Landlines may be a thing of the past for some, but millions of Californians still use them, study says
Landline use has declined sharply across America since the advent of cell phones, but a newly released study shows that old-fashioned landlines are still widely used in the U.S.
According to data from Chamber of Commerce, more than 70% of American adults – about 183 million – now rely solely on mobile phones to make calls, and while that seems like a lot, what may come as more of a surprise is that 68.9 million Americans — more than 25% — still regularly use their landlines.
Upwards of 3.3 million people are “phoneless” in America, the study also found.
As for the Golden State, just over 35% of residents still use landlines, which equates to approximately 10.6 million Californians.
Those without landlines make up 64.2% of California phone owners, or around 19.4 million people.
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On a national level, the Chamber of Commerce found that New York is the “landline capital” of America; over half of New York residents still have a landline phone (8.1 million) compared to 47% of New Yorkers who only have cell phones.
The study also found that the Northeast is where the most landlines remain; all 10 states with the highest percentage of landline users were on the eastern seaboard.
Meanwhile, several states in the Midwest and southern U.S. have all but gotten rid of their old-school landlines; less than a quarter of residents in states such as Oklahoma, Mississippi and Wyoming have one.
A table outlining data for all 50 states’ landline and wireless phone usage can be viewed below:
State | % without landline (wireless only) | Total # of people without landline | % with landline | Total # of people with landline | % phoneless | Total # of phoneless people |
Alabama | 68.3% | 2,581,654 | 30.6% | 1,156,641 | 1.1% | 41,579 |
Alaska | 67.9% | 375,266 | 31.1% | 171,182 | 1.0% | 5,527 |
Arizona | 71.9% | 3,893,353 | 27.1% | 1,467,453 | 1.0% | 54,150 |
Arkansas | 69.9% | 1,604,276 | 29.1% | 667,875 | 1.0% | 22,951 |
California | 64.2% | 19,427,787 | 35.1% | 10,621,734 | 0.7% | 211,829 |
Colorado | 71.6% | 3,114,130 | 27.8% | 1,209,118 | 0.6% | 26,096 |
Connecticut | 51.7% | 1,463,752 | 47.7% | 1,350,502 | 0.6% | 16,987 |
Delaware | 53.5% | 403,157 | 46.1% | 347,393 | 0.4% | 3,014 |
Florida | 65.6% | 10,967,778 | 33.4% | 203,045 | 1.0% | 167,192 |
Georgia | 66.0% | 5,213,081 | 33.2% | 2,622,338 | 0.8% | 63,189 |
Hawaii | 54.2% | 605,661 | 45.1% | 503,973 | 0.7% | 7,822 |
Idaho | 78.6% | 1,003,410 | 20.7% | 264,257 | 0.7% | 8,936 |
Illinois | 66.2% | 6,539,968 | 33.0% | 3,260,105 | 0.8% | 79,033 |
Indiana | 69.1% | 3,519,409 | 29.9% | 1,522,870 | 1.0% | 50,932 |
Iowa | 70.2% | 1,692,361 | 29.0% | 699,124 | 0.8% | 19,286 |
Kansas | 69.8% | 1,535,308 | 29.4% | 646,677 | 0.8% | 17,597 |
Kentucky | 67.9% | 2,335,588 | 31.0% | 1,066,321 | 1.1% | 37,837 |
Louisiana | 69.3% | 2,467,781 | 29.7% | 1,057,621 | 1.0% | 35,610 |
Maine | 55.2% | 597,813 | 43.6% | 472,185 | 1.2% | 12,996 |
Maryland | 48.5% | 2,268,426 | 50.8% | 2,376,000 | 0.7% | 32,740 |
Massachusetts | 47.2% | 2,586,226 | 52.1% | 2,854,712 | 0.7% | 38,355 |
Michigan | 63.7% | 4,960,566 | 35.7% | 1,523,508 | 0.6% | 46,724 |
Minnesota | 63.8% | 2,722,684 | 35.7% | 1,523,508 | 0.5% | 21,338 |
Mississippi | 75.5% | 1,714,548 | 23.3% | 529,126 | 1.2% | 27,251 |
Missouri | 69.8% | 3,296,862 | 29.3% | 1,383,926 | 0.9% | 42,510 |
Montana | 64.6% | 531,182 | 34.3% | 282,036 | 1.1% | 9,045 |
Nebraska | 67.8% | 976,635 | 31.6% | 455,187 | 0.6% | 8,643 |
Nevada | 73.4% | 1,681,844 | 25.6% | 586.583 | 1.0% | 22,913 |
New Hampshire | 49.9% | 542,992 | 49.5% | 538,639 | 0.6% | 6,529 |
New Jersey | 48.8% | 3,375,487 | 50.5% | 3,493,076 | 0.7% | 48,419 |
New Mexico | 76.5% | 1,227,043 | 22.3% | 357,687 | 1.2% | 19,248 |
New York | 46.7% | 7,221,604 | 52.4% | 8,103,042 | 0.9% | 139,174 |
North Carolina | 64.7% | 5,155,466 | 34.5% | 2,749,050 | 0.8% | 63,746 |
North Dakota | 58.2% | 338,126 | 41.3% | 239,942 | 0.5% | 2,905 |
Ohio | 65.6% | 5,937,054 | 33.6% | 3,040,930 | 0.8% | 72,403 |
Oklahoma | 77.5% | 2,306,327 | 21.8% | 648,748 | 0.7% | 20,831 |
Oregon | 66.6% | 2,172,399 | 32.8% | 1,069,890 | 0.6% | 19,571 |
Pennsylvania | 51.4% | 5,206,377 | 47.7% | 4,831,599 | 0.9% | 91,162 |
Rhode Island | 53.9% | 458,089 | 45.5% | 386,699 | 0.6% | 5,099 |
South Carolina | 61.9% | 2,425,430 | 37.2% | 1,457,609 | 0.9% | 35,265 |
South Dakota | 71.7% | 470,732 | 27.0% | 177,623 | 1.3% | 8,535 |
Tennessee | 68.0% | 3,539,016 | 30.9% | 1,608,171 | 1.1% | 57,249 |
Texas | 71.5% | 14,959,524 | 27.7% | 5,795,508 | 0.8% | 167,379 |
Utah | 72.8% | 1,582,197 | 26.6% | 578,088 | 0.6% | 13,040 |
Vermont | 51.0% | 258,906 | 47.9% | 243,169 | 1.1% | 5,584 |
Virginia | 56.4% | 3,716,365 | 43.0% | 2,833,169 | 0.6% | 39,533 |
Washington | 65.0% | 3,744,365 | 34.3% | 1,975,872 | 0.7% | 40,324 |
West Virginia | 63.4% | 917,948 | 35.3% | 511,097 | 1.3% | 18,822 |
Wisconsin | 62.2% | 2,805,104 | 37.0% | 1,668,631 | 0.8% | 36,079 |
Wyoming | 77.2% | 343,272 | 22.2% | 98,713 | 0.6% | 2,668 |
Washington, D.C. | 63.7% | 362,296 | 35.7% | 203,045 | 0.6% | 3,413 |
The number of landlines in American homes has been steadily decreasing since 2008, when nearly 63% of U.S. families had one in their residence, the study found.
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Wireless phone ownership in America has increased by 67% since 2003, the Chamber of Commerce data indicates.
To read the full study, click here.
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