CENSUS RADIO BROADCAST SERVICE

     Edition #151--For Air Beginning Week of March 13, 1995


Living Without a Phone, Runs 1:14

CAGLE:  In this day of increasing technology, it's surprising to
find that 5 percent of American households don't have a telephone. 
Bob Bonnette of the Census Bureau says those without phones are
concentrated in five states.

BONNETTE:  There are five states where the phoneless rate exceeds
10 percent--that's Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas, West
Virginia, and Kentucky. 

CAGLE:  And there's a correlation between having a phone and a
household's racial group.

BONNETTE:  Asians were the most likely to have a phone; Whites were
next; Blacks next; and Native Americans last.  About one-quarter of
all Native American households had no phone.  But when we look at
the households on reservations, we find that 53 percent have no
phone.

CAGLE:  As age increases, so does the likelihood of having a phone.

BONNETTE:  For those under 25 years of age, we found that 
15 percent had no phone; when we look at those aged 75 or more, we
find that this is down to only 2 percent.    
          
CAGLE:  And Bonnette says three-quarters of all phoneless
households are renters.  This is Maury Cagle reporting.