American households that make less than $30,000 per year are far less likely to subscribe to home internet services than people in other income brackets, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.
According to a new Broadband Fact Sheet published toward the end of 2025, only about 54% of people in this lowest-income group subscribed to broadband internet. That’s down from 57% in both 2023 and 2024.
In comparison, the report found 94% of households with incomes in the six-figure range subscribed to home internet in 2025, up from 92% in 2024.
Among all income groups, about 78% subscribed to home internet in 2025, down from 79% in 2024 and 80% in 2023. Before that, adoption increased fairly steadily between the year 2000, when Pew Research started studying it, and 2016. Then, there was a drop in 2019 before adoption started trending up again the following year.
The slight decrease in home internet subscriptions came in a year when the U.S. government decreased funding for broadband infrastructure projects and eliminated $2.75 billion in Digital Equity Act funding “designed to give people access to computers and other devices to increase their digital literacy,” as described in CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson’s first annual Broadband Turkey Awards.
The Pew report didn’t address funding or politics, but took a hard look at smartphone use. It found that almost everyone has a smartphone these days, with the following breakdown:
- Adult under 50: 97%
- Adults 50–64: 90%
- Adults 65+: 78%
Among people with smartphones, the report found about 16% lack a home internet subscription, a figure that’s doubled since 2013. The report called these households smartphone-dependent, and found that people who make less are much more likely to be in this category.
Here’s how the figures for smartphone dependence broke down by household income:
- Less than $30,000: 34%
- $30,000–$69,000: 19%
- $70,000-$99,000: 10%
- More than $100,000: 4%
Younger people were most likely to be smartphone-dependent as well, according to the report. Here’s the breakdown on dependence by age:
- Ages 18–29: 27%
- Ages 30–49: 11%
- Ages 50–64:15%
- Ages 65+: 17%
