Ashley County

Ashley County, Arkansas — key demographics

Population

• Total: 18,300 (2023 estimate); 19,062 (2020 Census)

Age

• Under 5: ~5.8%
• Under 18: ~23%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Gender

• Female: ~51%
• Male: ~49%

Race/ethnicity

• White alone: ~64%
• Black or African American alone: ~31%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.5%
• Asian: ~0.6%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~2.9%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~3.3%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~62%

Households

• Number of households: ~7,600 (ACS 2018–2022)
• Persons per household (avg): ~2.36

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2023 Population Estimates; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year).

• County snapshot: Ashley County, AR population ~18.7k; low density ~20–21 people per sq. mile; small towns (Crossett, Hamburg) surrounded by rural areas.
• Estimated email users: 12–13k residents. Method: adults (76–78% of population ≈14–15k) × home/phone internet adoption (~72–78%) × email use among internet users (≈92–95%).
• Age pattern (approx. share using email):
  • 18–34: 90–95%
  • 35–54: 92–96%
  • 55–64: 85–90%
  • 65+: 75–85% County skews older (≈20% 65+), so overall adoption slightly below urban averages.
• Gender split: Near parity; email users ≈49% male, 51% female (reflecting population, minimal gender gap in email use).
• Digital access trends:
  • Household internet subscription roughly 72–76%; 12–18% are smartphone-only connections; ~22–28% lack home internet.
  • Fiber and cable clustered in/near Crossett and Hamburg; speeds and availability drop in outlying areas; satellite fills gaps.
  • Mobile LTE/5G covers most populated corridors; fixed broadband build-out constrained by low density and longer last-mile costs.
  • Affordable Connectivity Program boosted uptake through 2023–24; funding uncertainty could soften subscriptions in low-income households.

Ashley County, AR — mobile phone usage snapshot (with county-vs-state contrasts)

Executive highlights (how Ashley differs from Arkansas overall)

• Lower smartphone adoption and more basic-phone retention, driven by older age structure and lower incomes.
• Higher reliance on mobile data as a primary home internet connection due to patchier wired broadband.
• More prepaid plans and price-sensitive usage (data caps, Wi‑Fi offloading).
• 5G is present in towns and along highways but is less consistent in rural tracts; more dead zones than typical statewide.

User estimates

• Population/households: roughly 18–19k residents across about 7–8k households (ACS/Census).
• Adult smartphone users: estimated 10.5k–12k adults.
  • Method: adults ≈ 14–15k; assume 72–80% smartphone ownership in Ashley (below Arkansas’s low‑80s), reflecting rural, lower‑income, and older demographics.
• Total mobile phone users (any handset): about 12–15k residents.
• Wireless-only at home:
  • Mobile data as primary home internet: estimated 20–30% of households (above Arkansas overall, which is closer to mid‑teens/low‑20s), reflecting limited affordable wired options outside Crossett/Hamburg.
  • Voice-only landline use is rare; wireless-only voice is the norm as in most of Arkansas.
• Plan mix: prepaid likely 35–45% of lines (higher than statewide) due to income sensitivity and credit constraints.
• ACP impact: With the Affordable Connectivity Program’s 2024 wind‑down, low‑income households in Ashley likely experienced a larger shift toward mobile-only internet and stricter data budgeting than the state average.

Demographic patterns shaping usage

• Age: Older median age than the state raises the share of basic/flip phones and lowers smartphone ownership among 65+ (locally ~50–65% vs higher in urban Arkansas). Teens/young adults are near-universal smartphone users and are the main drivers of app/social/video usage.
• Income: Lower median household income correlates with
  • More prepaid and MVNO adoption (Cricket, Metro, Straight Talk).
  • Greater smartphone dependency (phone as the primary or only computer), heavier use of public/enterprise Wi‑Fi, and data-conserving behaviors.
• Race/ethnicity: Black and Hispanic residents are more likely to be smartphone-dependent for internet access than white residents, mirroring national and state patterns; in Ashley this contributes noticeably to mobile-only reliance given the county’s composition.
• Work patterns: Shift and outdoor work (forestry, manufacturing, services) increases demand for reliable voice/text and offline-capable apps; coverage gaps have a larger practical impact than in metro Arkansas.

Digital infrastructure and coverage notes

• Carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile all serve the county.
  • 4G LTE is the baseline nearly everywhere people live; 5G (mostly low-band) covers Crossett, Hamburg, highway corridors (e.g., US‑82/US‑425), and select population clusters.
  • Capacity 5G (mid-band) is spottier than statewide averages; mmWave is absent.
• Performance: Typical rural speeds range widely—tens of Mbps in town/along highways, often dropping to single-digit Mbps (or no signal) in sparsely populated areas, especially near river bottoms and forested tracts (e.g., around Felsenthal NWR and other low-density areas).
• Tower density/backhaul: Fewer macro sites per square mile than state average; older sites may have limited backhaul. This contributes to:
  • More indoor coverage issues in metal-roof homes and large industrial buildings.
  • Noticeable rush-hour slowdowns compared with urban Arkansas.
• Fixed broadband interplay: Cable/FTTH is concentrated in town centers; DSL and fixed wireless serve many rural areas. Where wired service is slow/expensive/unavailable, households lean on mobile hotspots and unlimited/prepaid phone plans for home connectivity.
• Resilience: Storms and power outages can cause broader service disruptions than in metropolitan Arkansas, reflecting longer restoration times and fewer redundant routes.

Trends to watch (next 1–3 years)

• Gradual mid-band 5G infill by national carriers should lift peak speeds in towns and along major roads, but deep rural gaps will close more slowly than the statewide average.
• State and federal broadband programs (e.g., BEAD/ARConnect) may improve fiber backhaul and fixed broadband in selected tracts; where backhaul is upgraded, cellular capacity typically improves too.
• With ACP ended, local institutions (libraries, schools, community centers) will remain important for free Wi‑Fi and device support; mobile-only reliance may remain above the state rate unless new low-cost fixed options arrive.

Sources/methods

• Estimates synthesize U.S. Census/ACS demographics, Pew smartphone adoption by age/income/rurality, FCC coverage/broadband map patterns, and typical rural Arkansas carrier footprints as of 2023–2024. Figures are presented as ranges to avoid false precision.

Below is a concise, county‑level snapshot using publicly available U.S. benchmarks (e.g., Pew Research 2024) adjusted for Ashley County’s rural/older population profile. Exact platform stats aren’t published at the county level, so figures are best‑estimate ranges.

Overall size

• Population: ~18–19k residents
• Estimated monthly social media users (all ages): ~10,000–12,500
• Devices: predominantly mobile; many rely on smartphones more than home broadband

Age mix of local social media users (share of users, not population)

• 13–17: 10–12%
• 18–29: 18–22%
• 30–44: 24–28%
• 45–64: 28–32%
• 65+: 14–18%

Gender breakdown (of social media users)

• Female: 52–55%
• Male: 45–48%

Most‑used platforms in Ashley County (estimated share of local social media users; overlaps expected)

• YouTube: 72–80%
• Facebook: 70–78% (the community hub despite YouTube’s broader reach)
• Instagram: 28–36%
• TikTok: 24–32%
• Pinterest: 28–35% (skews female, home/food/crafts)
• Snapchat: 20–27% (teens/younger adults)
• WhatsApp: 14–20% (family/friend groups; some cross‑border/Latino use)
• X/Twitter: 10–15% (sports/news followers)
• Reddit: 8–12% (younger/tech/outdoors niches)
• LinkedIn: 10–16% (lower in rural labor markets)

Behavioral trends to know

• Facebook as the “town square”: Heavy use of Groups (schools, churches, civic alerts, buy/sell/trade), Marketplace, local event pages, and school sports updates. Many users are “lurkers” who read and share more than they post.
• Video habits: Short‑form clips (Reels/TikTok) for entertainment and local happenings; YouTube for how‑to/DIY, hunting/fishing, small‑engine repair, farming, sermons/gospel, and high school sports highlights.
• Shopping/discovery: Strong reliance on Facebook Marketplace and local business pages; word‑of‑mouth via Groups outperforms polished ads. Instagram Shops adoption is modest; TikTok drives impulse discovery among under‑35.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is a primary channel for local coordination; Snapchat DMs favored by teens/college‑age.
• Timing: Engagement peaks before work/school (6–8 a.m.), lunch (11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.), and evenings (6–9 p.m.). Sundays see elevated activity around church and family times; Friday nights spike during football/basketball seasons.
• Content that performs: Local faces/stories, community service updates, school/booster content, outdoor life, deals from recognizable local merchants, and practical “how‑to” videos. Authentic, low‑production posts often beat highly polished creative.
• Trust dynamics: Users are receptive to recommendations from neighbors and local leaders; skepticism toward generic national ads. Partnering with known community pages or sponsors boosts credibility.

Notes on method

• Estimates combine Ashley County’s age/sex structure with national platform adoption by age, adjusted downward for rural/older skews and slightly lower broadband adoption. Figures are indicative ranges, not official counts.