Study: More Than One In Eight Houselholds Have Only Cell Phones

A new federal study by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NHIS) indicates that more than one out of every eight American homes (13.6%) had only wireless telephones during the first half of 2007.

The report, published twice a year, suggests a young, Hispanic adult male as the typical person likely to own a cell phone instead of the traditional landline.

About 14 percent of U.S. households use mobile phones rather than landlines, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Hispanics are most likely to own just a cell phone, the study finding 18 percent of Hispanics prefer cell phone only service, compared to 15 percent in 2006.

The study found 14 percent of adult blacks and 11 percent of adult whites opted for cell phones instead of traditional landlines.

While 59 percent of U.S. households own both a cell phone and landline, about 25 percent of poor people own only a cell phone connection, according to the government.

Males have a slight advantage over women when it comes to preferring cell phones over landlines.

About three in 10 U.S. citizens aged between 18 and 29 use only a cell phone, double that of people aged 30 or more.

In addition, major findings fo the report are:

• More than one-half of all adults living with unrelated roommates (55.3%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. This is the highest prevalence rate among the population subgroups examined.
   
• Adults renting their home (28.2%) were more likely than adults owning their home (6.7%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
   
• More than one in four adults aged 18-24 years (27.9%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. Nearly 31% of adults aged 25-29 years lived in households with only wireless telephones.
   
• As age increased, the percentage of adults living in households with only wireless telephones decreased: 12.6% for adults aged 30-44 years; 7.1% for adults aged 45-64 years; and 2.0% for adults aged 65 years or over.
   
• Men (13.8%) were more likely than women (11.5%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
    
• Adults living in poverty (21.6%) were more likely than higher income adults to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
   
• Adults living in the South (14.9%) and Midwest (14.0%) were more likely than adults living in the Northeast (8.8%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
   
• Non-Hispanic white adults (11.3%) and non-Hispanic black adults (14.3%) were less likely than Hispanic adults (18.0%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.

The report can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless200712.pdf