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US Mobile Subscriptions vs US College Enrollment

US Mobile Subscriptions and US College Enrollment correlate at r = +0.80 over 32 years (1975–2022), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.57. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.80, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.57. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r
+0.80
p-value
< 0.0001
Years compared (n)
32 (1975–2022)
95% confidence interval
0.63 to 0.90
Correlation with the time trend removed
-0.57

Sources

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Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.