Owning an iPhone not only shows how one values premium quality -- it is also indicative of a user's education level and wealth, according to a new study by Chitika Insights.
The infographic "iPhone Usage Rates by State" was published on Thursday, Jan. 22, showing how state-by-state iPhone usage correlates with a user's education level and the population density of the state they reside in.
The study also reveals that northeastern states in the U.S. have a comparatively higher concentration of iPhone users.
Chitika Insights examined a sample of hundreds of millions of U.S.-based iPhone ad impressions, which were retrieved through Cidewalk, a mobile ad platform from Chitika. The data observed was for a week (from Dec. 25, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2014). The data range therefore includes traffic from smartphones that were given as presents during the holiday season.
Accordig to the study, the state that topped the ranks was Alaska, accounting for 65.5 percent of traffic via an iPhone. It was followed by Montana with 60.1 percent and Hawaii and Mississippi with 58.7 percent each. New Mexico ranked the lowest in the study with 40.5 percent iPhone users.
The study also links iPhone sales in each state to the population density. In essence, the more populated a state is, the higher the chances of iPhone sales are.
The Chitika Insights study also connects wealth to the sales of iPhones. However, since a college degree is associated with higher incomes, the firm says, these results are redundant.
"The relationship also held across median income, however the high correlation in median income and education level, resulted in redundancy of this particular variable," noted Chitika.
A white paper analysis of the resulting data by Chitika Insights concludes that future research could expand on the model considered by the firm. It could also include several other variables that may play a pivotal role in impacting smartphone usage rates that are based on brands.
"Our analysis does point towards state-level evidence on the factors affecting iPhone usage rates. iPhone usage shares are positively correlated with level of education and population density at the state-level," concluded Chitika.
