Nearly Half of US Households are Now Wireless Only Households, But 60 Percent May be More Accurate Number

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control paints the picture of a growing mobile first society in the US, with nearly half (45.4 percent) of US households wireless only. The data comes from the CDC’s July -- December 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The NHIS captures this data twice per year and provides some of the best data available regarding wireless substitution in the US. Wireless only households is not an issue for just the very young anymore.

According to the CDC data, more than two-thirds of adults aged 25–29 (69.2 percent) and aged 30-34 (67.4 percent) lived in wireless only households. That exceeds those in the 18 – 24 demographic, where 57.8 percent were wireless only. For those beyond age 35 – 53.7 percent for those 35–44 were wireless only; 36.8 percent for those 45–64; and 17.1 percent for those 65 and over. Renters (66.2 percent) and adults living with unrelated roommates (81.3 percent) far exceeded the national average of 45.4 percent. Household income is a factor as well. Nearly sixty percent (59.4 percent) of adults living under the poverty line were wireless only, compared to 42.5 percent of higher income adults.