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 2018-22, African Americans in Westchester County had the lowest percentage of households with Internet access, at 89%, followed by Hispanic households, at 92%. Asian households had the highest percentage, at 98%. Westchester County's rates for all racial and ethnic groups were higher than the state rates. Since 2016-2020, households with internet access have increased among all racial and ethnic groups with African Americans seeing the largest increase of 4 percentage points. It should be noted that this comparison looks at overlapping time periods that contain some of the same data.

Compared with similar counties, Westchester had the lowest percentage of African American households with Internet access, followed by Nassau (94%), and Rockland and Putnam (both 95%); and the second-lowest rates among Hispanic, Asian and White households.

Among Westchester's main population centers, Hispanic and African American households in Mount Vernon had less access, with 85% and 82% reporting Internet access, respectively. This was lower than access rates in New Rochelle, White Plains and Rye for Hispanic households (all ranging between 89% and 100%) and African American households (all ranging between 91% and 96%).

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.