The findings in this data memo are based on the findings of daily tracking survey on Americans’ use of the Internet conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Most of the data in this report is drawn from the Project’s combined surveys of September and December 2005 of 5,262 adult Americans, 3,508 of whom were internet users. The number of rural Americans surveyed in September and December 2005 came to 1,129, with 681 rural internet users and 252 rural home broadband users. For residents of urban America, 1,462 respondents were interviewed, 988 internet users and 541 home broadband users. The total number of suburban Americans interviewed was 2,671, with 1,839 internet users and 1,013 home broadband users.

For rural Americans, the margin of error for results based on all such respondents is plus/minus 3 percentage points; for internet users it is plus/minus 4 percentage points; for home broadband users it is plus/minus 7 percentage points.

For urban Americans, the margin of error for results based on all such respondents is plus/minus 3 percentage points; for internet users it is plus/minus 3 percentage points; for home broadband users it is plus/minus 4.5 percentage points.

For suburban Americans, the margin of error for results based on all such respondents is plus/minus 2 percentage points; for internet users it is plus/minus 2.5 percentage points; for home broadband users it is plus/minus 3 percentage points.

The reader is directed to the footnote in the table on page 8 for detail on the surveys from which analysis of specific online activities among rural Americans is based.

For the definition of community type, we follow the Census Bureau definition whereby respondents are categorized as “rural” if they reside in a non-metropolitan statistical area (MSA) county. Respondents are categorized as “suburban” if they reside in any portion of an MSA county that is not in a central city. Respondents are categorized as “urban” if they reside within a central city of an MSA.