Pope County

Pope County, Arkansas — key demographics (most recent Census/ACS)

Population size

• 63,381 (2020 Census). ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate: ~64k.

Age

• Median age: ~36.7 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18 to 64: ~59%
• 65 and over: ~18%

Gender

• Female: ~50.4%
• Male: ~49.6%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White alone: ~83%
• Black or African American alone: ~2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~1–1.5%
• Asian alone: ~1–1.5%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.1–0.2%
• Some other race alone: ~6%
• Two or more races: ~5–6%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~11%

Households

• Total households: ~24,000
• Average household size: ~2.6 persons
• Family households: ~67% of households
• Married-couple families: ~48% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~33%; living alone: ~27% (about 10% age 65+)
• Housing tenure: ~66% owner-occupied, ~34% renter-occupied

Insights

• Slow growth since 2010 with a relatively young median age (influenced by the university presence).
• Racially majority White with a growing Hispanic/Latino community (~1 in 9 residents).
• Household structure is predominantly family/owner-occupied with modest household size.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (tables DP05, S0101, S1101, DP02, DP04).

• Population and density: ~64,000 residents; ~76 people per square mile across ~830 sq mi (Russellville area most connected).
• Digital access: ~91% of households have a computer; ~82% subscribe to broadband internet (ACS). This supports high email reach, though rural pockets have slower service than the I‑40 corridor.
• Estimated email users (adults 18+): ~45,600 of ~49,300 adults use email (modeled with Pew adoption rates: ~95% for 18–64; ~85% for 65+).
• Age distribution of adult email users:
  • 18–24: ~5,500
  • 25–44: ~14,600
  • 45–64: ~15,200
  • 65+: ~10,300
• Gender split among email users: 50.7% female (23,100) and 49.3% male (22,500), mirroring county demographics.
• Insights and trends:
  • Email usage is effectively universal among working-age adults given high computer/broadband access.
  • Seniors are a large, active email cohort (~23% of users) but trail younger groups.
  • Connectivity is densest along the Russellville–Atkins I‑40 corridor; rural areas have higher reliance on lower-speed or mobile connections, which can affect email attachment-heavy use and reliability.
  • Overall email reach aligns with household broadband growth and widespread device ownership in the county.

Pope County, Arkansas — mobile usage snapshot (2025)

Core context

• Population baseline: 63,381 (2020 Census). County seat: Russellville; Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is the single largest institutional presence, shaping daytime population and data demand along the I‑40 corridor.

User estimates

• Unique adult smartphone users: approximately 41,500–44,000 (derived from typical adult share of the population and rural-South smartphone adoption rates observed through 2023–2024).
• Smartphone-only internet users (rely primarily on a phone data plan, no fixed broadband at home): roughly 8,800–10,800 adults. This share is higher than the Arkansas statewide average, reflecting both rural last‑mile gaps and student/transient housing patterns around Russellville.
• Active mobile lines (including phones plus data devices): on the order of county population (60,000–70,000), given multi‑line households and device add‑ons.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Students and young adults (18–29): Above the state average share due to ATU; near‑universal smartphone ownership, heavy app/social/video usage, and noticeably higher prepaid/MVNO use. Congestion spikes on evenings/weekends and during campus and Lake Dardanelle events.
• Working‑age adults (30–64): High smartphone adoption with mixed plan types; mobile hotspots frequently used in exurban areas north of I‑40 where fixed broadband options thin out.
• Older adults (65+): Adoption lags younger cohorts but continues to rise; voice/SMS reliability and large‑display devices are adoption drivers. Coverage consistency is a bigger determinant than peak speeds for this segment.
• Hispanic/Latino households: A growing share in Russellville/Pottsville; above‑average smartphone dependency relative to fixed broadband, consistent with statewide patterns for multilingual and mobile‑first households.

Digital infrastructure points

• Coverage footprint:
  • 4G LTE is comprehensive along I‑40 (Russellville–Pottsville–Atkins–London) and AR‑7/AR‑331 spurs; it becomes variable north of Dover into the Ozark foothills where terrain and tree cover introduce shadowing.
  • 5G coverage is strong on the I‑40 corridor and in/around Russellville, with “extended‑range” low‑band layers across the river valley and mid‑band nodes in core commercial zones. Outside the valley, 5G often falls back to LTE due to tower spacing and topography.
• Carriers present: AT&T (including FirstNet for public safety), Verizon, and T‑Mobile all operate macro sites in the corridor; UScellular has historically filled rural gaps in surrounding counties and may appear in fringe roaming scenarios.
• Tower siting/density: Macro sites cluster along I‑40, US‑64, and near population centers; sparser grids north of Dover and Hector create known dead zones, especially along forest roads and ridge lines.
• Backhaul: Fiber-fed sites are concentrated in Russellville and along the interstate. Microwave backhaul supports more remote cells to the north, which can constrain peak throughput.
• Public safety and resiliency: FirstNet coverage prioritizes the interstate, hospital area, and county facilities; generator-backed sites mitigate weather-related outages but prolonged power events in the uplands still cause service degradation.
• Fixed-network interplay: Cable/fiber competition is best in Russellville; availability drops off quickly north of the river valley, raising mobile hotspot use and smartphone-only reliance in rural tracts.

How Pope County differs from Arkansas overall

• Higher smartphone-only reliance: Smartphone-as-primary internet is meaningfully above the statewide average due to the urban–rural split and student housing around ATU.
• Sharper terrain-driven variability: Coverage gaps are more tied to hills/forest shadowing than to mere distance from towns, making performance less predictable just a few miles off the interstate compared with flatter regions of the state.
• Greater demand volatility: The university and recreation traffic produce larger, time-bound congestion swings than the state average, especially on weekend afternoons and during campus events.
• Faster 5G adoption in the core, slower at the fringes: Russellville’s mid‑band 5G nodes deliver better median speeds than many AR micropolitan cores, but the step‑down to LTE happens more abruptly north of town than in comparable counties on flatter terrain.
• Plan mix skews more prepaid/MVNO: Driven by students and price-sensitive households, prepaid share is a bit higher than the state average, with correspondingly higher use of Wi‑Fi offload on campus and in public venues.

Implications

• Capacity matters most along I‑40 and near ATU; mid‑band 5G and additional sectorization/small cells provide the best ROI there.
• For rural north-county reliability, adding low‑band 5G carriers, optimizing antenna tilt/azimuth, and targeted new macros on ridge-adjacent parcels yield outsized coverage gains.
• Public and private investment that extends fiber backhaul north of the valley will improve both fixed access and mobile performance, reducing the county’s above‑average smartphone-only dependence.

Pope County, AR — social media usage snapshot (2025)

Population and access

• Population: 63,381 (2020 Census). Adults (18+): roughly 48,000.
• Gender: approximately even, slight female majority (~50–51% female).
• Broadband: about 80% of households have a broadband subscription (ACS 2018–2022).

User stats (estimated from Census/ACS base + Pew usage rates)

• Adult social media users: ~46,000–50,000 (about 75–80% of adults).
• By age (share of adults who use at least one social platform):
  • 18–29: ~95%
  • 30–49: ~85–90%
  • 50–64: ~75–80%
  • 65+: ~45–55%
• Gender among social users: roughly 52% female, 48% male.

Most‑used platforms (share of adults; Pope County estimates aligned to Pew 2023 with rural adjustments)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 70–75%
• Instagram: 40–45%
• TikTok: 28–32%
• Snapchat: 25–30% (especially 13–24)
• Pinterest: 30–35% (female‑skewed)
• X (Twitter): 18–22%
• LinkedIn: 15–20%
• Reddit: 12–16%
• Nextdoor: 5–10%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: local news, schools, churches, city/county updates, buy/sell groups, and Marketplace dominate engagement; Facebook Messenger commonly used for business inquiries.
• Short‑form video leads: Facebook Reels/Instagram Reels have broad local reach; TikTok is strongest with 18–29. Cross‑posting Reels to Facebook and Instagram reliably lifts impressions.
• Time‑of‑day patterns: engagement peaks around lunch (11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.) and evenings (7:00–10:00 p.m.); weekend afternoons perform well for events and local sports.
• Event‑driven spikes: weather alerts, road closures, school announcements, and high school/ATU athletics trigger sharp, share‑heavy bursts; Facebook Live is used during storms and community meetings.
• Content preferences: practical and place‑based content performs best—local events, outdoors/hunting/fishing, high school sports highlights, church/community service, local dining, and scenic photo/video. Pinterest is strong for DIY, recipes, crafts among women 25–54. Reddit/X skew male and tech/sports‑oriented niches.
• Youth/college effect: Arkansas Tech University increases 18–24 activity; Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok usage and posting cadence rise during the academic year.
• Advertising/use cases: Facebook/Instagram deliver the most cost‑efficient local reach and conversions for SMBs; TikTok excels for discovery among younger residents; YouTube pre‑roll is effective for broad awareness and how‑to content.

Notes on methodology

• Demographic and broadband figures are from the U.S. Census (2020) and ACS 2018–2022. Platform usage percentages are mapped from Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use (2023) and adjusted to typical rural‑county patterns; county‑specific platform penetrations are not directly published, so values are conservative, locality‑aligned estimates.