62% of Adults Are Cellphone Only

When Steve Jobs unveiled the first Apple iPhone on January 29, 2007, only 13 percent of adults lived in a "wireless-only" household—meaning a household with only cellphones and no landline phone. Today, wireless-only households are by far the norm. In January-June 2020, the 62 percent majority of adults aged 18 or older lived in a household with cellphones and no landline phone, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Here are the percentages of adults who lived in a wireless-only household in January-June 2020 (versus 2007)...

Percent of adults in a cellphone-only household, January-June 2020 (and January-June 2007)

	2020	2007
Total, 18-plus	61.8%	12.6%
Aged 18 to 24	72.6	27.9
Aged 25 to 29	80.4	30.6
Aged 30 to 34	83.0	12.6*
Aged 35 to 44	74.5	12.6*
Aged 45 to 64	58.5	7.1
Aged 65-plus	35.0	2.0

* Age group in 2007 was 30-44. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-June 2020 (PDF)

Only 19% Answer Cellphone Calls from Unknown Numbers

Only 19 percent of Americans answer their cellphone to see who it is when called by an unknown number, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The 67 percent majority will not answer the phone but will check voicemail if left. A hardened 14 percent not only won't answer the phone, they won't even check any voicemail left by an unknown number. 

Percent who will not answer their cellphone if called by an unknown number

Aged 18 to 29: 74%

Aged 30 to 49: 81%

Aged 50 to 64: 84%

Aged 65-plus: 79%

Source: Pew Research Center, Most Americans Don't Answer Cellphone Calls from Unknown Numbers