Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this month reveal that most households with incomes below the federal poverty line own cell phones, televisions and computers.

According to data contained in Census Bureau charts “Extended Measures of Well-being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2011” in 2011, 80.9 percent of households below the poverty line own a cell phone and 54.9 percent own a landline phone.

More than 96 percent of households below the poverty line owned a television and 83.2 percent owned a videocassette recorder (VCR).

Air conditioning cooled 83.4 percent of households with incomes below the poverty line and microwaves and stoves heated the food of 93.2 percent and 96.2 percent respectively.

Nearly 98 percent of such households owned a refrigerator, but just 26.2 percent owned a food freezer and 44.9 percent owned a dishwasher.

Additionally, 68.7 percent of households in poverty owned a clothes washer and 65.3 owned clothes dryer.

The Census Bureau derived the data from its Survey of Income and Program Participation.

(h/t Terence P. Jeffrey)

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