Data Central

Data Explorer

Data Explorer enables easy tracking of metrics about computer and Internet use over time.

Research Center

One-stop shop for downloading datasets and sample code, and for learning best practices in analyzing CPS Supplement data.

Welcome to Data Central, home to NTIA data and analysis on computer and Internet use in the United States. NTIA first commissioned the U.S. Census Bureau to collect data on Americans’ use of computers in November 1994. Since that time, NTIA has periodically sponsored data collections on Internet use and the devices Americans use to go online as a supplement to the Census Bureau’s annual Current Population Survey (CPS); analyzed the data; and reported the findings. In recent years, NTIA has also linked to the raw datasets on the Census Bureau website.

To facilitate the public’s access to the CPS Internet use data, NTIA is now making these data available here, and has developed an important tool to help site visitors find information quickly. Our Data Explorer tool enables users to select from dozens of metrics tracked over time, as well as a number of demographic characteristics, and charts the requested data. NTIA invites your feedback at data@ntia.gov as we continually improve Data Central.

NTIA Seeks Feedback on Draft Questionnaire for Next Internet Use Survey

May 26, 2021

For more than a quarter-century, NTIA’s Internet Use Survey has provided the public with information about the digital divide and how Americans’ use of computers and the Internet has grown and changed over time.

Since 1994, NTIA has partnered with the Census Bureau 15 times to field this vital data collection to inform policymakers and enable important research. Our most recent survey went out in November 2019, and we’re pleased to be working with the Census Bureau again to conduct the next NTIA Internet Use Survey in November 2021. This will be a great opportunity to understand how computer and Internet use in America changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to create better informed solutions that improve the state of digital equity in America, NTIA is always looking for ways to improve the questions asked in our survey. As technologies and our understanding of policy challenges evolve, we try to keep our survey evolving as well, while also preserving the ability to track changes over time.

Today, we are soliciting public comment on our draft questionnaire. Feedback on this draft will build on the comments we received last summer, when NTIA, for the first time ever, published a Request for Comments asking researchers, advocates, and other interested members of the public to tell us how to improve the NTIA Internet Use Survey.

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More than Half of American Households Used the Internet for Health-Related Activities in 2019, NTIA Data Show

December 7, 2020

Telemedicine and telehealth-related activities are on the rise, according to NTIA’s November 2019 Internet Use Survey, which found that more households are using the Internet to communicate with health professionals, access health records, and research health information.

Because the survey was conducted prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, it provides an important baseline for understanding the prevalence of telehealth usage among American households and the importance of Internet access for essential services.

The proportion of households that accessed health or health insurance records online grew from 30 percent in 2017 to 34 percent in 2019 (see Figure 1). Households communicating with a doctor or other health professional online grew by two percentage points, and households that researched health information online grew by one percentage point between 2017 and 2019.

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