NPD Study Finds Mac-PC Coexistence

You may be a Mac and I may be a PC. But a new study says I probably live in your house.

The NDP Group 2009 Household Penetration Study looked at stats comparing Mac and PC households in the US. Some results are what you'd expect: Mac-owning households are more affluent, with 36% who report household income over $100,000, compared with the national average of 21%. And on average, an Apple home contains far more consumer electronics than PC-only households.

The report softens the image of the rabid Macintosh brand ambassador. For example, not all Mac owners have signed on for the full Apple ride: only 63% also own an iPod.

The study found Mac use on the rise in the US, with a 3% increase in Mac-owning households over last year, brining them to 12% of the computer-owning total. Interestingly, almost all Apple households (nearly 85%) also have a Windows PC. Makes the divide between Mac and PC users seem less stark, no matter what Apple's campaigns and the Mac fan-boys would have you think. But then, advertising hyperbole and reality don't usually have much in common.