Landline Phone Spending by Generation, 2017

The iPhone changed everything. After its release in 2007, average household spending on cell phone service surged ahead of residential (landline) phone service for the first time. From 48 percent of total telephone service spending in 2006, the cell phone service share jumped to 55 percent in 2007. Ten years later, cell phone service accounted for 82 percent of telephone service spending, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Are most Americans cutting the cord on landlines?

Yes, they are. During the average quarter of 2017, only 37 percent of households reported spending on landline phone service. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent of households spending on landline phone service, 2017
Millennials: 12%
Gen Xers: 31%
Boomers: 48%
Silent: 69%
WWII: 74%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2017 Consumer Expenditure Survey