Twitter Study Reveals Young, Urban Users

New survey data shows a demographic of connected young people more likely to live in cities.

If you picture the average Twitter user as young, not particularly affluent, and urban, congratulations: empirical data agrees with you. According to a new survey (PDF) from Pew Internet and American Life Project, users of the popular online social media tool fit all three criteria.

Pew’s data shows that approximately 11 percent of online adult Internet users partake in Twittering, or a similar service. That number is even higher for the under-34 set, in which 19 percent of those aged 18 to 24 Twitter, and 20 percent of those 35 to 32 Twitter. By contrast, only 4 percent of those aged 55 to 64 use the service. These stats place the median Twitterer age at 31, though, which is higher than both MySpace and Facebook, where it’s 27 and 26, respectively.

Since younger Americans typically earn less than older Americans, average Twitterer income follows suit. Seventeen percent of users come from households with an average income of $30,000 or less.

People in urban areas are also more likely to Tweet: Only 29 percent of Internet users live in cities, while that number leaps to 35 percent for Twitter users.

Pew conducted its surveys in November and December of 2008, collecting responses from over 2,200 adults.