Five U.S. Cities Reach 50% Internet Penetration

D.C., San Francisco, Austin, Seattle and Salt Lake City are most wired; 10.18.99

New York, October 18, 1999—Scarborough Research, the leading local market consumer ratings firm, announced today results from its latest study reveal that five U.S cities have reached 50% Internet penetration among the adult population.

Washington, D.C. ranks number one with 59.9% of the adult population online, followed by San Francisco (56.1%); Austin, Tex. (55.5%); Seattle (53.3%) and Salt Lake City (50.0%). Scarborough measured Internet usage over a one-year period both at home and at work for these findings.

Commenting on the results, Scarborough President Bob Cohen said, "Reaching the 50% threshold is a significant milestone for the Internet as it continues to mature into a mainstream medium. It’s also noteworthy that we continue to see notable differences in Internet usage on a local market level—indicating that technological innovation is impacted by the interplay of local demographic, cultural, retail and media dynamics. To understand both cause and effect, one must telescope down to the local market—the venue in which consumers live, work, recreate, shop and are informed and entertained."

Other Major Cities
Other major cities which fall under the 50% mark but trail closely behind the top Internet savvy cities: Los Angeles (48.7%), Boston (46.0%), Chicago (44.8%), New York (43.7%) and Philadelphia (41.5%). The overall 64-market average is currently 43.7%.

On the low end for Internet usage are smaller cities: Wilkes Barre, Penn. (32.8%); Charleston, W.Va. (32.4%); Birmingham, Ala. (32.2%); Tulsa, Okla. (32.3%); and Pittsburgh, Penn. (30.8%).

About Scarborough Research
The data for this report was compiled from February 1998 to February 1999 from release one f the 1999 Scarborough 12 month database. Over 170,000 interviews from adults ages 18+ were conducted in 64 leading U.S. markets. The reports are single source studies that examine a variety of characteristics including local market consumer shopping patterns, media usage, demographics, and lifestyle activities.

Scarborough Research provides a syndicated study to newspapers, television stations, radio stations, cable systems, Internet companies, advertisers and agencies. Scarborough Research is a service of The Arbitron Company and VNU Marketing Information Services.