For various marketing, educational, and government purposes, it is useful to know how many Americans have computers. Here are some statistics...

- According to the 2000 World Almanac, just over forty-two percent of American households had a computer in 1998. This was up from about twenty-four percent in 1994.

- A survey carried out in 2005 by Opinion Research Corporation indicated that approximately seventy-six percent of adults in the U.S. own at least one computer.

- Most or all of the more recent data relates to how many Americans have an Internet connection, which should be considered a matter separate from this question.

Keep in mind that not every household with a computer necessarily has Internet access or the ability to run CD-ROM software.