What is the actual percentage of people exclusively listening to vinyl vs digital?

Several years ago I knew two audiophiles that both played vinyl, and they also had the same speakers and amplifiers. We'll call them #1 and #2, and #1 sold his entire record collection to go 100% digital. Several months later #1 was over # 2's house listening to vinyl, when he realized he could not get the same quality of sound with his digital system.. Needless to say being a true audiophile #1 bought another turntable, and started collecting high quality records again.

For many years now #1 has purchased the highest quality reissued records from Analogue Productions, The Illusive Disc, Music Direct, and high quality used records when reissued ones are not available. In the last fifteen years #1 has purchased about 200 records every year for an expense of about $100 dollars every week, or about $5K a year.

You spend that kind of money on records so you don't have to listen to clicks and pops. On the other hand if you don't know how to take care of a high quality record collection, or do not want to put the effort in, vinyl is not for you.

Back in the 80's there were thousands of audiophiles searching thrift shops and garage sales for Mercury Living Presence albums, RCA Shaded Dog albums, Decca, London, Lyrita, and other sought after manufactured albums , that were recommended in The Absolute Sound. It was a lesson in futility because when you did find a few of these recommended albums they usually were full of ticks and pops. Many times these records would appear to be perfect, but were noisy because they were played on a turntable that was set up improperly, without the proper tools.

In the early 90's RCA and Mercury started issuing albums of most of the sought after music that was recommended by The Absolute Sound, but this time digitally on CD's. Big corporations were out to kill vinyl in the mid to late 80's by offering to buy back CD albums from record stores if they did not sell. Up unto this point record stores had to eat vinyl if it did not sell, so they had blow out sales on their left over vinyl, and that was the end of new vinyl for about five or ten years.

So in the early 90's most audiophiles gave up on vinyl and started buying highly sought after music digitally on these newly available CD's. After all why wear out your car running all over hell and back looking for records that were not there. Some extremely stubborn audiophiles did just that, and sometimes found a few good records, but they mostly wore out their cars for no reward or very little. Mind you these guys were looking for records that cost anywhere from 25 cents to a few dollars.  

These guys would never pay the cost of these high quality newly reissued extremely quiet vinyl records, but did not think anything about the cars that they ran into the ground looking for a bargain.   OK, so I was one of the fools that searched for used records before these high quality reissued records became available. Now for the last twenty some years I've accumulated a fabulous record collection just by getting on my computer and spending.

Well since I'm in both listening camps (records and CDs), I've accumulated another 8,500 LPs in the past 3 years by buying two estate collections and being gifted another (all from deceased collectors).   I rarely seek records in stores any longer as I have 28,500 LPs/7,000 CDs/7,000 78s.  As to CDs, I occasionally go to thrift stores and often buy on line, mostly jazz and pop with many bargain cost classical music boxed sets.  Life is too short to go after one or two records in stores.  When I shop, I go to a store with good turnover and inventory and luckily live in Los Angeles.   NYC's record stores were mostly gone in 2018 when I last visited.   Most L.A. stores are very reasonably priced unlike NYC which profited from tourist buyers.

100% Digital (CD/SACD) here.

Happy Listening!

@john1

 There are verifiable statistics to guide us. In Jan. 2021 vinyl album sales were 27% of all record sales. It's only gone up since.

That study also says that vinyl accounts for only 3.6% of music consumption.

Which reflects the problem with tracking album sales the last couple of years - a lot of us who were buying dozens of CDs per year are now streaming and don't buy any albums at all. I even bought 400 Bandcamp albums (including a 200+ Buckethead Pikes set) within a four year period up until two years ago. Now we just rent a service instead. So it's not necessarily that vinyl sales are exponentially growing compared to digital, but that streaming rental is taking away its statistical competition.

@fleschler - #1-do you have these 28,000 categorized in a spreadsheet? Is this part of a record store you own?

#2- do you have them in their own special room or climate controlled garage?

#3- how many do you listen to with any regularity?

#4- how many are NM or audiophile quality and how many are $1 or less junkers you never listen to that just take up space and add to your totals?

I have been accumulating vinyl over the past 40 years (of course with the break from the late 80’s until the early 2000s when nothing was produced really) carefully, 97% new, all in NM condition with very few exceptions, and I have 300. There are a small % 10 or less that I almost never listen to and still I may not hear an album for months. I probably listen 15 hours a week on average. The most I’ve ever bought at once is 3-4 with the exception of The Beatles MFSL Collection, which has 14. 
Just curious. I can’t think of anywhere over 1000 that I would even consider, but I have no classical, hiphop or rap, unless you count the Moody Blues Days of Future Passed on MFSL.