (0.19) 7.9 (0.18) 16,958 (22.5) 100.0 (†) 96.5 (0.08) 89.6 (0.16) 6.9 (0.13) 3.5 (0.08)
Asian 3,110 (16.8) 100.0 (†) 98.5 (0.12) 96.2 (0.21) 2.3 (0.17) 1.5 (0.12) 3,278 (16.1) 100.0 (†) 99.1 (0.08) 97.2 (0.15) 1.9 (0.13) 0.9 (0.08)
Pacific Islander 112 (4.8) 100.0 (†) 89.5 (1.72) 76.4 (2.60) 13.1 (2.15) 10.5 (1.72) 126 (4.1) 100.0 (†) 96.7 (0.80) 89.5 (1.53) 7.3 (1.36) 3.3 (0.80)
American Indian/Alaska
     Native
514 (8.1) 100.0 (†) 82.7 (0.85) 72.9 (1.01) 9.8 (0.74) 17.3 (0.85) 421 (6.8) 100.0 (†) 89.4 (0.72) 82.9 (0.83) 6.5 (0.55) 10.6 (0.72)
Two or more races 3,132 (27.8) 100.0 (†) 96.9 (0.19) 92.2 (0.34) 4.7 (0.27) 3.1 (0.19) 4,597 (31.6) 100.0 (†) 98.5 (0.10) 94.8 (0.18) 3.6 (0.16) 1.5 (0.10)

Age
                                               
3 and 4 8,118 (32.1) 100.0 (†) 93.9 (0.13) 85.9 (0.22) 8.0 (0.17) 6.1 (0.13) 7,795 (32.7) 100.0 (†) 96.7 (0.10) 90.8 (0.15) 5.9 (0.12) 3.3 (0.10)
5 to 10 23,912 (55.4) 100.0 (†) 94.2 (0.08) 87.3 (0.14) 6.9 (0.11) 5.8 (0.08) 24,189 (55.2) 100.0 (†) 96.9 (0.06) 92.2 (0.09) 4.8 (0.07) 3.1 (0.06)
11 to 14 17,235 (47.5) 100.0 (†) 94.9 (0.10) 89.0 (0.14) 5.9 (0.09) 5.1 (0.10) 17,628 (51.9) 100.0 (†) 97.4 (0.06) 93.3 (0.11) 4.1 (0.09) 2.6 (0.06)
15 to 18 15,962 (29.0) 100.0 (†) 95.3 (0.10) 89.6 (0.15) 5.6 (0.10) 4.7 (0.10) 16,495 (28.2) 100.0 (†) 97.4 (0.05) 93.5 (0.09) 3.9 (0.07) 2.6 (0.05)

Highest level of education
     attained by either parent6
                                               
Less than high school 5,654 (60.5) 100.0 (†) 83.3 (0.41) 64.6 (0.46) 18.8 (0.37) 16.7 (0.41) 5,331 (53.4) 100.0 (†) 90.8 (0.24) 78.1 (0.35) 12.7 (0.29) 9.2 (0.24)
High school diploma or
     equivalent
11,430 (71.8) 100.0 (†) 91.0 (0.17) 78.5 (0.23) 12.5 (0.18) 9.0 (0.17) 11,470 (65.4) 100.0 (†) 95.4 (0.14) 86.0 (0.22) 9.4 (0.20) 4.6 (0.14)
Some college 11,983 (74.9) 100.0 (†) 94.9 (0.13) 87.8 (0.20) 7.1 (0.15) 5.1 (0.13) 11,275 (63.9) 100.0 (†) 97.4 (0.10) 92.9 (0.15) 4.5 (0.12) 2.6 (0.10)
Associate's degree 6,326 (41.1) 100.0 (†) 96.6 (0.16) 92.9 (0.22) 3.7 (0.15) 3.4 (0.16) 6,421 (44.2) 100.0 (†) 98.3 (0.10) 95.6 (0.17) 2.7 (0.13) 1.7 (0.10)
Bachelor's or higher degree 25,891 (97.4) 100.0 (†) 98.8 (0.05) 97.6 (0.07) 1.2 (0.05) 1.2 (0.05) 27,874 (87.7) 100.0 (†) 99.1 (0.04) 98.2 (0.06) 0.9 (0.04) 0.9 (0.04)
Bachelor's degree 13,811 (63.4) 100.0 (†) 98.4 (0.08) 96.7 (0.10) 1.7 (0.08) 1.6 (0.08) 14,464 (58.7) 100.0 (†) 98.9 (0.06) 97.6 (0.09) 1.3 (0.06) 1.1 (0.06)
Master's or higher degree 12,081 (72.0) 100.0 (†) 99.2 (0.07) 98.6 (0.08) 0.6 (0.05) 0.8 (0.07) 13,409 (70.0) 100.0 (†) 99.2 (0.06) 98.8 (0.06) 0.5 (0.03) 0.8 (0.06)

Family income (in constant
    2021 dollars7,8)
                                               
  Less than $10,000 3,042 (37.6) 100.0 (†) 83.8 (0.53) 65.5 (0.63) 18.3 (0.46) 16.2 (0.53) 3,677 (39.6) 100.0 (†) 92.3 (0.29) 79.5 (0.47) 12.8 (0.38) 7.7 (0.29)
  $10,000 to $19,999 3,484 (38.1) 100.0 (†) 85.6 (0.45) 68.8 (0.53) 16.8 (0.45) 14.4 (0.45) 3,414 (43.3) 100.0 (†) 93.3 (0.32) 82.4 (0.47) 10.9 (0.36) 6.7 (0.32)
  $20,000 to $29,999 4,541 (49.9) 100.0 (†) 88.7 (0.34) 72.9 (0.45) 15.8 (0.36) 11.3 (0.34) 4,147 (45.0) 100.0 (†) 94.9 (0.23) 84.9 (0.39) 10.0 (0.35) 5.1 (0.23)
  $30,000 to $39,999 4,696 (43.4) 100.0 (†) 90.8 (0.28) 79.7 (0.44) 11.2 (0.34) 9.2 (0.28) 4,464 (44.5) 100.0 (†) 95.2 (0.25) 86.9 (0.32) 8.3 (0.26) 4.8 (0.25)
  $40,000 to $49,999 4,502 (38.8) 100.0 (†) 93.0 (0.26) 83.5 (0.44) 9.5 (0.35) 7.0 (0.26) 4,461 (42.6) 100.0 (†) 96.3 (0.20) 89.7 (0.31) 6.6 (0.22) 3.7 (0.20)
  $50,000 to $74,999 10,121 (65.5) 100.0 (†) 94.7 (0.17) 88.2 (0.23) 6.6 (0.16) 5.3 (0.17) 9,823 (58.3) 100.0 (†) 97.2 (0.09) 92.8 (0.16) 4.3 (0.13) 2.8 (0.09)
  $75,000 to $99,999 8,148 (56.2) 100.0 (†) 96.6 (0.14) 92.5 (0.18) 4.0 (0.14) 3.4 (0.14) 8,290 (54.4) 100.0 (†) 97.9 (0.10) 94.9 (0.15) 3.0 (0.11) 2.1 (0.10)
  $100,000 or more 26,103 (92.4) 100.0 (†) 98.4 (0.06) 97.1 (0.08) 1.4 (0.05) 1.6 (0.06) 27,268 (82.9) 100.0 (†) 98.8 (0.05) 97.7 (0.06) 1.1 (0.04) 1.2 (0.05)
  $100,000 to $149,999 12,027 (58.8) 100.0 (†) 97.8 (0.10) 95.8 (0.14) 2.0 (0.09) 2.2 (0.10) 12,008 (62.1) 100.0 (†) 98.5 (0.08) 96.7 (0.10) 1.8 (0.07) 1.5 (0.08)
    $150,000 or more 14,077 (74.0) 100.0 (†) 98.9 (0.06) 98.2 (0.07) 0.8 (0.05) 1.1 (0.06) 15,260 (58.7) 100.0 (†) 99.1 (0.05) 98.5 (0.06) 0.6 (0.04) 0.9 (0.05)

Family income quarter8,9
                                               
Lowest quarter 19,100 (97.7) 100.0 (†) 88.6 (0.17) 74.5 (0.23) 14.1 (0.19) 11.4 (0.17) 19,045 (91.1) 100.0 (†) 94.4 (0.11) 84.7 (0.16) 9.8 (0.14) 5.6 (0.11)
Middle low quarter 15,128 (76.2) 100.0 (†) 95.0 (0.15) 88.6 (0.19) 6.4 (0.13) 5.0 (0.15) 14,853 (69.4) 100.0 (†) 97.3 (0.07) 93.2 (0.12) 4.1 (0.10) 2.7 (0.07)
Middle high quarter 14,790 (70.8) 100.0 (†) 97.5 (0.09) 95.0 (0.14) 2.5 (0.10) 2.5 (0.09) 15,115 (66.6) 100.0 (†) 98.3 (0.06) 96.2 (0.09) 2.1 (0.06) 1.7 (0.06)
Highest quarter 15,619 (79.0) 100.0 (†) 98.9 (0.06) 98.1 (0.07) 0.8 (0.05) 1.1 (0.06) 16,530 (59.0) 100.0 (†) 99.0 (0.05) 98.3 (0.07) 0.7 (0.04) 1.0 (0.05)

Poverty status10
                                               
Below poverty threshold 10,467 (80.0) 100.0 (†) 86.0 (0.25) 69.9 (0.32) 16.1 (0.27) 14.0 (0.25) 10,891 (84.6) 100.0 (†) 93.3 (0.18) 82.2 (0.27) 11.0 (0.22) 6.7 (0.18)
100 to 185 percent of
     poverty threshold
11,707 (81.4) 100.0 (†) 91.8 (0.18) 81.2 (0.27) 10.5 (0.19) 8.2 (0.18) 11,028 (72.6) 100.0 (†) 95.8 (0.12) 88.7 (0.17) 7.1 (0.14) 4.2 (0.12)
Greater than 185 percent of
     poverty threshold
42,170 (115.2) 100.0 (†) 97.5 (0.05) 94.6 (0.08) 2.9 (0.05) 2.5 (0.05) 43,392 (93.0) 100.0 (†) 98.5 (0.04) 96.3 (0.05) 2.1 (0.04) 1.5 (0.04)
†Not applicable.
1Includes all 3- to 18-year-olds living in households.
2Total percentage of children in households that reported having access to the Internet.
3Percentage of children in homes with both internet access and one or more of the following types of computer: desktop or laptop, tablet or other portable wireless computer, or "some other type of computer." Excludes homes having none of these types of computers. Includes homes having both smartphones and any of these types of computers.
4Percentage of children in homes with both internet access and smartphones, but with none of the computer types (desktop or laptop, tablet, or other) listed in footnote 3.
5Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
6Highest education level of any parent residing with the child (including an adoptive or stepparent). Includes only children related to the householder and residing with at least one of their parents. The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit.
7Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
8Includes only children living in households where at least one of the household members is related to the householder. Family income is based on the income of the householder’s family and not necessarily the child’s own family if the child is not related to the householder.
9Lowest quarter refers to the bottom 25 percent of all family incomes; middle low quarter refers to the 26th through the 50th percentile of all family incomes; middle high quarter refers to the 51st through the 75th percentile of all family incomes; and highest quarter refers to the top 25 percent of all family incomes.
10Excludes children less than 15 years of age who are unrelated to the householder. Children are considered to be in poverty if their family income falls below the Census Bureau's poverty threshold, which is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family's size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. For example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $25,926 in 2019 and $27,479 in 2021. Respondents were interviewed throughout the year and reported on the income they received during the previous 12 months.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States. However, this table includes only children living in households, because respondents living in group quarters (e.g., shelters, healthcare facilities, or correctional facilities) were not asked about internet access. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2019 and 2021. (This table was prepared November 2022.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest