Mariposa County

Mariposa County, California — key demographics

Population size

• Total population: 17,131 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~52 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Age distribution: under 18: ~16%; 18–64: ~53%; 65+: ~31% (ACS 2018–2022)

Gender

• Male: ~51%; Female: ~49% (ACS 2018–2022)

Racial/ethnic composition (percent of total; ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone: ~86%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~13%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~3–4%
• Asian alone: ~1–2%
• Black or African American alone: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.1–0.2%
• Two or more races: ~7–8%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~78% Note: “Hispanic or Latino” overlaps with race categories.

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~7,200
• Average household size: ~2.16–2.18
• Family households: ~60–62% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~19–20%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75%

Insights

• Small, aging population (median age ~52; roughly 3 in 10 residents are 65+).
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White, with a modest Hispanic/Latino population.
• Household sizes are small and homeownership is high, consistent with a rural county profile.

Mariposa County, CA overview

• Population ~17.3k; density ~12 people per sq. mile across ~1,450 sq. miles (highly rural).
• Households ~7.2k.

Email usage (estimated)

• Users ≈12,500 residents (~72% of total; ~85% of adults).
• Gender split: ~50% women, ~50% men (county sex ratio near parity).

Age mix of email users (reflecting an older-than-state population)

• 18–34: ≈2,500 (≈20%)
• 35–64: ≈6,200 (≈50%)
• 65+: ≈3,700 (≈30%)

Digital access and devices (ACS, 2018–2022)

• ~89% of households have a computer.
• ~80% have a broadband subscription.
• ~9% are smartphone‑only for internet.
• ≈5,800 households maintain a wired broadband subscription.

Connectivity facts and trends

• Reliable wired broadband clusters along the Hwy‑140/49 corridor (Mariposa, Catheys Valley, Coulterville), with gaps in mountainous/forested tracts.
• Since 2021, fiber buildouts and fixed‑wireless coverage have expanded; LEO satellite adoption has risen in remote areas.
• Public/library Wi‑Fi remains an important supplement in low‑density zones.

Insight: Email is the default channel for most adults in Mariposa; usage skews older due to demographics, while access constraints (terrain, low density, smartphone‑only households) influence when and how residents check email.

Mariposa County, CA: mobile usage snapshot and how it differs from the state

User estimates (2024)

• Population: ~17,200 residents
• Mobile phone users: ~14,900 people (about 87% of residents)
• Smartphone users: ~13,900 people (about 81% of residents; roughly 93% of mobile users)
• Mobile-only internet households (no fixed home broadband, rely on cellular plans/hotspots): ~1,400–1,500 households, or about 20% of ~7,200 households—well above California’s statewide share

Demographic breakdown that shapes usage

• Older population footprint: About 29% of residents are 65+ (vs ~15% statewide). Estimated mobile phone adoption among 65+ is ~85% (smartphone ~75%), pulling down overall smartphone penetration compared with the state.
• Working-age adults (18–64): ~56% of residents; mobile phone adoption ~95% and smartphone ~91%, broadly in line with statewide norms.
• Youth (<18): ~15% of residents; phone access concentrated among teens. Overall phone possession ~60%, with most being smartphones.
• Income and plan type: Lower fixed-broadband availability and rural incomes translate into higher reliance on mobile data plans, hotspots, and prepaid service than the state average. Mobile-only internet use is materially higher than California overall.
• Tourism-driven seasonality: Summer and holiday peaks around Yosemite gateways (Mariposa, El Portal, Midpines, Fish Camp, Coulterville) produce marked, recurring congestion that isn’t seen in most urban California markets.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage pattern: Reliable LTE along primary corridors (CA-49, CA-140 to Yosemite, and CA-41 near Fish Camp) and in town centers. Coverage thins quickly in canyons (Merced River), forested slopes, and sparsely populated ridges, creating dead zones that are uncommon in California’s urban counties.
• 5G availability: Present in select town areas and highway stretches via low-band 5G; largely absent in remote valleys and backcountry. Mid-band 5G capacity is limited relative to metro California, so real-world speeds depend heavily on location and time of day.
• Typical user experience:
  • Populated corridors/towns: LTE commonly ~10–40 Mbps; where low-band 5G is live, ~30–100 Mbps under light load.
  • Remote areas/canyons/back roads: Sub-5 Mbps to no signal.
• Carrier landscape: Residents and first responders tend to see the most consistent rural coverage from Verizon, with AT&T competitive in towns and along FirstNet-upgraded corridors; T-Mobile coverage is improving but remains patchier off the main routes than in most California counties.
• Resiliency and power: Much of Mariposa is in high fire-threat tiers. Following California’s 72-hour backup power requirement for critical communications sites in high fire-threat areas, carriers have added batteries and generators at priority locations, improving but not eliminating service loss during PSPS events and wildfire incidents.
• Offload and public access: Libraries, schools, county offices, and hospitality venues provide essential Wi‑Fi offload, but limited fiber backhaul and long microwave hops constrain capacity compared with urban California. Fixed wireless and satellite (including Starlink) are notably more common than in the state overall and are often paired with mobile hotspots.

How Mariposa differs from statewide trends

• Older age structure lowers aggregate smartphone penetration and increases the share of voice/text-centric users compared with California overall.
• Mobile-only internet dependence is significantly higher than the California average due to sparse wireline broadband and long loop lengths; this shifts more household data demand onto cellular networks.
• Coverage gaps and steep terrain make on‑net rural reliability the dominant purchase driver, concentrating market share with the strongest two carriers to a greater extent than in urban counties.
• Seasonal tourism creates predictable, localized capacity crunches around Yosemite gateways that are atypical in most California counties.
• Emergency communications and backup power considerations are more prominent day-to-day, with residents relying heavily on WEA alerts, Nixle/AC Alerts, and county updates by SMS when power or backhaul is constrained.

Key takeaways

• Expect roughly 15,000 mobile users countywide, with about 14,000 on smartphones, but with usage patterns skewed older and more voice/SMS heavy than the state average.
• A materially higher share of households relies on cellular as their primary internet, raising the importance of robust LTE/low-band 5G coverage and capacity investments over metro-style mid-band densification alone.
• Infrastructure priorities that move the needle most in Mariposa differ from urban California: hardening for power/backhaul, corridor-focused capacity for tourism peaks, and targeted fills for canyon and ridge dead zones.

Social media in Mariposa County, CA — short data-backed profile

Scope and method

• Base population: 17,131 (U.S. Census 2020). Adoption rates modeled from Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. social media benchmarks, adjusted for rural/older age structure typical of Mariposa County. Figures are best-available local estimates.

User totals and penetration

• Estimated social media users: ~11,100 residents (≈65% of total population; ≈75% of residents age 13+).
• By age (share using at least one platform):
  • 13–17: ~92%
  • 18–29: ~90%
  • 30–49: ~82%
  • 50–64: ~69%
  • 65+: ~50%
• Gender (share of active users): Female ~52%, Male ~48% overall.

Most-used platforms in Mariposa County (estimated share of residents age 13+)

• YouTube: ~78%
• Facebook: ~70%
• Instagram: ~33%
• TikTok: ~24%
• Snapchat: ~22%
• Pinterest: ~30%
• WhatsApp: ~18%
• X (Twitter): ~15%
• Reddit: ~14%
• LinkedIn: ~15%
• Nextdoor: ~10%

Age-pattern highlights

• Teens (13–17): Heavy on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat; light on Facebook.
• 18–29: High on YouTube/Instagram/TikTok; moderate Snapchat; lower Facebook than older cohorts.
• 30–49: YouTube and Facebook dominant; Instagram moderate; WhatsApp use present.
• 50–64 and 65+: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest meaningful among women; limited TikTok/Snapchat.

Gender nuances

• Platforms skewing female: Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Groups.
• Platforms skewing male: Reddit, X, YouTube tech/news content, LinkedIn.
• Overall time-on-platform is similar by gender; content types differ (community, lifestyle, and marketplace vs. news, sports, tech).

Behavioral trends specific to a rural, tourism gateway county

• Facebook Groups are the community hub: local news, wildfire/road/power updates, school and county notices, lost & found, and buy/sell (Marketplace).
• Seasonal tourism cycle shapes content: spring–summer surges in park/travel updates, hospitality hiring, and local event promotion; strong photo/video storytelling on Instagram and YouTube tied to Yosemite.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube used for how-to/DIY, local meetings/briefings, and park conditions; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery for local businesses.
• Practical use over novelty: WhatsApp for coordinating seasonal staff and family; Nextdoor used in denser neighborhoods but secondary to Facebook.
• Older residents favor Facebook and YouTube; younger cohorts fragment across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.
• Engagement timing clusters in evenings (roughly 6–9 pm local) and weekends; weather and incident-driven spikes during fire season.

Notes

• Population: U.S. Census (2020). Adoption rates: Pew Research Center (2024). County-level figures are modeled by applying national/rural age- and platform-specific adoption to Mariposa’s older, rural profile.