San Bernardino County

Key demographics — San Bernardino County, California (latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates, primarily 2023 ACS 1-year and 2023 Population Estimates Program):

• Population: ~2.20 million
• Age:
  • Median age: ~33–34 years
  • Under 18: ~26–27%
  • 65 and over: ~13%
• Sex:
  • Female: ~50%
  • Male: ~50%
• Race and ethnicity (Hispanic is of any race; non-Hispanic shown for all other groups):
  • Hispanic or Latino: ~56%
  • White (non-Hispanic): ~24%
  • Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~9%
  • Asian (non-Hispanic): ~7%
  • Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~3%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~1%
  • Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic): ~0.5%
• Households and housing:
  • Households: ~620,000
  • Average household size: ~3.4 persons
  • Family households: ~75% of households
  • With children under 18: ~41% of households
  • Owner-occupied housing rate: ~60%
  • Median household income: roughly upper-$70,000s (2023 dollars)
  • Poverty rate: roughly mid-teens (~14%)

Insights:

• Majority Hispanic county with comparatively young age profile and larger-than-average household sizes relative to California overall
• Homeownership sits near 60%, below the U.S. average but typical for the Inland Empire
• Income levels trail the California median, with a higher-than-state poverty rate

• Population base: ~2.2 million residents. Estimated email users: ~1.60 million (≈73% of all residents; ≈93% of adults 18+), derived from Pew-like adoption rates applied to local age structure.
• Age distribution of email users (estimated share of users): 13–17: 8%; 18–24: 13%; 25–44: 37%; 45–64: 28%; 65+: 14%. Younger and prime‑working‑age groups dominate usage; seniors participate but at lower rates.
• Gender split: ~50% female, ~50% male among users (email adoption shows no meaningful gender gap).
• Digital access (ACS, 2022):
  • ~94% of households have a computer.
  • ~89% of households have a home internet subscription (broadband, including cellular data plans).
  • ~11% of households have no home internet.
  • Within subscribers, roughly 10–12% rely on cellular data plans only (smartphone‑dependent), indicating constrained at‑home bandwidth for part of the population.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • San Bernardino County is the largest U.S. county by area (~20,105 sq mi) with ~109 people per square mile.
  • Connectivity is strong in the southwest urbanized Inland Empire corridor (San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga) and weaker in high‑desert and mountain communities, where gaps in wired broadband availability and adoption elevate mobile‑only reliance.
• Insight: High overall email penetration is moderated by geographic broadband disparities that shape how reliably residents access and use email.

Mobile phone usage in San Bernardino County, California — 2024 snapshot

User base and adoption

• Population: about 2.20 million; adults (18+) ~1.62 million.
• Estimated adult smartphone users: ~1.45 million (applying current U.S. smartphone adoption ~90% to the county’s adult population).
• Households: ~665,000.
• Internet and device profile (ACS 2018–2022 5-year patterns, aligned with 2022–2023 state comparisons):
  • Households with a cellular data plan (any): ~84% in San Bernardino County vs ~88–89% statewide.
  • Smartphone-only (cellular data plan with no other home internet): ~19% in the county vs ~11–12% statewide. That is roughly 125,000–130,000 smartphone-only households locally.
  • Wireline broadband (cable/fiber/DSL) at home: ~69% in the county vs ~77% statewide. Key takeaway: San Bernardino County relies on mobile data notably more than California overall, with a meaningfully higher share of smartphone-only households and lower wireline adoption.

Demographic drivers and usage patterns (how the county differs from California)

• Younger population structure: ~27% under age 18 locally vs ~22% statewide. Younger households are more mobile-first, contributing to above-average smartphone-only reliance.
• Ethnic composition: ~55% Hispanic/Latino (well above the state share). Bilingual messaging, social platforms, and OTT voice/video apps see outsized use; family/shared plans and prepaid lines are more prevalent.
• Income and cost factors: Median household income trails the state; combined with larger household sizes, this correlates with higher uptake of prepaid, Lifeline-supported, and mobile-only connectivity as a primary internet option.
• Geography and settlement:
  • The county spans 20,105 square miles (largest in the contiguous U.S.) with population density ~110/sq mi, far below the state average (250/sq mi). This dispersal increases the cost per resident of dense tower builds, reinforcing the county’s mobile-first but corridor-centric coverage pattern.
  • A substantial logistics and warehousing workforce (I‑10/I‑15 corridor) drives heavy on-the-go usage for navigation, fleet apps, telematics, and gig platforms relative to state averages. Net effects: More mobile dependency, more prepaid and shared-plan usage, and heavier utilization along commuting and freight corridors than the state norm.

Digital infrastructure and coverage realities

• 4G LTE is broadly available where people live and work; 5G coverage is strong in the San Bernardino Valley and High Desert city centers:
  • San Bernardino, Colton, Rialto, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Chino/Chino Hills, Redlands, and Yucaipa; in the High Desert, Victorville–Hesperia–Apple Valley and Barstow see substantial 5G deployments (T‑Mobile 2.5 GHz; Verizon/AT&T C‑band) with capacity upgrades since 2022–2024.
• Corridor-first build pattern: Highest 5G capacity clusters along I‑10, I‑15, CA‑210/215, US‑395, and around Ontario International Airport and major logistics parks. Peak-hour loads can still congest sectors near freight hubs and interchanges.
• Coverage and resiliency gaps are more pronounced than statewide averages in:
  • Mountain communities (Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear Valley) where terrain and storms complicate radio reach and power resiliency.
  • Desert and exurban areas north/east of Victor Valley, Joshua Tree–Morongo Basin, and stretches beyond Barstow toward Baker/Needles where tower spacing and backhaul are sparser.
• Public-safety and backup power: Wildfire risk areas and winter storm zones have improved, but not universal, backup-power resiliency at cell sites; outages during PSPS or severe weather still occur more frequently than in denser coastal counties.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA) momentum: 5G FWA adoption has grown faster here than in most California metros because it can be installed quickly where fiber/coax is limited, further reinforcing mobile-first home internet usage.

What stands out versus California overall

• Higher dependency on mobile-only internet at home (roughly +7–8 percentage points vs the state).
• Lower wireline broadband penetration and fewer fiber passings outside core cities, leading residents to lean on smartphones and 5G FWA for primary connectivity.
• Younger, more Hispanic/Latino, and larger households tilt toward prepaid, family bundles, and bilingual app ecosystems.
• Coverage quality and capacity are bifurcated: very competitive 5G in the valley and along freeways, but larger and more persistent gaps in mountainous and far‑desert areas than the state average.

Bottom line San Bernardino County’s mobile phone landscape is distinctly mobile-first compared with California at large: more smartphone-only households, faster FWA uptake, corridor-centric 5G capacity, and demographic and geographic factors that favor prepaid and shared plans. Continued midband 5G buildouts, FWA expansion, and targeted resiliency upgrades in mountain and desert communities are the main levers to narrow the remaining performance and access gaps with the state.

Social media in San Bernardino County, CA — snapshot (2025)

Scale and access

• Population: ≈2.2 million residents (ACS 2023)
• Households with broadband internet: ≈89% (ACS 2023)
• Estimated social media users: ≈1.6 million, ≈73% of residents (applying U.S. social-media penetration to county population; DataReportal 2025, U.S.)

Most-used platforms (share of U.S. adults; applied as the best local proxy)

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• Pinterest: 35%
• TikTok: 33%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• Snapchat: 27%
• Reddit: 22%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• WhatsApp: 21% (Pew Research Center, Social Media Use 2024)

Age and gender

• County age mix (ACS 2023, approx.): under 18 ≈26%; 18–34 ≈25%; 35–54 ≈29%; 55+ ≈20% (young-leaning county)
• Gender: ≈50% female, ≈50% male (ACS 2023)
• Any-social-media adoption by age (U.S. adults; pattern maps to the county): 18–29 ≈90%; 30–49 ≈82%; 50–64 ≈69%; 65+ ≈40% (Pew 2024)

Behavioral trends observed for the county’s profile

• Video-first consumption: YouTube and TikTok lead daily entertainment, tutorials, local news, and incident updates (fires, weather, traffic)
• Facebook as the community hub: heavy use of local Groups, swap/marketplace, events, school and city updates; strong reach into 30+ and 50+ cohorts
• Youth/young adults: Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok dominate peer communication, trends, campus and nightlife discovery; Stories/Reels/shorts drive engagement
• Hispanic-majority influence (≈55% Latino/Hispanic locally): above-average use of WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube; strong demand for bilingual (English/Spanish) content and community pages
• Commerce and discovery: Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are key for small business discovery (food spots, auto services, outdoor activities); offers, reviews, and creator recommendations influence conversions
• Neighborhood and public-safety chatter: Nextdoor-style and Facebook Groups usage for local services, code enforcement, utilities, lost/found, and preparedness; X used by agencies for real-time alerts
• Mobile-first, off-work peaks: highest engagement in evenings and weekends; short-form video and messaging outperform long-form posts

Notes on sources/method

• Demographics and broadband: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023
• Platform adoption and age usage: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (U.S. adults)
• Overall penetration: DataReportal 2025 (U.S. social-media share of population), applied to county population to size local users