Pew Research Center recently released its 2026 report on Americans’ Use of Mobile Devices. Pew has been conducting annual surveys that ask about cellphone ownership and use since 2004. The statistics in the report are based on a survey of 5,511 U.S. adults and have an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.

In a statistic that surprises nobody, 98% of adults have a cellphone and 91% of Americans use smartphones. But it hasn’t always been this high. The survey from ten years ago. at the beginning of 2016, showed that 92% of Americans had a cellphone, but only 70% had a smartphone.

The survey shows that cellphone ownership is related to age. 100% of those between 18 and 29 had a cellphone, compared to 96% for those over 65. The statistics are more drastic for people who have a cellphone that is not a smartphone, with only 1% of those between 18 and 29 in this category, while 14% of cellphone users over age 65 don’t have a smartphone.

The survey also asks about the relationship between cellphones and broadband usage. 16% of Americans don’t have home broadband and only get broadband from their cellphone. That percentage has held fairly steady since 2019. The survey shows that demographic factors seem to make a big difference in those who rely on cellphones for broadband:

• The most obvious factor is household income. 12% of people living in homes with annual household incomes between $70,000 and $100,000 rely on cellphones for broadband, while 29% of those living in homes with annual incomes under $30,000 rely on smartphones. It’s not a stretch to say that folks living in homes that can’t afford a broadband connection have no choice but to rely on a cellphone.
• Along the same lines, only 11% of residents in suburbs rely only on a cellphone, while 20% of residents in urban and rural areas do. The differences are likely due to household incomes, but the rural statistic probably also speaks to the poor cellular coverage in many rural areas.
• The level of education also tells a similar story, with 9% of those with a college degree relying only on a cellphone, while 23% of those with a high school or less education do.
• Race seems to make a significant difference, with 13% of whites relying only on a cellphone for broadband while 23% of Hispanics do.
• Age correlation is interesting. 24% of those between 18 and 29 rely only on a cellphone, while other age groups are between 12% and 16%. There could be a lot of factors behind those statistics. Lower incomes for young households could be an issue. But overall mobility and the willingness to take advantage of sources of WiFi might also make a big difference.
• As you might expect, there is not much difference by gender.

One of the most interesting parts of the report is showing all of the statistics over time. I wonder how many people remember that in 2004 only 65% of adults had a cellphone – and none of them were smartphones.