Facebook Crosses 60 Million Monthly US Users, But Fewer People Over 55 Comin...
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Two months ago, we reported that the number of US Facebook users over 35 had almost doubled over the previous 60 days from 9.8 million at the beginning of February to 17.1 million at the end of March. In the 60 days since, the growth in US Facebook users over 35 has continued, but at a cooler rate. Today, 18.0 million Americans over 35 are returning to the site monthly, but only 2.2 million of those are over 55 - compared with 2.8 million two months ago.
Facebook US Audience Growth: Comparing the Last Two 60 Day Periods
Looking at Facebook's US audience growth over the last 60 days, we see that Facebook's growth rate has slowed somewhat from its torrid pace earlier this year. In February and March, Facebook grew by 10.8 million active users in the US, or over 11% per month, to 56.1 million. However, in April and May, Facebook grew by 4.35 million active users in the US, or about 4% per month, to 60.4 million.
As you can see below, the number of active users in each age bracket decreased in the latest 60 day period over the previous one, except for users 18-25. Facebook actually experienced a surge in the 18-25 age bracket in the US, growing by nearly 2 million active users.
Fewer Users Over 55 Coming Back
However, the number of active users over 55 actually decreased by over 650,000 during this period. In other words, users over 55 who joined the site earlier this year haven't been coming back as much in April and May, even though the number of active users in every other age bracket has gone up. Maybe older users are still getting acclimated to how to use Facebook's real-time stream to share information with friends and family.
US Facebook Users by Age Group and Gender as of Today
Facebook now reaches 60.4 million Americans every month. Users 18-25 still represent 33% of that number, but the majority of Americans on Facebook are over 25. In fact, nearly a third are now over 35.
Women still represent the majority of users on Facebook - 56% to 44% over men. There are more women than men on Facebook in every age bracket.
As always, developers and marketers should pay close attention to the market segments where Facebook is growing fastest, as that is where competition (and cost of user acquisition) are lowest.
Methodology
Finally, a note about methodology. All of these numbers are estimates provided by Facebook through its advertiser tools. We have been monitoring Facebook's data closely over the last year, and were quite surprised by the drop in usage by people over 55. When asked for comment, a Facebook spokesperson responded, "Bear in mind that these tools gives out estimates, not real-time figures."
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