Butte County

Here’s a concise demographic snapshot of Butte County, California. Figures are rounded and based on the U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Census and ACS 2019–2023 estimates).

• Population

  • Total: about 212,000 (2020 Census count: 211,632)

• Age

  • Median age: ~38–39
  • Under 18: ~19%
  • 65 and over: ~20–21%

• Gender

  • Female: ~50%
  • Male: ~50%

• Race and ethnicity

  • White alone: ~79–80%
  • Black or African American alone: ~2%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~2–3%
  • Asian alone: ~5%
  • Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: <1%
  • Two or more races: ~8–9%
  • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~18%
  • White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~68%

• Households and housing

  • Households: ~83,000–85,000
  • Persons per household (avg): ~2.4
  • Family households: ~54–56% of households
  • Owner-occupied housing rate: ~57–59%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2019–2023 (5-year).

Butte County snapshot (estimates)

• Email users: 165,000–180,000 residents (about 80–86% of the ~210,000 population). Adoption is highest among adults; teen use is common but not universal.
• Age distribution of email use:
  • 13–17: 70–80%
  • 18–29: ~95–98%
  • 30–49: ~95–98%
  • 50–64: ~90–94%
  • 65+: ~75–85%
• Gender split: Roughly even (near 50/50); no meaningful difference in usage rates by gender.
• Digital access trends:
  • About 86–89% of households have internet service; 82–86% have a home broadband subscription.
  • Smartphone‑only internet households: roughly 10–14%; higher in rural and lower‑income areas.
  • Post‑2020, modest growth in home broadband and increased reliance on mobile data for cost and flexibility.
• Local connectivity and density:
  • Population density ~125–130 people per square mile; service is strongest in the Chico–Oroville corridor (cable and some fiber).
  • Foothill/rural areas (e.g., Magalia, Forest Ranch, Clipper Mills) rely more on DSL/fixed wireless with patchier speeds.
  • Public access via Butte County libraries and Chico State Wi‑Fi helps bridge gaps.

Sources blended from ACS/FCC county-level access data and national email adoption research (Pew/industry).

Summary of mobile phone usage in Butte County, CA

Context

• Butte County is a mixed urban–rural county (~210k residents) anchored by Chico, with sizable foothill communities (Paradise/Magalia, Forest Ranch, Berry Creek) and agricultural towns (Oroville, Gridley/Biggs). Terrain, wildfire history, and public-safety power shutoffs materially affect mobile service quality and usage.

User estimates

• Adult smartphone users: Roughly 140,000–150,000 adults. Method: ~165k–170k adults (18+) times an estimated 84–88% smartphone adoption (a few points below California’s high-80s/low-90s rate due to older age profile, lower incomes, and rurality).
• Mobile-only internet households: About 12–16% of households rely primarily on smartphones for home internet (higher than the California average). This includes students, renters, lower-income households, and residents in areas with weak or costly fixed broadband.
• Plan mix: Prepaid plans are more common than the state average, reflecting price sensitivity and credit constraints; multi-line postpaid dominates in Chico/urban corridors.
• Usage patterns: Heavier reliance on mobile data for primary connectivity in rural/foothill areas and among students/renters; voice/SMS still critical during outages when data networks congest or sites lose backhaul/power.

Demographic breakdown (drivers of difference)

• Students and young adults (CSU Chico, community colleges): Very high smartphone and app usage; high churn of budget and prepaid plans; significant mobile-only segment among renters.
• Seniors (65+ share is higher than CA average): Lower smartphone adoption and more basic phone usage; when smartphones are used, data usage is lower and assistance needs higher.
• Lower-income and agricultural workers: Above-average prepaid adoption, family plan sharing, and mobile-only internet reliance.
• Tribal and remote foothill communities: Coverage gaps and outage risk are higher than average; adoption constrained by reliability and affordability more than by device access.
• Latino households and multilingual communities: Over-index on prepaid and WhatsApp/OTT calling; mobile often substitutes for limited home broadband.

Digital infrastructure and service characteristics

• Coverage: 5G is strongest in Chico and along the Highway 99 corridor (Chico–Durham–Oroville); most other areas rely on 4G LTE. Notable dead zones and weak indoor coverage persist in foothill communities (Paradise/Magalia rim, Forest Ranch, Berry Creek/Feather River Canyon) and along parts of SR-70.
• Capacity and backhaul: Urban corridors have fiber-fed macro sites; many rural sites depend on microwave backhaul, which is more outage-prone during fires and storms. Network congestion is common during evacuations and PSPS events.
• Resilience: The county sits largely within high fire-threat tiers. Carriers have been deploying backup power at macro sites to meet California backup-power requirements in Tier 2/3 fire-threat areas, but coverage continuity still varies widely during extended outages.
• Public safety: FirstNet (AT&T) adoption among local agencies is material; mobile networks support Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), which see heavy use during wildfire evacuations.
• Public/anchor connectivity: Schools, libraries, and CSU Chico are on robust research/education networks, improving Wi‑Fi access points in town centers; this indirectly eases mobile load where available.
• Investment focus: Recent upgrades concentrate on mid-band 5G in Chico and along Hwy 99; less dense upgrades in foothills. State middle‑mile and last‑mile grant activity in the North Valley is expected to improve fiber backhaul options over time, which would benefit mobile capacity, but impacts are uneven so far.

How Butte County differs from California overall

• Higher share of mobile-only internet households and heavier dependence on smartphones for primary connectivity.
• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration, driven by an older age mix and lower median incomes.
• More prepaid usage and plan churn; greater sensitivity to device and plan costs.
• Greater variability in service quality: strong along urban corridors, weaker in foothills and canyons.
• More frequent and longer service disruptions tied to wildfire, smoke, and PSPS events; resilience upgrades matter more here than in most metro counties.
• Slower, patchier 5G rollout outside the Chico/Highway 99 corridor; 4G remains the workhorse in many communities.
• Public safety/mobile interoperability (FirstNet, WEA) plays a larger role in day-to-day planning and user behavior than in most of the state.

Implications

• Any mobile adoption or digital equity effort should pair device/plan affordability with coverage/resilience improvements in foothill zones.
• Expanding fiber backhaul to rural cell sites and enforcing/monitoring backup power at towers will yield outsized benefits compared with urban California.
• Targeted outreach for seniors and mobile-only households (hotspot lending, ACP-alternative subsidies, multilingual support) will have higher marginal impact than in the statewide average.

Butte County, CA social media snapshot (estimates)

Overall usage

• Estimated active users: 130k–150k residents (about 60–70% of the total population; roughly 70–75% of adults). Chico’s college population (CSU Chico) lifts usage among 18–24s.
• Gender among users: ~51% women, ~49% men overall. Women over-index on Facebook/Instagram/Nextdoor; men over-index on YouTube/Reddit/X.

Age mix of users (share of total social users)

• 13–17: ~10%
• 18–24: ~18% (Chico State effect)
• 25–34: ~18%
• 35–44: ~16%
• 45–54: ~14%
• 55–64: ~12%
• 65+: ~12%

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use each; local estimates informed by Pew U.S. benchmarks, ±5–10 points)

• YouTube: ~80–85%
• Facebook: ~65–70% (dominant for community groups and local news)
• Instagram: ~40–50% (very high among under-35s)
• TikTok: ~30–40% (major with 13–29; strong in Chico)
• Snapchat: ~20–25% (heavy teen/college use)
• X/Twitter: ~18–22% (news, emergencies, civic chatter)
• Reddit: ~15–18% (local subs, niche interests)
• Nextdoor: ~12–18% of adults (higher in homeowner/older neighborhoods)
• LinkedIn: ~20–25% (below big metros)

Behavioral trends to know

• Emergency information: High spikes in engagement during wildfires, smoke events, floods, and PSPS outages. Residents closely follow Butte County Sheriff, CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire, city channels, and scanner updates on Facebook/X; posts get heavy shares and comments.
• Community groups > “official” pages: Facebook Groups and Nextdoor drive day-to-day engagement—neighborhood watch, road closures, lost/found pets, school updates, and mutual aid.
• Marketplace culture: Strong use of Facebook Marketplace and “buy/sell/trade” groups for vehicles, farm/ranch gear, furniture, rentals, and yard sales.
• Campus-driven content: In Chico, Instagram/TikTok/Snapchat dominate for events, nightlife, food deals, and student housing; short-form video performs best.
• Local lifestyle themes: Outdoors (Bidwell Park, Lake Oroville), fishing, hiking, river safety, and seasonal recreation trend well; user-generated reels/shorts outperform static posts.
• Civic and local news: Active discussion of housing, water, wildfire mitigation, and road/rail projects. X/Reddit see policy talk; Facebook hosts longer comment threads.
• Language/community hubs: Notable activity in Spanish- and Hmong-language Facebook groups for announcements, jobs, and community support.
• Timing: Engagement clusters early morning (7–9am), lunch (noon–2pm), and evenings (7–10pm), with real-time surges during incidents.

Notes on data

• Exact platform-level stats aren’t published at the county level. Figures are best-available local estimates based on Pew Research (2023–2024) U.S. platform usage, California patterns, and Butte County’s demographics (incl. CSU Chico). Treat as directional with a ±5–10 point margin.