Survey: Majority of US households now own Apple products

According to a study from CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey, 50 percent of all households in the United States are home to at least one Apple product. To put that in perspective, over 55 million homes have at least one iPod, iPhone, iPad, or Mac, with an average of 1.6 Apple products per household. Of those 50 percent, close to one-quarter plan to buy another Apple device in the coming year, while 1-in-10 households that do not currently own an Apple product will make the leap during 2012…

So, who exactly is buying Apple products? The survey shows that approximately 63 percent of people in the 18-to 34-age and 35-to 49-age groups consider themselves Apple users. Those numbers decrease to 50 percent for the 50- to 64-age group, and 26 percent for 65- and up age. It is not much of a shock to learn the majority of Apple buyers are working-class users earning upwards of $75,000 a year. For example, only 28 percent of people who make $30,000 yearly own an Apple product, in comparison to the roughly 77 percent making $70,000 who own an average of three.

According to Hart Research Associates’ Jay Campbell, Apple’s ecosystem keeps consumers buying more:

“It’s a fantastic business model — the more of our products you own, the more likely you are to buy more… Planned obsolescence has always been a part of the technology industries sales model, but Apple has taken it to a whole new level.”

Households with children are also a factor with 61 percent of homes with kids owning at least one Apple device, compared to the 48 percent of households without children. Since the study is the “All-America Economic Survey,” CNBC also decided to find what percentage of Democrats and Republicans own Apple products:

Our survey also revealed the desirability of owning an Apple product appears to be something Republicans and Democrats can actually agree on. About 56 percent of the members of each party have at least one, although a gap could soon open. Twenty-six percent of Democrats plan to buy an Apple product in the next 12 months, versus 19 percent of Republicans.