Nearly 1 in 5 adult Americans now own a tablet computer, according to Pew

It’s no secret that tablet computers like the iPad 2 and the Kindle Fire were hot sellers for the holidays last month. But now we know just how hot they were.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project says that nearly 1 in 5 adult Americans now own a tablet computer — 19 percent, up from 10 percent in December 2010. And e-readers made an identical jump in ownership, from 10 to 19 percent.

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The numbers are even more impressive when you combine them, Pew says:

The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.

Pew was tracking tablet and e-reader ownership throughout the year, and says the biggest leap came during the holidays.

The demographics for tablet and e-reader ownership also is changing in interesting ways, Pew says:

The surge in ownership of tablet computers was especially notable among those with higher levels of education and those living in households earning more than $75,000. More than a third of those living in households earning more than $75,000 (36%) now own a tablet computer. And almost a third of those with college educations or higher (31%) own the devices. Additionally, those under age 50 saw a particularly significant leap in tablet ownership.

The story with the growth in e-book readers was somewhat different from the story with tablet computers. Ownership of e-readers among women grew more than among men. Those with more education and higher incomes also lead the pack when it comes to e-book ownership, but the gap between them and others isn’t as dramatic. For instance, 19% of those in households earning $30,000-$50,000 have e-book readers. They are 12 percentage points behind those in households earning $75,000 or more in e-book reader ownership. The gap between those income levels on tablet ownership is 20 percentage points.

Another interesting tidbit: Pew’s study was funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is better known for its focus of spending the Gates’ fortune on improving health care in developing countries.