California ranks highest in health research among low-income residents.

Low-income Californians are just as likely as their wealthier counterparts to use the Internet for health information, according to a Pew Internet and American Life Project completed for the California HealthCare Foundation.

The most popular health search topics for all Californians are health insurance, alternative medicine and experimental treatments. Researchers also found that while low income Californians use the Internet more than their counterparts in other states, there is still a significant gap between demographic groups. About three quarters of California households with incomes of more than $30,000 have Internet access; just 45 percent of lower-income households do.

The study also shows that the majority of the state's English-speaking Latino population has Internet access and uses it nearly as much to research health information as do other Californians.