The line graph illustrates the proportion of households in the United States owning different numbers of computers between 1997 and 2012.
Overall, there was a pronounced shift from non-ownership to multi-computer ownership over the fifteen-year period. While the percentage of households without a computer declined dramatically, ownership of two or more computers rose steadily. Although one-computer households initially became the dominant group, their share fell slightly towards the end of the period as multi-device ownership gained momentum.
In 1997, households without a computer accounted for approximately 60%, making this by far the largest category. However, this figure decreased consistently throughout the period, falling to around 40% in 2001 and then more sharply to just under 20% by 2012. By contrast, the proportion of households with one computer rose from about 35% in 1997 to a peak of roughly 50% in 2001, at which point it overtook non-ownership as the most common category. Thereafter, it declined gradually to approximately 45% in the final year.
Meanwhile, ownership of multiple computers increased markedly. The percentage of households with two computers grew from only about 5% in 1997 to around 30% by 2012, representing one of the most significant rises among all groups. A similar but more moderate upward trend was observed in households owning three or more computers, which climbed from roughly 2-3% to about 15% over the same period. Notably, by 2012 the combined share of households with at least two computers far exceeded that of households without any computer, underscoring the rapid expansion of digital access across the country.
In summary, the data clearly demonstrate a transformation in household computer ownership, with multi-computer households becoming increasingly prevalent as non-ownership declined substantially.