The Model Index
World/North America
AI access, cost and use · Northern America · North America · data read 1 Oct 2026

United States

In the United States, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 0.79% of the median living standard; for 1% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 95% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 3.87 times the world average.

0.79%of the median living standard for a $20 planNorth America median 6.4% · United States 0.79%
1%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 4.8 m people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
95%of people use the internetworld 74% · 342 m people

The figuresUnited States

People342 m
Median living standard$30,451a year per person · income
A $20 plan takes0.79%of that
For whom it is over a tenth1%of people
Survey2024revalued at 2024 prices
GNI per person$88,810plan is 0.27% of it
Claude use per person3.87×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here695255 since 2023

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against North America and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureUnited StatesNorth AmericaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard0.79%6.4%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth1%12%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person0.27%1.3%2.9%
People using the internet95%88%74%
Claude use per working-age person3.87×3.32×1.00×
Notable AI models built6957521,256

What it is used forUnited States against the world

Report ↗
United States
Work 41%
Personal 50%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use20%4.2% of the world's people
Work41%world 42%
Personal50%world 41%
Coursework9%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)50%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Explanation or answer18%
Advice or recommendation15%
Document or report14%
Analysis or summary6%

The most common things people in the United States ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursNorthern America · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
United States342 m95%0.79%1%3.87×3 of 3
Canada42 m94%0.98%1%4.13×3 of 3
Bermuda65k98%no estimate–not reported2 of 3
Greenland57k69%no estimate–not reported2 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsUnited States against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
95%world 74%
People with electricity
100%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
113world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
38.9world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
79%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
3.45%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
4,937world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
196,616world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗