Wireless Nation 2017
Preliminary results from the July– December 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicate that the number of American homes with only wireless telephones continues to grow. More than one-half of American homes (53.9%) had only wireless telephones (also known as cellular telephones, cell phones, or mobile phones) during the second half of 2017— an increase of 3.1 percentage points since the second half of 2016. More than 70% of adults aged 25-34 and adults renting their homes were living in wireless-only households. This report presents the most up-to-date estimates available from the federal government concerning the size and characteristics of this population.
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Three in four adults aged 25–29
(75.6%) and aged 30-34 (73.3%) lived
in households with only wirelesstelephones. These rates are greater
than the rate for those 18–24
(67.1%). The percentage of adults
living with only wireless telephones
decreased as age increased beyond 35
years: 64.5% for those 35–44; 48.1%
for those 45–64; and 26.4% for those
65 and over.
Nearly four in five adults living only
with unrelated adult roommates
(77.5%) were in households with onlywireless telephones. This rate is
higher than the rates for adults living
alone (59.7%), adults living only with
spouses or other adult family
members (45.2%), and adults living
with children (60.5%).
More than seven in ten adults living
in rented homes (72.0%) had only
wireless telephones. This rate is
significantly higher than the rate for
adults living in homes owned by a
household member (44.6%).
Adults living in poverty (68.1%) and
near poverty (58.1%) were more likely
than higher income adults (53.1%) to
be living in households with only
wireless telephones. (Footnote 3 in
Table 2 gives definitions of these
categories.)
Hispanic adults (65.6%) were more
likely than non-Hispanic white
(50.2%), non-Hispanic black (52.3%),
or non-Hispanic Asian (53.4%) adults
to be living in households with only
wireless telephones.
Adults living in the Midwest (55.6%),
South (56.7%), and West (56.9%)
were more likely than those living in
the Northeast (39.3%) to be living in
households with only wireless
telephones.