Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
KTLA
Landlines may be a thing of the past for some, but millions of Californians still use them, study says
By Will Conybeare,
12 days ago
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.
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
Source: Chamber of Commerce
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.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0