Access to the Internet is crucial for households to communicate, search for jobs, complete schoolwork and participate in other important activities like banking, health care access and consumer research.

In 2016-20, African Americans in Westchester County had the lowest percentage of households with Internet access at 85%, followed by Hispanic households at 90%. Asian households had the highest percentage at 96%. Westchester County's rate for African American households was on par with the state, while its rates for all other races and ethnicities were higher than state rates.

Compared with similar counties, Westchester had the lowest percentage of African American households with Internet access, followed by Rockland (91%), Nassau (92%), and Putnam (95%); and the second lowest rates among Hispanic, Asian and white households.

Among Westchester's main population centers, Hispanic and African American households in Yonkers had less access with 86% and 87% reporting Internet access respectively. This was lower than access rates in White Plains of 95% for Hispanic households and 89% for African American households, and in Greenburgh of 98% of Hispanic households and 94% of African American households.

Income and education inequalities are the leading causes of the disparities in access to technology in general, including the internet. Additionally, broadband is not equally accessible among all households. In addition to barriers faced by rural households, there can be wide variation in in-home access between adjacent urban and suburban neighborhoods covered by the same telecommunications infrastructure. At least one study found lower digital access in neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s, where home loans were less available due to structural racism.

The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). Data for this indicator is expected to be released annually in December.