For Hispanics, the increase in internet use has been fueled in large part among groups that have typically had very low rates of internet use.

While U.S.-born Hispanics experienced a two percentage point increase in internet use from 75% in 2006 to 77% in 2008, foreign-born Hispanics experienced a 12 percentage point increase during the same period, from 40% to 52%.

In 2006, 31% of Hispanics lacking a high school degree reported ever going online; in 2008, this number was 41%. In comparison, Hispanics with higher levels of education experienced three to four percentage point increases in internet use.

Internet use among Hispanics residing in households with annual income less than $30,000 increased 17 percentage points from 2006 to 2008. For Hispanics in households earning $30,000 to $49,999 annually, internet use increased two percentage points, and for Hispanics in households earning $50,000 or more annually, there was no change in internet use.

Whereas Hispanics have gained markedly in overall internet use, the pattern of home internet access has changed very little. In 2006, 79% of Hispanics who were online had internet access at home, while in 2008, this number was 81%.

White and black internet users show a similar leveling off. In 2006, 92% of white internet users had a home connection, compared with 94% in 2008. In 2006, 84% of African-American internet users had a home connection, compared with 87% in 2008.

While there has been little increase in the likelihood of having a home connection among internet users, rates of broadband connection have increased dramatically for Hispanics, as well as for whites and blacks. In 2006, 63% of Hispanics with home internet access had a broadband connection; in 2008 this number was 76%. For whites, broadband connection rates increased by 17 percentage points from 65% to 82%, and for blacks, the increase was from 63% in 2006 to 78% in 2008.

In order to maintain comparability across years, all results are based upon landline telephone surveys conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet & American Life Project from February to October 2006, and from August to December 2008. During this same time period, there was a dramatic increase in the proportion of people living in households with only cell phones, and no landline telephones.

The rapid increase in cell-only populations, particularly for Hispanics and African Americans, coupled with the fact that people in cell-only households tend to be slightly more likely to use other forms of technology than people who are reachable via landline telephone, suggests that if anything, the results shown here may underestimate increases in internet use, especially for Hispanics and African Americans.

• Among Hispanics, English-reading ability was linked with internet use -- 81% of Hispanics who read English very well were online, as compared with 63% of Hispanics who read pretty well, 52% of Hispanics who don't read English well, and 24% of Hispanics who can't read English at all. Conversely, Spanish-reading ability was not associated with internet use at all among Hispanics.
• Native-born Hispanics had higher rates of internet use and a greater likelihood of having a broadband connection among home internet users. Some 77% of native-born Hispanics used the internet, as compared with 52% of the foreign-born. While 83% of native-born home internet users had a broadband connection in 2008, this share was 68% among the foreign-born.
• Younger Hispanics were more likely to use the internet than older Hispanics. Among Hispanics ages 18 to 34, 77% used the internet; among those ages 35 to 49 65% used the internet; among those ages 50 to 64, 53% used the internet, and among Hispanics ages 65 and older, one-quarter used the internet.
• Education was linked with increased use of the internet, and greater likelihoods of having a home internet connection, and having a broadband connection among Hispanics. Some 41% of Hispanics lacking a high school degree went online in 2008; almost three-fourths (74%) of Hispanics with a high school degree went online, and 92% of Hispanic college graduates went online.
• Among internet users, 64% of Hispanics lacking a high school degree had a home internet connection in 2008, as compared with 84% of Hispanic high school graduates, and 94% of Hispanic college graduates.
• Some 62% of Hispanic home internet users who lack a high school degree had a broadband connection in 2008; this share was 78% for Hispanic high school graduates, and 86% for Hispanic college graduates.
• For Hispanics, higher household income was associated with internet use, having a home internet connection, and having a broadband connection. Some 56% of Hispanics in households earning less than $30,000 annually went online in 2008, as compared with 74% of Hispanics in households earning $30,000 to $49,999, and 88% of Hispanics in households earning $50,000 or more annually
• Among Hispanic internet users, 71% of those with annual household incomes less than $30,000 had a home connection in 2008, as did 83% of those with household incomes of $30,000 to $49,999, and 92% of those with household incomes of $50,000 or more.

• About seven-in-ten (71%) Hispanics with annual household incomes less than $30,000 who had a home internet connection had broadband access in 2008; in comparison, this share was 79% for Hispanics in households with income of $30,000 to $49,999, and 85% for Hispanics in households with incomes of $50,000 or more.