California Broadband Adoption by the Numbers
CETF developed and sponsors the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption to track high-speed Internet at home and drive policy and action.
Statewide broadband adoption remains high with 91% of households in California enjoying high-speed internet access at home—Between 2008 and 2023, home broadband adoption grew from 55% to 91%. Yet challenges persist for low-income K-12 families, including some who lost connectivity after COVID.
The overall findings are consistent with the 2021 results of the biennial Statewide Digital Equity Survey, which monitors Californians’ digital access. The latest findings reveal that the percentage of under-connected households — those with only a smartphone — was cut in half from 6% to 3%. However, broadband adoption among families with school-age children decreased from 97% in 2021 to 93% in 2023, likely due to the expiration of school-based programs that sponsored internet connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, fewer children in K-12 households have a desktop, laptop or tablet computer available at home to use for school activities that are not shared with other family members, a decline from nearly 95% in 2021 to about 72% in 2023, the researchers found.
More Californians come online
The results show that California has made significant progress in improving internet access among specific disadvantaged groups, such as:
• households with disabilities, up from 83% in 2021 to 91% in 2023
• adults 60 years and older, increasing from 78% in 2021 to 90% in 2023
• adults without a high-school degree, up from 64% in 2021 to 79% in 2023
CETF has sponsored the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption since 2008. University of Southern California has been the independent research partner for conducting the CETF surveys in 2021 and 2023. For further details about this year’s the Annual Survey results released by USC, the California Emerging Technology Fund and the California Department of Technology, view the 2023 Statewide Survey page.
About the California Emerging Technology Fund
The mission of CETF is to close the Digital Divide in California. The overall goal is to reach 98% of all California residences in every region with broadband infrastructure and to achieve 90% home broadband adoption by 2023. CETF is technology-neutral: “broadband” is a generic term for high-speed Internet access—wireline and wireless Internet service is faster than a dial-up connection. CETF strives to achieve these goals through public awareness and education, grantmaking to community organizations, and advancing public policy.