Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, July–December 2009

by Stephen J. Blumberg, Ph.D., and Julian V. Luke, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics

Table 1

Table 1a. Percent distribution of household telephone status, by date of interview, for households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

		Household telephone status
Date of interview		Landline with a wireless telephone	Landline without a wireless telephone	Landline with unknown wireless telephone status	Nonlandline with unknown wireless telephone status	Wireless-only	No telephone service	Total
	Number of households (unweighted)	Percent of households
Jan–Jun 2006	16,009	45.6	30.9	10.3	0.7	10.5	2.0	100.0
Jul–Dec 2006	13,056	44.3	29.6	10.2	0.8	12.8	2.2	100.0
Jan–Jun 2007¹	15,996	58.9	23.8	1.7	0.1	13.6	1.9	100.0
Jul–Dec 2007	13,083	58.8	21.8	1.3	0.1	15.8	2.2	100.0
Jan–Jun 2008	16,070	58.5	20.6	0.9	0.0	17.5	2.5	100.0
Jul–Dec 2008	12,597	59.6	17.4	0.9	0.0	20.2	1.9	100.0
Jan–Jun 2009	12,447	59.4	15.5	0.4	0.0	22.7	1.9	100.0
Jul–Dec 2009	21,375	58.2	14.9	0.4	0.0	24.5	2.0	100.0
95% confidence interval²		57.14–59.33	14.09–15.77	0.27–0.47	0.01–0.06	23.60–25.45	1.77–2.19

See footnotes at end of Table 1c.

Table 1b. Percent distribution of household telephone status, by date of interview, for adults: United States, January 2006–December 2009

		Household telephone status
Date of interview		Landline with a wireless telephone	Landline without a wireless telephone	Landline with unknown wireless telephone status	Nonlandline with unknown wireless telephone status	Wireless-only	No telephone service	Total
	Number of adults (unweighted)	Percent of adults aged 18 years and over
Jan–Jun 2006	29,842	49.5	28.2	10.4	0.6	9.6	1.8	100.0
Jul–Dec 2006	24,473	48.1	27.3	10.5	0.7	11.8	1.7	100.0
Jan–Jun 2007¹	29,982	63.3	20.8	1.7	0.1	12.6	1.6	100.0
Jul–Dec 2007	24,514	63.2	19.1	1.2	0.1	14.5	1.9	100.0
Jan–Jun 2008	30,150	63.0	17.9	0.8	0.0	16.1	2.1	100.0
Jul–Dec 2008	23,726	63.7	15.1	1.0	0.0	18.4	1.7	100.0
Jan–Jun 2009	23,632	63.5	13.4	0.4	0.0	21.1	1.5	100.0
Jul–Dec 2009	40,619	62.5	12.6	0.3	0.0	22.9	1.7	100.0
95% confidence interval²		61.41–63.60	11.84–13.40	0.25–0.45	0.01–0.04	22.00–23.72	1.50–1.89

See footnotes at end of Table 1c.

Table 1c. Percent distribution of household telephone status, by date of interview, for children: United States, January 2006–December 2009

		Household telephone status
Date of interview		Landline with a wireless telephone	Landline without a wireless telephone	Landline with unknown wireless telephone status	Nonlandline with unknown wireless telephone status	Wireless-only	No telephone service	Total
	Number of children (unweighted)	Percent of children under age 18 years
Jan–Jun 2006	11,670	53.4	23.8	11.5	0.9	8.6	1.9	100.0
Jul–Dec 2006	9,165	51.9	21.5	11.9	0.9	11.6	2.3	100.0
Jan–Jun 2007¹	11,532	68.3	16.4	1.6	0.0	11.9	1.7	100.0
Jul–Dec 2007	9,122	68.5	13.8	1.1	0.0	14.4	2.1	100.0
Jan–Jun 2008	11,238	67.3	12.6	0.6	0.0	17.0	2.5	100.0
Jul–Dec 2008	8,635	67.1	11.1	0.7	0.0	18.7	2.4	100.0
Jan–Jun 2009	8,818	67.6	9.1	0.3	0.0	21.3	1.7	100.0
Jul–Dec 2009	14,984	63.4	8.5	0.2	0.0	25.9	1.9	100.0
95% confidence interval²		61.95–64.87	7.58–9.41	0.14–0.45	0.01–0.09	24.57–27.30	1.57–2.39

0.0 means quantity is more than zero but less than 0.05.

¹ Questionnaire changes that occurred in 2007 should be considered when evaluating recent trends in household telephone status. See text for more information about these changes.

² Refers to the time period July through December 2009.

DATA SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, January 2006–December 2009. Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Table 2

Table 2a. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by race/ethnicity and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Race/ethnicity	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Hispanic or Latino, any race(s)	11.2	15.3	18.0	19.3	21.6	25.0	28.2	30.4	28.63–32.32
Non-Hispanic white, single race	9.0	10.8	11.3	12.9	14.6	16.6	19.7	21.0	19.89–22.10
Non-Hispanic black, single race	10.5	12.8	14.3	18.3	18.5	21.4	21.3	25.0	23.14–27.04
Non-Hispanic Asian, single race	10.2	11.8	10.6	12.1	16.5	17.8	18.0	20.6	18.26–23.11
Non-Hispanic other, single race	9.8	17.2	22.8	17.5	12.8	17.3	20.6	26.5	19.87–34.49
Non-Hispanic multiple race	15.4	14.6	17.3	22.8	22.3	22.5	28.7	26.9	22.09–32.35

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2b. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by age and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Age	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
18–24 years	22.6	25.2	27.9	30.6	31.4	33.1	37.6	37.8	35.38–40.36
25–29 years	22.3	29.1	30.6	34.5	35.7	41.5	45.8	48.6	46.48–50.82
30–34 years	12.1	17.6	16.5	22.0	27.0	30.4	33.5	37.2	35.05–39.48
35–44 years	8.2	10.1	10.8	12.5	15.5	17.5	21.5	23.9	22.51–25.32
45–64 years	5.3	6.1	7.1	8.0	9.2	11.6	12.8	14.9	14.07–15.81
65 years and over	1.3	1.9	2.0	2.2	2.8	3.3	5.4	5.2	4.55–6.03

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2c. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by sex and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Sex	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Male	10.7	13.1	13.8	15.9	18.0	20.0	22.5	24.5	23.57–25.43
Female	8.5	10.5	11.5	13.2	14.4	17.0	19.8	21.3	20.43–22.24

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2d. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by education and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Education	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Some high school or less	8.3	12.9	14.6	15.4	16.1	18.8	22.2	24.7	23.09–26.29
High school graduate or GED³	9.6	10.6	11.8	13.4	15.2	17.8	20.8	22.9	21.63–24.15
Some post-high school, no degree	11.9	14.4	14.7	17.0	19.0	20.1	23.6	25.0	23.71–26.37
4-year college degree or higher	8.5	10.1	10.8	12.7	14.3	17.7	18.2	19.5	18.12–20.98

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2e. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by employment status last week and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Employment status last week	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Working at a job or business	11.6	13.9	15.0	16.6	19.0	21.5	24.3	26.0	25.03–27.06
Keeping house	7.1	8.6	9.5	12.8	12.6	16.0	16.6	20.5	18.78–22.26
Going to school	17.3	20.4	21.3	28.9	21.5	23.5	29.7	29.2	25.21–33.52
Something else (incl. unemployed)	4.2	6.2	6.4	7.6	8.9	11.0	14.0	15.9	14.87–16.96

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2f. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by household structure and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Household structure	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Adult living alone	16.2	18.2	20.3	22.9	24.6	28.1	30.8	32.9	31.04–34.79
Unrelated adults, no children	44.2	54.0	55.3	56.9	63.1	60.6	68.5	62.9	54.47–70.62
Related adults, no children	7.1	8.5	9.8	11.0	12.5	14.7	16.8	17.1	16.13–18.20
Adult(s) with children	8.6	10.5	11.3	13.0	15.1	17.2	20.4	24.1	22.92–25.29

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2g. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by household poverty status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Household poverty status⁴	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Poor	15.8	22.4	21.6	27.4	26.0	30.9	33.0	36.3	33.90–38.81
Near poor	14.4	15.7	18.5	20.8	22.6	23.8	26.5	29.0	27.35–30.74
Not poor	9.4	11.3	10.6	11.9	14.2	16.0	18.9	19.6	18.64–20.59

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2h. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by geographic region and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Geographic region⁵	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Northeast	7.2	8.6	8.8	10.0	9.8	11.4	14.6	15.1	13.09–17.27
Midwest	10.2	11.4	14.0	15.3	17.8	20.8	21.9	25.6	23.86–27.51
South	11.4	14.0	14.9	17.1	19.6	21.3	25.0	25.4	24.01–26.93
West	7.8	11.0	10.9	12.9	13.7	17.2	19.0	22.2	20.80–23.76

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2i. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by metropolitan statistical area status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Metropolitan statistical area status	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Metropolitan	10.3	12.7	13.7	15.5	17.5	19.7	22.4	24.2	23.13–25.20
Not metropolitan	7.0	8.0	8.4	10.0	10.9	13.5	16.5	17.9	16.40–19.54

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2j. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households, by home ownership status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
Home ownership status⁶	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
	Percent
Owned or being bought	5.1	5.8	6.7	7.3	9.0	9.9	12.8	14.0	13.18–14.86
Renting	22.5	26.4	28.2	30.9	33.6	39.2	40.9	43.1	41.51–44.67
Other arrangement	10.7	*20.3	22.5	23.2	23.4	17.7	33.6	33.8	27.64–40.52

See footnotes at end of Table 2k.

Table 2k. Number of wireless-only adults aged 18 years and over in survey sample, by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009
Number of wireless-only adults in survey sample (unweighted)	2,804	2,878	3,819	3,558	4,939	4,426	5,078	9,401

*Estimate has a relative standard error greater than 30% and does not meet National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards for reliability or precision.

¹ Questionnaire changes that occurred in 2007 should be considered when evaluating recent trends in household telephone status. See text for more information about these changes.

² Refers to the time period July through December 2009.

³ GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma.

⁴ Based on household income and household size using the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds. “Poor” persons are defined as those below the poverty threshold. “Near poor” persons have incomes of 100% to less than 200% of the poverty threshold. “Not poor” persons have incomes of 200% of the poverty threshold or greater. Early Release estimates stratified by poverty status are based on reported income only and may differ from similar estimates produced later that are based on both reported and imputed income. NCHS imputes income when income is unknown, but the imputed income file is not available until a few months after the annual release of National Health Interview Survey microdata. For households with multiple families, household income and household size were calculated as the sum of the multiple measures of family income and family size.

⁵ In the geographic classification of the U.S. population, states are grouped into the following four regions used by the U.S. Census Bureau. Northeast includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Midwest includes Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. South includes Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. West includes Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and Hawaii.

⁶ For households with multiple families, home ownership status was determined by considering the reported home ownership status for each family. If any family reported owning the home, then the household level variable was classified as “owned or being bought” for all persons living in the household. If one family reported renting the home and another family reported “other arrangement,” then the household level variable was classified as “other arrangement” for all persons living in the household.

DATA SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, January 2006–December 2009. Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Table 3

Table 3a. Percent distribution of race/ethnicity, by date of interview, for adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Race/ethnicity	Percent distribution
Hispanic or Latino, any race(s)	15.2	17.1	18.9	18.0	18.1	18.5	18.4	18.5	16.86–20.23
Non-Hispanic white, single race	65.6	64.0	61.5	61.2	62.2	61.9	63.8	62.5	60.29–64.63
Non-Hispanic black, single race	12.5	12.4	12.9	14.4	13.2	13.3	11.7	12.7	11.36–14.14
Non-Hispanic Asian, single race	4.7	4.4	3.8	3.8	4.6	4.4	3.9	4.1	3.48–4.88
Non-Hispanic other, single race	*0.6	0.9	*1.6	*0.8	0.6	0.6	0.7	1.0	0.68–1.33
Non-Hispanic multiple race	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.8	1.3	1.2	1.5	1.3	1.00–1.61
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3b. Percent distribution of age, by date of interview, for adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Age	Percent distribution
18–24 years	30.5	27.6	28.4	27.2	24.9	23.1	22.9	21.2	19.72–22.74
25–29 years	21.1	22.7	22.3	22.1	20.5	21.0	19.9	19.6	18.46–20.69
30–34 years	11.0	12.9	11.3	13.0	14.3	14.0	13.6	14.0	13.09–15.02
35–44 years	16.8	16.6	16.3	16.3	17.8	17.4	18.4	18.6	17.53–19.79
45–64 years	18.5	17.6	19.1	18.9	19.6	21.6	21.0	22.8	21.65–23.91
65 years and over	2.2	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.9	2.9	4.3	3.8	3.35–4.39
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3c. Percent distribution of sex, by date of interview, for adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Sex	Percent distribution
Male	54.1	53.9	52.9	53.0	53.7	52.4	51.4	51.8	50.91–52.67
Female	45.9	46.1	47.1	47.0	46.3	47.6	48.6	48.2	47.33–49.09
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3d. Percent distribution of education, by date of interview, for adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Education	Percent distribution
Some high school or less	14.8	17.4	17.5	16.2	15.5	15.8	15.5	16.0	14.76–17.23
High school graduate or GED³	28.3	27.0	27.5	27.5	27.8	27.2	27.7	28.9	27.49–30.36
Some post-high school, no degree	34.7	34.2	32.7	32.9	33.9	31.7	33.3	32.9	31.49–34.31
4-year college degree or higher	22.1	21.4	22.3	23.4	22.8	25.3	23.5	22.3	20.95–23.62
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3e. Percent distribution of employment status last week, by date of interview, for adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan–Jun 2006	Jul–Dec 2006	Jan–Jun 2007¹	Jul–Dec 2007¹	Jan–Jun 2008	Jul–Dec 2008	Jan–Jun 2009	Jul–Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Employment status last week	Percent
Working at a job or business	78.6	76.7	77.1	74.3	75.9	74.5	71.1	69.1	67.73–70.36
Keeping house	5.2	4.9	5.2	5.6	5.0	5.3	4.5	5.3	4.82–5.79
Going to school	5.6	4.9	5.1	5.8	4.1	3.7	4.6	4.4	3.68–5.20
Something else (incl. unemployed)	10.3	13.0	12.1	13.1	13.7	15.4	18.7	20.2	19.07–21.43
Unknown, not reported	*0.2	0.6	0.6	*1.3	1.4	*1.1	1.1	1.1	0.78–1.42
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3f. Percent distribution of household structure, by date of interview, for adults living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Household structure	Percent
Adult living alone	25.4	24.2	25.1	24.4	23.2	23.6	22.1	21.9	20.69-23.25
Unrelated adults, no children	6.8	10.1	6.0	7.7	6.4	5.2	5.4	4.1	3.20-5.11
Related adults, no children	33.1	32.4	34.4	34.2	35.1	36.9	36.0	34.0	32.35-35.60
Adult(s) with children	34.6	33.3	34.6	33.7	35.3	34.3	36.4	40.0	38.33-41.78
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3g. Percent distribution of household poverty status, by date of interview, for adults living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Household poverty status⁴	Percent
Poor	12.7	15.7	14.6	16.1	14.1	15.5	15.5	16.4	15.01-17.79
Near poor	19.5	17.1	18.4	18.4	18.1	16.8	17.9	18.5	17.26-19.72
Not poor	47.9	46.2	50.5	49.7	53.4	53.3	56.7	53.0	51.04-54.88
Unknown, not reported	19.9	21.0	16.5	15.8	14.4	14.4	10.0	12.2	11.11-13.44
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3h. Percent distribution of geographic region, by date of interview, for adults living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Geographic region⁵	Percent
Northeast	13.8	13.4	12.7	12.4	10.7	11.3	12.2	12.1	10.41-13.93
Midwest	24.1	22.2	25.1	24.6	25.0	26.0	23.9	26.0	23.90-28.32
South	44.1	44.4	42.6	42.7	45.2	41.1	43.8	39.5	37.16-41.82
West	18.0	20.0	19.7	20.4	19.1	21.6	20.1	22.4	20.55-24.43
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3i. Percent distribution of metropolitan statistical area status, by date of interview, for adults living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Metropolitan statistical area status	Percent
Metropolitan	84.4	86.7	86.1	86.9	85.9	85.1	83.3	83.7	81.68-85.48
Not metropolitan	15.6	13.3	13.9	13.1	14.1	14.9	16.7	16.3	14.52-18.32
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3j. Percent distribution of home ownership status, by date of interview, for adults living in wireless-only households: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval²
Home ownership status⁶	Percent
Owned or being bought	37.4	33.8	37.7	34.8	39.2	37.1	42.1	42.3	40.24-44.47
Renting	60.5	62.6	59.0	61.3	58.1	61.1	55.0	54.3	52.18-56.48
Other arrangement	2.1	3.7	3.3	3.8	2.7	1.8	2.9	3.3	2.59-4.24
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

See footnotes at end of Table 3k.

Table 3k. Number of wireless-only adults aged 18 years and over in survey sample, by calendar half-years: United States, January 2006-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2006	Jul-Dec 2006	Jan-Jun 2007¹	Jul-Dec 2007¹	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009
Number of wireless-only adults in survey sample (unweighted)	2,804	2,878	3,819	3,558	4,939	4,426	5,078	9,401

* Estimate has a relative standard error greater than 30% and does not meet National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards for reliability or precision.

¹ Questionnaire changes that occurred in 2007 should be considered when evaluating recent rends in household telephone status. See text for more information about these changes.

² Refers to the time period July through December 2009.

³ GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma.

DATA SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, January 2006–December 2009. Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Table 4

Table 4a. Prevalence rates (and 95% confidence intervals) for selected measures of health-related behaviors for adults aged 18 years and over, by household telephone status: United States, July-December 2009

	Household telephone status
Health-related behaviors	Landline¹	Wireless-only	No telephone service
	Percent (95% confidence interval)
Five or more alcoholic drinks in 1 day at least once in past year²	18.7 (17.75-19.74)	34.5 (32.49-36.58)	24.2 (19.99-29.09)
Current smoker³	18.3 (17.38-19.24)	27.3 (25.53-29.10)	33.2 (27.29-39.65)
Engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity⁴	32.8 (31.49-34.06)	39.6 (37.65-41.49)	25.0 (20.07-30.75)

See footnotes at end of Table 4e.

Table 4b. Prevalence rates (and 95% confidence intervals) for selected measures of health status for adults aged 18 years and over, by household telephone status: United States, July-December 2009

	Household telephone status
Health status	Landline¹	Wireless-only	No telephone service
	Percent (95% confidence interval)
Health status described as excellent or very good⁵	59.3 (58.16-60.34)	65.0 (63.11-66.89)	49.6 (43.32-55.91)
Experienced serious psychological distress in past 30 days⁶	2.7 (2.41-3.10)	4.6 (3.91-5.38)	6.1 (3.69-9.94)
Obese⁷ (adults aged 20 years and over)	28.9 (27.93-29.84)	26.4 (24.80-28.03)	31.5 (26.06-37.42)
Asthma episode in the past year⁸	3.6 (3.30-4.03)	4.5 (3.80-5.26)	4.1 (2.31-7.15)
Ever diagnosed with diabetes⁹	9.8 (9.27-10.46)	5.5 (4.80-6.25)	4.7 (3.04-7.27)

See footnotes at end of Table 4e.

Table 4c. Prevalence rates (and 95% confidence intervals) for selected measures of health care service use for adults aged 18 years and over, by household telephone status: United States, July-December 2009

	Household telephone status
Health care service use	Landline¹	Wireless-only	No telephone service
	Percent (95% confidence interval)
Received influenza vaccine during past year¹⁰	38.2 (37.08-39.35)	23.2 (21.77-24.59)	20.3 (15.77-25.63)
Ever been tested for HIV¹¹	36.1 (34.86-37.40)	50.6 (48.78-52.49)	44.4 (37.80-51.28)

See footnotes at end of Table 4e.

Table 4d. Prevalence rates (and 95% confidence intervals) for selected measures of health care access for adults aged 18 years and over, by household telephone status: United States, July-December 2009

	Household telephone status
Health care access	Landline¹	Wireless-only	No telephone service
	Percent (95% confidence interval)
Has a usual place to go for medical care¹²	86.5 (85.57-87.35)	72.5 (70.71-74.18)	69.1 (62.96-74.56)
Failed to obtain needed medical care in past year due to financial barriers¹³	7.2 (6.71-7.81)	13.7 (12.45-15.06)	15.8 (12.22-20.29)
Currently uninsured (adults aged 18-64 years)¹⁴	13.8 (12.98-14.72)	29.2 (27.29-31.14)	34.4 (28.70-40.66)

See footnotes at end of Table 4e.

Table 4e. Number of adults aged 18 years and over in survey sample, by household telephone status: United States, July-December 2009

	Household telephone status
	Landline¹	Wireless-only	No telephone service
Number of adults in survey sample (unweighted)	12,505	4,645	389

¹ Includes households that also have wireless telephone service.

² Defined as the 12 months prior to interview. The analyses excluded adults with unknown alcohol consumption (about 2% of respondents each year).

³ Defined as a person who had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in his or her lifetime and now smokes every day or some days. The analyses excluded persons with unknown smoking status (about 2% of respondents each year).

⁴ Defined as engaging in light-moderate leisure-time physical activity for greater than or equal to 30 minutes at a frequency greater than or equal to five times per week or engaging in vigorous leisure-time physical activity for greater than or equal to 20 minutes at a frequency greater than or equal to three times per week. Persons who were known to have not met the frequency recommendations are classified as “not regular,” regardless of duration. The analyses excluded persons with unknown physical activity participation (about 3% of respondents each year).

⁵ Data were obtained by asking respondents to assess their own health and that of family members living in the same household as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. The analyses excluded persons with unknown health status (about 0.2% of respondents each year).

⁶ Six psychological distress questions are included in the National Health Interview Survey. These questions ask how often during the past 30 days a respondent experienced certain symptoms of psychological distress (feeling so sad that nothing could cheer you up, nervous, restless or fidgety, hopeless, worthless, that everything was an effort). The response codes (0–4) of the six items for each person were equally weighted and summed. A value of 13 or more for this scale indicates that at least one symptom was experienced “most of the time” or “all of the time” and is used here to define serious psychological distress.

⁷ Defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or more. The measure is based on self-reported height and weight. The analyses excluded people with unknown height or weight (about 6% of respondents each year). Estimates of obesity are presented for adults aged 20 years and over because the Healthy People 2010 objectives (http://www.healthypeople.govexternal icon) for healthy weight among adults define adults as persons aged 20 and over.

⁸ Information on an episode of asthma or an asthma attack during the past year is self-reported by adults aged 18 years and over. A year is defined as the 12 months prior to interview. The analyses excluded people with unknown asthma episode status (about 0.1% of respondents each year).

⁹ Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is based on self-report of ever having been diagnosed with diabetes by a doctor or other health professional. Persons reporting “borderline” diabetes status and women reporting diabetes only during pregnancy were not coded as having diabetes in the analyses. The analyses excluded persons with unknown diabetes status (about 0.1% of respondents each year).

¹⁰ Receipt of flu shots and receipt of nasal spray flu vaccinations were included in the calculation of flu vaccination estimates. Estimates are subject to recall error, which will vary depending on when the question is asked because the receipt of a flu vaccination is seasonal. The analyses excluded those with unknown flu vaccination status (about 3% of respondents each year).

¹¹ Individuals who received human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing solely as a result of blood donation were considered not to have been tested for HIV. The analyses excluded those with unknown HIV test status (about 5% of respondents each year).

¹² The usual place to go for medical care does not include a hospital emergency room. The analyses excluded persons with an unknown usual place to go for medical care (about 1.5% of respondents each year).

¹³ A year is defined as the 12 months prior to interview. The analyses excluded persons with unknown responses to the question on failure to obtain needed medical care due to cost (about 0.2% of respondents each year).

¹⁴ A person was defined as uninsured if he or she did not have any private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), state-sponsored or other government-sponsored health plan, or military plan at the time of the interview. A person was also defined as uninsured if he or she had only Indian Health Service coverage or had only a private plan that paid for one type of service, such as accidents or dental care. The data on health insurance status were edited using an automated system based on logic checks and keyword searches. The analyses excluded persons with unknown health insurance status (about 1% of respondents each year).

DATA SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, July–December 2009. Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Table 5

Table 5a. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
	Percent²
Total	12.6	14.0	14.4	15.4	16.2	16.3	15.69-17.03

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5b. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by race/ethnicity and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Race/ethnicity	Percent²
Hispanic or Latino, any race(s)	13.2	14.5	16.0	15.9	18.0	16.9	15.50-18.36
Non-Hispanic white, single race	12.3	13.2	14.2	14.9	15.6	16.1	15.24-16.99
Non-Hispanic black, single race	11.9	15.1	13.3	14.7	15.0	16.2	14.65-17.89
Non-Hispanic Asian, single race	16.0	20.3	16.4	20.3	19.6	18.5	16.20-20.98
Non-Hispanic other, single race	14.6	*8.6	*10.1	15.5	22.9	*16.1	8.28-28.82
Non-Hispanic multiple race	14.6	19.7	17.7	24.2	22.5	18.2	13.80-23.67

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5c. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by age and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Age	Percent²
18-24 years	17.3	18.2	19.2	18.8	20.0	19.9	18.23-21.71
25-29 years	17.2	19.7	17.3	18.3	17.7	16.4	14.97-17.99
30-44 years	15.5	17.3	18.2	19.0	20.3	19.5	18.46-20.54
45-64 years	11.5	13.0	13.8	15.4	16.5	17.5	16.56-18.44
65 years and over	3.4	3.9	4.4	4.9	5.3	6.3	5.55-7.09

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5d. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by sex and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Sex	Percent²
Male	13.2	14.3	14.9	15.4	16.2	16.5	15.78-17.28
Female	12.0	13.6	14.0	15.2	16.1	16.2	15.50-16.91

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5e. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by education and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Education	Percent²
Some high school or less	8.0	8.7	10.0	9.8	12.1	11.5	10.40-12.73
High school graduate or GED³	10.6	12.7	12.5	13.2	13.7	14.2	13.23-15.25
Some post-high school, no degree	15.7	16.6	17.0	18.6	17.7	18.1	16.99-19.19
4-year college degree or higher	14.9	16.2	17.1	18.0	19.7	19.7	18.67-20.78

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5f. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by employment status last week and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Employment status last week	Percent²
Working at a job or business	15.5	16.8	17.3	18.4	19.5	19.7	18.92-20.59
Keeping house	9.3	10.4	11.9	11.9	12.7	15.1	13.50-16.90
Going to school	17.2	20.4	25.2	21.5	21.1	21.7	18.72-24.95
Something else (incl. unemployed)	5.3	6.7	6.6	7.8	9.0	9.0	8.29-9.74

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5g. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by household structure and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Household structure	Percent²
Adult living alone	10.8	10.7	10.1	12.2	10.0	10.6	9.67-11.65
Unrelated adults, no children	13.9	20.1	*15.4	21.3	13.9	15.5	10.02-23.10
Related adults, no children	11.6	12.1	12.8	13.2	14.7	15.0	14.00-16.11
Adult(s) with children	14.4	17.2	18.1	19.2	20.5	20.2	19.05-21.47

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5h. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by household poverty status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Household poverty status⁴	Percent²
Poor	8.4	8.6	10.8	9.5	11.0	10.0	8.51-11.76
Near poor	9.7	11.4	10.3	11.3	12.0	12.7	11.36-14.11
Not poor	14.8	15.9	17.1	18.2	18.8	19.2	18.31-20.14

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5i. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by geographic region and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Geographic region⁵	Percent²
Northeast	11.3	11.7	13.8	12.0	15.3	14.9	13.41-16.56
Midwest	10.6	13.3	12.6	13.2	14.6	14.7	13.35-16.20
South	13.8	14.3	14.6	16.2	16.7	17.3	16.15-18.48
West	13.7	15.9	16.4	18.7	17.7	17.7	16.40-19.05

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5j. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by metropolitan statistical area status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Metropolitan statistical area status	Percent²
Metropolitan	13.2	14.7	15.0	15.8	16.9	16.8	16.14-17.57
Not metropolitan	10.2	10.9	12.1	13.4	13.5	14.5	12.97-16.11

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5k. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over living in wireless-mostly households, by home ownership status and by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007–December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009	95% confidence interval¹
Home ownership status⁶	Percent²
Owned or being bought	12.1	14.0	14.7	15.9	17.2	17.5	16.63-18.46
Renting	13.9	13.8	13.9	13.0	13.9	13.6	12.63-14.70
Other arrangement	12.2	14.1	14.8	24.6	13.8	15.8	11.47-21.40

See footnotes at end of Table 5l.

Table 5l. Number of adults aged 18 years and over in survey sample who live in landline households with wireless telephones, by calendar half-years: United States, January 2007-December 2009

	Calendar half-year
	Jan-Jun 2007	Jul-Dec 2007	Jan-Jun 2008	Jul-Dec 2008	Jan-Jun 2009	Jul-Dec 2009
Number of adults in survey sample who live in landline households with wireless telephones (unweighted)	18,631	15,356	18,664	14,816	14,886	24,904

* Estimate has a relative standard error greater than 30% and does not meet National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards for reliability.

¹ Refers to the estimate of the percentage of adults living in wireless-mostly households for the time period July through December 2009.

² The sum of the percentage of adults in households that receive all or nearly all calls on wireless phones (shown here) and the percentage of adults in households that receive some or very few calls on wireless phones (data not shown) is equal to the percentage of adults living in landline households with wireless telephones (see Table 1).

³ GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma.

⁵ In the geographic classification of the U.S. population, states are grouped into the following four regions used by the U.S. Census Bureau. Northeast includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Midwest includes Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. South includes Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. West includes Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and Hawaii.

DATA SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, January 2007–December 2009. Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Page last reviewed: November 6, 2015

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