Summary
US cellphone and smartphone ownership from a 2025 national survey, broken down by age and other characteristics.
Key findings
- 91% of US adults own a smartphone.
- By age, smartphone ownership is 97% at 18-29, 96% at 30-49, 90% at 50-64 and 78% at 65 and older.
- 16% of adults 65 and older have a cellphone that is not a smartphone, against 2-7% in the younger age groups.
- Based on Pew's National Public Opinion Reference Survey of 5,022 US adults from 5 February to 18 June 2025, using address-based sampling by web, mail and phone, weighted to the US adult population.
Limits
General population figures with no breakdown by hearing loss or disability, and nothing on whether phones can connect to hearing aids or run a venue's app. Ownership does not show whether people can or will use a phone to listen at a venue. US only.
Read the original
www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile
Cited in
- Which hearing devices can receive which systems?Open
- Which systems satisfy the ADA and building codes, and does a listener's own phone count?Disputed
- Auracast, hearing loop, infrared, RF or Wi-Fi: which suits which room?Disputed
- How many receivers and neckloops does each code require, and how should a loan pool be run?Partly answered
- How many listeners carry a telecoil, an Auracast-capable device or a smartphone?Disputed
- What do listeners prefer, and how often do they use venue systems?Partly answered
- What does Wi-Fi streaming need from the venue's network and from listeners' phones?Partly answered
- Can people without hearing aids benefit from venue systems through earbuds, headphones or their phones?Partly answered
Cite this source
Pew Research Center. Mobile Fact Sheet. 20 November 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/ (accessed 9 October 2026).
Every finding here cites its source, and who funded each source is labelled. This site does not recommend products. Found an error or a missing study? Suggest a correction.