Chart showing how many Americans use the internet from 2014 to 2024

How Many People Use the Internet in the United States?

The number of internet users worldwide currently stands at 5.16 billion, after a 1.98% annual increase. But how many of them are in the United States, a country with one of the highest internet speeds?

Here’s a look at how many people use the internet in the United States, broken down by year.

US internet statistics: highlights

  • There are 331 million internet users in the US in 2024.
  • The number of internet users in the US has risen every year since at least 2014.
  • The number of internet users in the US is set to surpass 343 million by 2029.
  • 97.1% of the US population uses the internet in 2024.
  • The average American spends more than seven hours a day online.

How many people use the internet in America in 2024?

Year

No. of internet users in the US

2014

234 million

2015

241 million

2016

279 million

2017

287 million

2018

293 million

2019

298 million

2020

324 million

2021

326 million

2022

328 million

2023

329 million

2024

331 million

Recent United States internet statistics show there are 331 million people using the internet in the US in 2023. This is a 0.5% increase (2 million) from the previous year. Despite the fractional increase, it is one of the smallest annual growth from the past decade. 

The number of Americans using the internet has been growing every year over the past decade. In 2014, there were 234 million internet users. This number rose by 3% in 2015 to hit 241 million.

In 2016, the number of internet users in the US surged by 15.6%, the biggest increase registered from 2013 to 2023, to a total of 279 million. This figure continued to rise, and in 2020, internet users exceeded 300 million for the first time, reaching 324 million, after an 8.7% increase.

Growth has been relatively slower over the past few years. From 2020 to 2024, the number of internet users in the US grew at an average rate of 0.6% per year.

Number of internet users in the US: 2025–2029 forecast

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Year

No. of internet users in the US (forecast)

2025

328.16 million

2026

332.51 million

2027

336.6 million

2028

340.46 million

2029

343.48 million

The number of internet users in the US is forecast to continue rising. In 2025, it’s projected at 328.16 million. By 2029, experts predict that there will be 343.48 million people going online in the US. This represents an average annual growth rate of 1.1% from 2025 to 2029.

What percentage of people use the internet in the US?

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Year

Percentage of the US population using the internet

2014

73.0%

2015

74.6%

2016

85.5%

2017

87.3%

2018

87.3%

2019

87.3%

2020

87.0%

2021

90.0%

2022

89.4%

2023

91.8%

2024

97.1%

In 2014, fewer than three in four of the US population were internet users. With the exception of 2020, this number has risen every year since, and is expected at 97.1% in 2024. In other words, nearly all individuals in the US access the internet.

American internet use: time spent and top devices

Knowing how many people use the internet in America isn’t enough to build an effective marketing plan targeting buyers there. You also need to know how they’re accessing the internet and for how long.

  • The average internet user in the US spends seven hours and three minutes online every day. Of this, more than half (51.8%) is done on mobile phones, and the remaining on computers and/or tablets.
  • Smartphones are US consumers’ favorite devices to use to go online. 94.6% of the population go online via smartphones. This is followed by laptops and/or desktops, used by three in four internet users (72.8%), and connected televisions, used by 42.5%.

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