• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 17, 2002

As a follow up on a previous Brief on Digital Journalism, recently released data provides a better clue as to where it might be heading. According to recent information from Scarborough Research, in terms of home internet access, the local US market with the highest level of internet penetration is Seattle/Tacoma, WA with 60% accessing the internet from home within a past 30-days period. Other western markets, like San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose and San Diego follow Seattle with 58% accessing the net at home.

Though highly-populated, Scarborough finds that New York falls into 14th place with an at-home internet penetration level of 52% and Los Angeles, CA holds 24th place with a 50% penetration rate.

Top Ten Online US Cities, 2001
(as % people accessing Internet from home past 30 days)

- Seattle/Tacoma, WA - 60%
- San Francisco/Oakland, CA - 58%
- San Diego, CA 58 Austin, TX - 58%
- Boston, MA 57 Atlanta, GA - 56%
- Washington, D.C. - 56%
- Orlando/Daytona, FL - 54%
- Hartford/New Haven, CT - 54%
- Baltimore, MD - 54%
Source: Scarborough Research, Feb, 2002

eMarketer's new report, North America Online presents many more local US market access numbers from Scarborough and other sources. For example, the following data shows Forrester's estimates for local market internet access that finds that San Francisco, CA has the highest net penetration, with 79% households online as of 2001, Scarborough, however, reports that Austin, TX leads the pack with a penetration rate of 71%.

Top Online Cities
as a % of households according to the Forrester data

- San Francisco - 79%
- Hartford, CT - 74%
- Austin, TX - 73%
- Raleigh-Durham, NC - 70%
- Columbus, OH - 69%
- Salt Lake City, UT - 69%
- Washington D.C. - 68%
- Orange County, CA - 68%
- Seattle, WA - 67%
- San Jose, CA - 67%
- Dallas, TX - 66%
- Boston, MA - 66%
- Nashville, TN - 66%
Source: Forrester Research/eMarketer

Find out more here.