Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Alabama — key demographics (latest Census Bureau estimates)

Population size

• Total population: ~668,000 (2023 estimate)
• Trend: essentially flat to slightly declining since 2020

Age

• Median age: ~38.8 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and older: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~52%
• Male: ~48%

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive; Hispanic can be any race)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~50%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~42%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~5–6%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~2%
• Other/Multiracial (non-Hispanic): ~1–2%

Households and families

• Households: ~280,000
• Average household size: ~2.4 persons
• Family households: ~62% of households; nonfamily: ~38%
• Households with children under 18: ~27–28%
• One-person households: ~30%
• Housing tenure: ~64% owner-occupied, ~36% renter-occupied

Notable insights

• The county has one of the largest Black population shares among large counties in the Southeast.
• Age structure is close to the U.S. average, with a modestly higher share of older adults.
• Household size is slightly below the U.S. average, reflecting a sizable share of one-person and nonfamily households.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2023 Population Estimates; 2023 American Community Survey 1-year; 2018–2022 ACS for multi-year household indicators). Estimates rounded for clarity.

Jefferson County, Alabama snapshot (2025):

• Estimated email users: ≈500,000 residents. Basis: ≈670,000 population; ≈520,000 adults; ~93% adult email adoption.
• Gender split among users: ≈52% female, 48% male (mirrors county demographics).
• Age distribution of email users (estimated share of users): 18–34: 27%; 35–54: 35%; 55–64: 18%; 65+: 20%. Older adults are slightly underrepresented due to lower adoption, but usage remains high.

Digital access and trends:

• Household computer access: ≈92%.
• Household broadband subscription (cable, fiber, or DSL): ≈88%.
• Smartphone-only internet households: ≈13% (mobile-reliant segment persists).
• Trend: Continued fiber and DOCSIS 3.1 expansion in Birmingham/Hoover/Homewood corridors; gaps remain in outer northern and western areas where DSL and fixed wireless are common. Public libraries and schools provide significant supplemental access.

Local density/connectivity facts:

• Population density ≈600 residents per square mile across ~1,110 sq mi.
• Most urbanized ZIP codes have multiple ISPs with widespread 300 Mbps–1 Gbps plans; suburban fringes increasingly fiber-served; rural pockets experience lower speeds and higher latency, affecting frequent email attachment use for education and telework.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Jefferson County, Alabama (2024)

Scale and adoption

• Population and subscribers: Jefferson County’s 2024 population is roughly 665,000–670,000. Active mobile subscriptions total about 900,000–1.0 million lines (reflecting U.S.-typical multi-line ownership), equating to roughly 1.35–1.5 lines per resident.
• Smartphone users: Approximately 490,000–510,000 residents use a smartphone. Adult ownership is high (about 87–90% among 18+), with teens at >90%. This places Jefferson County 3–5 percentage points above Alabama’s statewide smartphone adoption.

Demographic breakdown

• Age
  • 18–49: Near-saturation smartphone ownership (≈95%).
  • 50–64: High adoption (≈85–90%).
  • 65+: Substantially higher than the state average for seniors (≈68–72% in the county versus ≈60–65% statewide), driven by better device access, retail presence, and healthcare/financial services that are mobile-first in the Birmingham urban core.
• Income and mobile-only reliance
  • Countywide, an estimated 15–18% of households rely on mobile data as their primary/only internet connection, below Alabama’s statewide share (≈20–24%). In low-income tracts (under $25,000 household income), mobile-only reliance rises to about 30–35%, mirroring national urban patterns but still slightly below Alabama’s rural counties.
• Race and ethnicity
  • Overall smartphone ownership is high across groups; however, reliance on mobile-only internet access is higher among Black and Hispanic households than White households. In Jefferson County, mobile-only reliance is estimated at roughly 25–30% for Black and Hispanic households versus roughly 12–16% for White households, reflecting affordability dynamics and historical wireline availability gaps. Because Jefferson County has a larger Black population share than the state average, addressing mobile-only reliance has outsized importance locally.

Usage behaviors

• Data consumption: Mid-band 5G availability has shifted a larger share of usage on-network (less Wi‑Fi offload) in the urban core. Per-line monthly mobile data consumption is comfortably above the statewide average due to faster mid-band coverage, heavier video streaming, and more app-based transportation/commerce adoption in Birmingham.
• Plans and devices: A higher share of postpaid plans and 5G-capable devices than the Alabama average, reflecting stronger retail competition and employer device programs in the metro area.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage
  • 4G LTE: Virtually universal population coverage.
  • 5G: Well over 90–95% of the county’s population has access to 5G, with strong mid-band (2.5 GHz and C-band) coverage in Birmingham, Homewood, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Trussville, Bessemer, and other dense corridors. Ultra-wideband/mmWave small cells are concentrated in downtown Birmingham, major venues, hospital/university areas, and high-traffic retail districts.
• Speed and capacity
  • Typical 5G median downloads in the Birmingham–Hoover metro fall around 120–180 Mbps (with mid-band peaks 500 Mbps+ and mmWave gigabit-class in select nodes). These medians are materially faster than Alabama’s statewide medians, which are pulled down by rural performance.
• Network density and resiliency
  • Dense macro-grid plus targeted small cells in central Birmingham and along I‑20/I‑59/I‑65. Emergency services and hospitals benefit from multi-operator coverage and in-building solutions. Outlying, hilly northern and western edges (e.g., near Morris/Kimberly and parts of the valley-and-ridge terrain) can see localized signal variability compared with the urban core.
• Wireline interplay
  • Robust wireline competition (AT&T Fiber and Xfinity in broad swaths) reduces countywide mobile-only dependence relative to Alabama overall. Fiber buildouts since 2021 have been substantial in residential neighborhoods and business corridors, improving Wi‑Fi offload options and enabling higher-quality mobile hotspot backhaul.

How Jefferson County differs from Alabama overall

• Higher smartphone penetration (especially among seniors) and a larger installed base of 5G devices.
• Lower share of mobile-only households countywide due to stronger wireline alternatives, though mobile-only reliance remains elevated in low-income areas.
• Faster typical mobile speeds and higher mid-band 5G availability, producing heavier on-network data use and more consistent app performance.
• Greater presence of small cells and mmWave nodes in the urban core, supporting venues, education/healthcare campuses, and dense commercial districts.
• More postpaid adoption and device financing through employers and urban retail channels, compared with the higher prepaid mix common in rural parts of the state.

Key takeaways

• Jefferson County is one of Alabama’s most advanced mobile markets: broad 5G coverage, higher device penetration, and faster median speeds than the state average.
• Digital equity remains a focus: while countywide mobile-only dependence is lower than the state average, it is concentrated in lower-income neighborhoods and among historically underserved groups.
• Continued fiber expansion and mid-band 5G densification are reinforcing each other, sustaining above-state performance and shaping usage toward higher on-network mobile data consumption.

Social media usage in Jefferson County, Alabama (2025 snapshot)

Method note: Figures are modeled local estimates for Jefferson County adults (18+) using 2023–2024 Pew Research Center platform adoption benchmarks adjusted to the county’s urban/age mix from recent ACS data. They are suitable for planning and comparison.

Overall user stats

• Adults using any social platform: 81%
• Daily social users: 70% of adults
• Use 2+ platforms: 61% of adults
• Average platforms used per adult: ~3.0

Most-used platforms (share of adults using each)

• YouTube: 82%
• Facebook: 70%
• Instagram: 48%
• TikTok: 34%
• Pinterest: 31%
• Snapchat: 28%
• LinkedIn: 27%
• WhatsApp: 23%
• X (Twitter): 21%
• Reddit: 20%
• Nextdoor: 15%

Age-group breakdown (share using each platform)

• 18–29: Social media overall 95%; YouTube 95%, Instagram 78%, TikTok 62%, Snapchat 65%, Facebook 49%
• 30–49: Social media 89%; YouTube 91%, Facebook 75%, Instagram 57%, TikTok 40%, Snapchat 29%, LinkedIn 36%
• 50–64: Social media 77%; YouTube 78%, Facebook 73%, Instagram 32%, Pinterest 38%, TikTok 18%, LinkedIn 28%
• 65+: Social media 53%; YouTube 67%, Facebook 58%, Instagram 15%, TikTok 10%, Nextdoor 19%

Gender breakdown

• Overall social usage: Women 83%, Men 79%
• Platform skews:
  • Women over-index on Facebook (+6 pp vs men), Instagram (+4 pp), Pinterest (~3x men), TikTok (+5 pp)
  • Men over-index on YouTube (+9 pp vs women), Reddit (~2–3x women), X (+3 pp)

Behavioral trends and local usage patterns

• Video-first consumption: High daily watch time on YouTube; short-form (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery for food, events, and local businesses.
• Facebook as the local hub: Heavy use of Groups, Pages, and Marketplace for neighborhood news, school/sports updates, buy/sell, and services; strongest engagement among 30+.
• Campus and young-professional pockets: Higher Snapchat and TikTok activity around UAB and nearby neighborhoods; Stories/Reels outperform static posts for this cohort.
• Professional networking: LinkedIn usage concentrated among healthcare, finance, and engineering workers in the Birmingham employment core; effective for recruiting and B2B.
• Hyperlocal and safety: Nextdoor used for neighborhood alerts, public safety, utilities, and HOA issues; skewed to homeowners 35+.
• Messaging and coordination: Facebook Messenger dominates; WhatsApp used by international and bilingual communities for family and group coordination.
• Commerce cues: Facebook/Instagram Shops and Marketplace are common paths to purchase; discount codes and same-day pickup resonate.
• Timing: Engagement peaks 6–9 a.m. and 7–10 p.m.; weekends show longer mid-morning scroll windows.
• Creative that performs: Short, captioned vertical video; local landmarks; before/after visuals; clear offers; CTAs tied to in-person events or pickup.

Key takeaways

• Jefferson County is a Facebook–YouTube dominant market with strong Instagram growth and stable TikTok adoption.
• Adults 30–64 drive the bulk of total interactions; 18–29 drives virality and trend adoption.
• Women account for a larger share of Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest engagement; men drive YouTube/Reddit/X conversations.
• For reach, prioritize YouTube and Facebook; for growth and younger audiences, lean into Instagram Reels and TikTok; use Nextdoor and Facebook Groups for hyperlocal credibility.