---
title: "A third of Americans live in a household with three or more smartphones"
description: "The growing prevalence of cellphones comes as the typical American household now contains a wide range of connected devices."
date: "2017-05-25"
authors:
  - name: "Kenneth Olmstead"
    job_title: "Former "
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kenneth-olmstead/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/05/25/a-third-of-americans-live-in-a-household-with-three-or-more-smartphones/"
categories:
  - "Household Structure & Family Roles"
  - "Leisure"
  - "Lifestyle"
  - "Mobile"
  - "Smartphones"
---

# A third of Americans live in a household with three or more smartphones

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/05/FT_17.05.03_devices_share.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/05/25/a-third-of-americans-live-in-a-household-with-three-or-more-smartphones/ft_17-05-03_devices_share-png/)

For the first time, more than half of all households in the U.S. contain a cellphone but not a landline telephone, according to a [new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201705.pdf). The growing prevalence of cellphones comes as the typical American household now contains a wide range of connected devices.

Some 84% of American households contain at least one smartphone, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in fall 2016. Desktop and laptop computers are nearly as common – 80% of households contain at least one of these devices. Tablet computer ownership is somewhat less widespread, with 68% of households containing at least one tablet. And 39% of households contain at least one streaming media device, such as an Apple TV, Roku or Google Chromecast.

Many American households have multiple devices – especially smartphones. A third of American households have three or more smartphones, compared with 23% that have three or more desktops, 17% that have three or more tablets and only 7% that have three or more streaming media devices.

Taken together, 90% of U.S. households contain at least one of these devices (smartphone, desktop/laptop computer, tablet or streaming media device), with the typical (median) American household containing five of them. And nearly one-in-five American households (18%) are “hyper-connected” – meaning they contain 10 or more of these devices.

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/05/FT_17.05.03_devices_demo.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/05/25/a-third-of-americans-live-in-a-household-with-three-or-more-smartphones/ft_17-05-03_devices_demo-png/)

Younger adults and relatively affluent Americans tend to live in households with large numbers of connected devices, and this is especially true when it comes to smartphones. Some 96% of 18- to 29-year-olds live in a household with at least one smartphone, and 51% of young adults indicate that their home contains three or more smartphones.

Even so, many older adults also reside in households with multiple mobile devices. Nearly four-in-ten 30- to 49-year-olds (39%) and 29% of 50- to 64-year-olds say their home contains three or more smartphones. In total, the typical (median) 18- to 29-year-old lives in a household with six of these connected devices – a figure that is comparable to the median figure among those ages 30-49 (six) and 50-64 (five).

Higher-income Americans are about twice as likely as those who are lower income to say their household has three or more smartphones (45% vs. 25%). But affluent Americans also stand out in comparison with lower-income households when it comes to traditional computers and tablets. Four-in-ten Americans with an annual household income of $75,000 or more (41%) say they have three or more computers in their home, compared with 9% of those whose household income is $30,000 or less. And 26% of these higher-income Americans say their home contains three or more tablets, compared with 9% of those earning $30,000 a year or less.

*Note: View full [topline results](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Device_ownership_FT_topline_NEW.pdf) and [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/HouseholdDevices_Methodology.pdf) (PDF).*