Report: We’re All Hoarding Tech Junk

You know that box of old cords you have? The one stacked on two other boxes of cords?

It’s called tech junk. And you, my friend, are a tech hoarder.

As data recovery specialists, we’ve seen our share of old devices. That’s why we recently surveyed people about tech hoarding habits.

94% of Americans admit to hoarding old tech junk. (As for the others, we think 5% are lying, and 1% live off the grid, hoarding honey jars instead.)

FYI, 42% of Americans still keep VHS tapes and 1 in 3 have cassette tapes. How many of those cassette tapes are MC Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit”? Most of them.

Why do people hoard tech junk?

1. Think they might use it again
2. Nostalgia
3. Contains personal data

Where do the most tech hoarders live? Naturally, in the one state shaped like a laptop with a thumb drive sticking out of it: Oklahoma.

Full Report

States With The Most Tech Hoarders

Although holding onto items you've grown attached to or might use again is a common practice, some Americans keep stuff like they're planning to use it for currency in the upcoming apocalypse.

Leading the way with the most hoarders is Oklahoma where residents have a tech hoarding score of 97.95 out of 100. We found that 3 in 4 residents of the Sooner State consider themselves very likely to keep old tech devices.

In second place is Delaware with a score of 96.61 out of 100. While tech hoarders come up with a variety of reasons to hold onto these items, Delaware residents are the most likely to say it’s due to nostalgia.

Maybe it’s a video camera that once belonged to a loved one who has passed or perhaps it’s an old gaming console you once played for hours on end with your siblings — whatever the connection, the device holds a special place in your memories and heart.

Arkansas is up next, ranking third for the most tech hoarders as residents are the most likely to reuse pieces of old tech like hard drives and circuit boards.

Pennsylvania ranks fourth with a tech hoarding score of 93.37 out of 100. Overall, Pennsylvania residents are the most likely to keep old tech because it contains personal data or information.

Rounding out the top five is Utah with a score of 92.86. While the residents keep many items, a third of residents say they have thrown away tech devices they wished they kept instead.

What Tech Items We Hoard Most

Because tech devices keep evolving, we decided to learn what kind of ancient relics are hiding in closets across America. Leading the way with 87% of people admitting to keeping them are charging cords. After all, you never know when someone might need a charger for that phone from a decade ago.

Speaking of phones, they come in second as 79% of people say they still hold onto their old smartphones. Headphones ranked third as nearly 3 in 4 Americans still have an old pair laying around somewhere. This is followed by old DVDs (74%), laptops (69%), and video games (69%) following closely behind in fourth, fifth, and sixth place.

In addition to the most popular tech items hoarded overall, we discovered the most common devices by state. Leading the way with the number one spot in five states are charging bricks.

Three devices tied for second place earning four states each: desktop computers, printers or scanners, and tablets. Finally, smartphones and video cameras or camcorders tied for third place as they each claimed the top spot in three states.

Why Americans Keep Their Old Tech

Some people will reuse a circuit board, but others simply can’t bring themselves to toss what was once a pricey item into the trash. When digging through old boxes of what some might consider junk, you may find yourself searching for the reason you kept it in the first place.

Perhaps, you fall into the most common category (69%) which is the thought that you might use it again. While that spare cable might charge something one day, that old MP3 full of illegal LimeWire downloads is less likely to replace your smartphones’ Apple Music library.

Nostalgia follows closely behind as nearly two thirds of Americans say it is their main cause for hoarding old tech. The third most common reason we found is people say the devices contain personal data or information.

For 1 in 2 people, however, the thought that the devices might be valuable in the future is all the reason they need to keep their old tech items. One of these days those shoppers on eBay will finally see what you knew all along, your devices are a piece of history.

In addition to the reasons, we asked about common hoarding behaviors and found that the most relatable practice among Americans is holding on to specialty or proprietary cables (chargers, adapters, and so on) for gadgets they no longer own, “just in case.”

More than half of the country says they save devices due to the data on them even though they have the data in another place, too, and more than two-fifths of Americans admit to keeping outdated CDs, DVDs, or floppy disks even if they can’t use them.

Nearly two in five people say they tend to keep original packaging or boxes for old devices. Finally, nearly a third of people say they are saving tech in hopes of repairing it “someday.”

Conclusion

Whether you are a collector of all things vintage or you pride yourself on obtaining the newest devices upon release, it is important to make sure you are keeping your data safe. At Secure Data Recovery we know that your tech is important to you, but for many people, the data it stores is even more valuable.

That’s why our team of experts are trained in cutting-edge tools and techniques to reverse your data loss. From hard drive recovery to laptop data recovery, we are here to help with a variety of devices. With our no data, no recovery fee guarantee, you get your files back, or pay nothing.

Methodology

In February 2025, we surveyed 2,486 Americans about their tech hoarding habits. We asked a variety of questions including how likely they are to keep old, unused items, what items they keep, why they keep old items, and more.

We then awarded points to people who said they keep items, along with a point for each item kept, and finally, we awarded points for the amount of space needed to store all their old tech. We then calculated the average for each respondent and the overall average score by state. Finally, we adjusted scores on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most hoarding.