'Cell Phone-Only' Households for Over Half of U.S. Adults

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February 08, 2017

'Cell Phone-Only' Households for Over Half of U.S. Adults

According to the GfK MRI Fall 2016 Survey of the American Consumer¨ data release, based on interviews with approximately 24,000 US adults ages 18 and above, 52% of U.S. adults live in households with cell phones but no landline telephones, a doubling of the percentage since 2010, when it was 26%.
And, the proportion of senior citizens (ages 65+) in cell phone-only households quadrupled over the past six years, to 23%, while the figure for Millennials (born from 1977 to 1994) climbed to 71% from 47%, says the report.

After Millennials, Generation X (born 1965 to 1976) is the age group most likely to live in cell-only households, at 55%. By comparison, the figure for Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) is only four in 10, notes the report.

Among ethnic and racial groups, says the report, adults of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent have the highest incidence of living free of landline telephones, with 67% reporting cell-only status. Other groups have roughly 50% incidence:

Asian Americans at 54%;

Whites, 51%;

African Americans, 50%.

Looking across regions of the US, says the report, the Northeast has the smallest concentration of cell phone-only households, at 39%. In other regions, levels of no-landline homes range from 53% (Midwest) to 57% (South).

Risa Becker, SVP of Research Operations at GfK MRI, says ÒThe NortheastÕs lower incidence of cell-only householdsÉ likely related to its high levels of bundled television, Internet, landline, and cellphone servicesÉ in other regionsÉ a stronger trend toward cutting the telephone cord.Ó

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