Smartphone Adoption
Percentage of U.S. adults who own a smartphone, 2011–2023
Share of U.S. adults who say they own a smartphone as of 2023
Share of U.S. adults who owned a smartphone when Pew first tracked the measure in 2011
Smartphone ownership among adults ages 18 to 29 in 2023, the highest rate among age groups
Smartphone ownership among adults 65 and older in 2023, up from roughly 10% in 2011
Smartphone Ownership Over Time
Comparative Dataset
Context
Pew Research Center began tracking smartphone ownership among U.S. adults in 2011, when 35% reported owning a smartphone. By 2023, that figure had risen to 90%, representing a sustained adoption curve over roughly twelve years. The sharpest growth occurred between 2011 and 2016, when ownership more than doubled from 35% to 77%.
Demographic gaps have narrowed but not disappeared. In 2011, adults under 30 were nearly five times as likely as those 65 and older to own a smartphone (52% vs. 11%). By 2023, the gap had shrunk substantially (97% vs. 76%), though older adults still lag behind. Income-based disparities followed a similar pattern: ownership among adults in households earning less than $30,000 per year rose from 22% in 2011 to 79% in 2023, while those in households earning $100,000 or more reached 98%.
The rapid spread of smartphones coincided with shifts in how Americans engage with news, political organizing, and civic participation. Mobile devices became primary tools for accessing social media, livestreaming protests, and coordinating political action, particularly from the mid-2010s onward as ownership crossed the two-thirds threshold.
Citations & Data Sources
- 01.
Pew Research Center. Smartphone Adoption and Usage. First Pew survey of smartphone ownership, conducted May 2011; 35% of U.S. adults owned a smartphone
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/07/11/smartphone-adoption-and-usage - 02.
Pew Research Center. Nearly Half of American Adults Are Smartphone Owners. Survey of U.S. adults, Feb. 2012; 46% owned a smartphone
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2012/03/01/nearly-half-of-american-adults-are-smartphone-owners - 03.
Pew Research Center. Smartphone Ownership 2013. Survey of U.S. adults, spring 2013; 56% owned a smartphone, with demographic breakdowns
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/06/05/smartphone-ownership-2013 - 04.
Pew Research Center. The Smartphone Difference. Survey of U.S. adults, fall 2014–spring 2015; 68% owned a smartphone, with detailed demographic analysis
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015 - 05.
Pew Research Center. Demographics of Mobile Device Ownership and Adoption in the United States. Mobile fact sheet with trend data from 2011 onward; 77% ownership recorded in 2016 survey
www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile - 06.
Pew Research Center. Mobile Fact Sheet (2021 data). 2021 survey data: 85% overall, 96% ages 18–29, 61% ages 65+, 76% income under $30K, 96% income $75K+
www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile - 07.
Pew Research Center. Americans' Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband. Survey of 5,733 U.S. adults, May 19–Sept. 5, 2023; 90% smartphone ownership with detailed demographic breakdowns
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-use-of-mobile-technology-and-home-broadband