• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 10, 2002

Two-Thirds of Americans Are on the Prowl

In order to reach the Wireless Adult, it is desirable to know what she looks like, and where she is! The latest study from Scarborough Research shows that Houston leads the nation with almost three-fourths of adults owning a cellular phone. Other cities that have a high concentration of cell phone ownership are Atlanta with 73 percent, Honolulu with 70 percent, Miami with 69 percent and Dallas, also with 69 percent.

Cellular phone owners tend to be slightly more female (52 percent) than male (48 percent), age 25-54 (64 percent), married (59 percent) and over a quarter (27 percent) of cellular households have two or more children. The cell phone consumer is affluent with 71 percent owning their own home. In addition they are 26 percent more likely than the average adult to have a household income of over $75,000.

In addition, the wireless adult is tech-savvy with 72 percent accessing the Internet and 66 percent using email. 31 percent shop online, and 21 percent play games online. Cell phone users are 25 percent more likely than the average adult to pay bills online, and 22 percent more likely to purchase items or services while surfing the Web.

Scarborough's market trending data shows that in 1999, 48 percent of American adults owned a cell phone. In 2000, 55 percent of U.S adults owned a cell phone and in the latest 2001 study, cell phone penetration numbers are up to 62 percent. All indicators demonstrate that the numbers will continue to grow since nine percent of American adults plan to purchase a cell phone in the next year.

Percent of Cellular Phone Owners By Market Penetration

Rank	Market	Penetration %
1	Houston, TX	74%
2	Atlanta, GA	73
3	Honolulu, HI	70
4	Miami, FL	69
5	Dallas, TX	69
6	Detroit, MI	68
7	Baltimore, MD	68
8	Chicago, IL	67
9	San Francisco, CA	66
10	Denver, CO	66
66	Lexington, KY	54
67	Knoxville, TN	52
68	Syracuse, NY	51
69	Grand Rapids, MI	51
70	Spokane, WA	49
71	Roanoke, VA	49
72	Albany, NY	49
73	Wilkes-Barre, PA	46
74	Buffalo, NY	45
75	Charleston, WV	39

National Average = 62% Source: Scarborough Research Release 2 2001

Learn more here.