Apparently, this is not a very easy question to answer. It is relatively hard to find publicly available data about the demographics of Internet users. Fortunately, I found some data from ComScore, dating back to June 2008. I also had data about Mechanical Turk from two separate surveys that I ran on October 2008 and on December 2008 (both asking 1000 Turkers). The results across the two MTurk surveys were rather consistent, indicating that the results are rather trustworthy.
So, how Turkers compare to the general US Internet population? The short answers:
- Turkers are younger. 54% of Turkers are between 21-35 years old, compared to 22% of the general population.
- Turkers are mainly female. 70% of the Turkers are female, compared to 50% of the general population.
- Turkers have lower income. 65% of Turkers have household income less than 60K, compared to 45% of the general population.
- Turkers have smaller families. 55% of Turkers do not have children, compared to the 40% of the general population.
- Geographical distribution of Turkers and Internet users is similar.
- Race composition of Turkers and Internet users is similar, although there are slightly more Asians on Mechanical Turk.
For those of you that would like to have a more detailed look at the statistics, here is the corresponding table:
| June 2008 | October 2008 | December 2008 | |
| Internet | Turks | Turks | |
| Total Audience | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Persons - Age | |||
| Persons: 15+ | 85.9 | 100 | 100 |
| Persons: 18+ | 80.1 | 99.6 | 99.5 |
| Persons: 21+ | 74.3 | 92.9 | 91.1 |
| Persons: 35+ | 52.4 | 39.3 | 37.1 |
| Persons: 50+ | 24.3 | 11.2 | 10.7 |
| Persons: 55+ | 16.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 |
| Persons: 2-11 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Persons: 2-17 | 19.9 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Persons: 6-11 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Persons: 6-14 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Persons: 9-14 | 8.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Persons: 12-17 | 10.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Persons: 12-24 | 22.9 | 19 | 21.5 |
| Persons: 12-34 | 38 | 57.8 | 60 |
| Persons: 12-49 | 66.2 | 87.4 | 88.2 |
| Persons: 18-24 | 12.5 | 18.7 | 21.1 |
| Persons: 18-34 | 27.6 | 57.5 | 59.7 |
| Persons: 18-49 | 55.8 | 87.2 | 87.8 |
| Persons: 21-34 | 21.9 | 53.3 | 53.9 |
| Persons: 21-49 | 50 | 82.9 | 82 |
| Persons: 25-34 | 15.1 | 38.8 | 38.6 |
| Persons: 25-49 | 43.2 | 68.4 | 66.7 |
| Persons: 25-54 | 51.3 | 75.2 | 72.3 |
| Persons: 35-44 | 18.7 | 22.4 | 21.5 |
| Persons: 35-49 | 28.2 | 29.7 | 28.1 |
| Persons: 35-54 | 36.2 | 36.4 | 33.7 |
| Persons: 35-64 | 46.8 | 41.4 | 38.8 |
| Persons: 45-54 | 17.6 | 14 | 12.2 |
| Persons: 45-64 | 28.1 | 19 | 17.4 |
| Persons: 55-64 | 10.5 | 5 | 5.2 |
| Persons: 65+ | 5.7 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Males - Age | |||
| All Males | 49.5 | 28 | 36.6 |
| Male: 15+ | 42.1 | 28 | 36.6 |
| Male: 18+ | 39.1 | 27.8 | 36.3 |
| Male: 21+ | 36.1 | 24.7 | 32.4 |
| Male: 35+ | 25.7 | 9.5 | 11.3 |
| Male: 50+ | 12 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Male: 55+ | 8.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Male: 2-11 | 4.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Male: 2-17 | 10.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Male: 6-11 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Male: 6-14 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Male: 9-14 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Male: 12-17 | 5.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Male: 12-24 | 11.6 | 7.5 | 9.1 |
| Male: 12-34 | 18.9 | 17.3 | 24.2 |
| Male: 12-49 | 32.5 | 25 | 33.9 |
| Male: 18-24 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 8.9 |
| Male: 18-34 | 13.4 | 17.2 | 23.9 |
| Male: 18-49 | 27.1 | 24.9 | 33.7 |
| Male: 21-34 | 10.4 | 15.2 | 21.1 |
| Male: 21-49 | 24.1 | 22.9 | 30.8 |
| Males: 25-34 | 7.3 | 9.8 | 15 |
| Male: 25-49 | 20.9 | 17.6 | 24.8 |
| Male: 25-54 | 24.8 | 19 | 26.3 |
| Males: 35-44 | 9.1 | 6 | 8 |
| Male: 35-49 | 13.7 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
| Male: 35-54 | 17.5 | 9.1 | 11.2 |
| Male: 35-64 | 22.6 | 10.6 | 12.3 |
| Male: 45-54 | 8.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Male: 45-64 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Males: 55-64 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Males: 65+ | 3 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Females - Age | |||
| All Females | 50.5 | 72 | 63.4 |
| Female: 15+ | 43.8 | 72 | 63.4 |
| Female: 18+ | 41 | 71.9 | 63.3 |
| Female: 21+ | 38.2 | 68.2 | 58.7 |
| Female: 35+ | 26.8 | 29.8 | 25.8 |
| Female: 50+ | 12.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 |
| Female: 55+ | 8.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| Female: 2-11 | 4.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Female: 2-17 | 9.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Female: 6-11 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Female: 6-14 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Female: 9-14 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Female: 12-17 | 4.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Female: 12-24 | 11.3 | 11.5 | 12.3 |
| Female: 12-34 | 19.1 | 40.5 | 35.9 |
| Female: 12-49 | 33.6 | 62.4 | 54.3 |
| Female: 18-24 | 6.4 | 11.5 | 12.2 |
| Female: 18-34 | 14.2 | 40.5 | 35.8 |
| Female: 18-49 | 28.7 | 62.4 | 54.1 |
| Female: 21-34 | 11.5 | 38.1 | 32.8 |
| Female: 21-49 | 25.9 | 60 | 51.2 |
| Females: 25-34 | 7.8 | 28.9 | 23.6 |
| Female: 25-49 | 22.3 | 50.9 | 41.9 |
| Female: 25-54 | 26.5 | 56.2 | 46 |
| Females: 35-44 | 9.5 | 16.4 | 13.4 |
| Female: 35-49 | 14.5 | 21.9 | 18.4 |
| Female: 35-54 | 18.7 | 27.3 | 22.4 |
| Female: 35-64 | 24.1 | 30.8 | 26.5 |
| Female: 45-54 | 9.2 | 10.9 | 9 |
| Female: 45-64 | 14.6 | 14.5 | 13.1 |
| Females: 55-64 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Females: 65+ | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1 |
| HH Income (US) | |||
| HHI USD: Less than 15,000 | 6 | 11.4 | 12.9 |
| HHI US: Under $25K | 9.3 | 22.8 | 23.1 |
| HHI US: Under $60K | 44.5 | 64.8 | 60.5 |
| HHI US: $60K+ | 55.5 | 34.8 | 39.1 |
| HHI US: $75K+ | 43 | 22.7 | 27.5 |
| HHI USD: 15,000 - 24,999 | 3.4 | 11.4 | 10.1 |
| HHI USD: 25,000 - 39,999 | 9.9 | 21.8 | 18.9 |
| HHI USD: 40,000 - 59,999 | 25.3 | 20.2 | 18.6 |
| HHI USD: 60,000 - 74,999 | 12.6 | 12.1 | 11.6 |
| HHI USD: 75,000 - 99,999 | 17.7 | 10.2 | 11.5 |
| HHI USD: 100,000 or more | 25.3 | 12.5 | 16 |
| Region (US) | |||
| Region US:West North Central | 7.6 | 5.8 | 7.5 |
| Region US:Mountain | 6.9 | 6.4 | 7.4 |
| Region US:Pacific | 15.4 | 13.3 | 15.7 |
| Region US:New England | 5.5 | 6.4 | 4.7 |
| Region US:Mid Atlantic | 14.2 | 13.9 | 15.8 |
| Region US:South Atlantic | 18.7 | 19.2 | 19.9 |
| Region US:East South Central | 5.1 | 8.3 | 5.2 |
| Region US:West South Central | 10.5 | 10.7 | 9 |
| Region US:East North Central | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.8 |
| Children | |||
| Children:No | 39.3 | 52.7 | 57.6 |
| Children:Yes | 60.7 | 47.3 | 42.3 |
| HH Size | |||
| HH Size: 1 | 4.4 | 17.7 | 17.3 |
| HH Size: 2 | 24.2 | 28.9 | 30.6 |
| HH Size: 3 | 21.4 | 19.7 | 19.2 |
| HH Size: 4 | 25.3 | 20.5 | 21.9 |
| HH Size: 5+ | 24.8 | 12.9 | 10.7 |
| HH Size: 1-2 | 28.5 | 46.6 | 47.8 |
| HH Size: 3+ | 71.5 | 33.5 | 32.7 |
| Race | |||
| Race:White | 87.3 | 82.7 | 82 |
| Race:Black | 8 | 6.5 | 5.3 |
| Race:Asian | 1.6 | 5.7 | 6.8 |
| Race:Other | 3.1 | 4.9 | 5.8 |
