Grew up in North Carolina, and I've never seen an electric kettle in anyone's home, ever. The only place I've seen one (besides Target, Wal-mart, etc.) is in the break-room of the building where our local hackerspace is. And sadly, it broke recently, so now we need a new one!

Having been exposed to them now, and even more so after reading this article, I do plan to buy myself an electric kettle though.

FWIW, everyone I know has always heated water in a saucepan or kettle on the stovetop.