Adams County

Which source/year would you like me to use: the latest ACS (2023 1-year), ACS 2018–2022 5-year, or the official 2020 Census? If no preference, I’ll use 2023 ACS 1-year estimates.

Adams County, CO snapshot (estimates)

• Email users: ~370,000 residents (range 350k–400k). Basis: ~520k population; ~74% adults; ~92% of U.S. adults use email and most teens have school or personal accounts.
• Age pattern: 18–29: ~98–100% use; 30–49: ~96–98%; 50–64: ~92–95%; 65+: ~85–90%. Teens 13–17: ~70–85% (often school-driven).
• Gender split: Near parity; men and women both ~90–94% usage, with no meaningful gap in frequency.
• Digital access trends: About nine in ten households have a home broadband subscription (ACS/FCC-patterned), with the highest fixed‑broadband speeds and provider choice in the western urban corridor (Thornton, Westminster, Northglenn, Commerce City, Aurora portions). More smartphone‑reliant and unserved pockets appear in lower‑income tracts and the county’s rural east.
• Local density/connectivity: Population density ~440 people per square mile, concentrated along the I‑25/US‑36 corridor; cable and fiber coverage is strongest there (major ISPs include Xfinity and CenturyLink/Lumen). Public libraries and schools supplement access with Wi‑Fi and devices.

Note: Figures are derived from Census/ACS demographics and national email‑adoption research; treat as indicative rather than exact counts.

Below is a concise, county-focused view using the latest broadly available public data (primarily ACS 2018–2022 5‑year tables on devices and internet subscriptions, plus statewide benchmarks and carrier deployment patterns through 2024). Figures are rounded to convey scale; use them as planning estimates rather than precise counts.

Headline estimate for Adams County

• Adult smartphone users: roughly 350,000–375,000 (about 88–92% of adults).
• Households: ~185,000–190,000 total; about 80–85% pay for a cellular data plan; an estimated 18–22% are “mobile‑only” (cellular data plan with no fixed home internet), equal to roughly 33,000–41,000 households.
• Fixed broadband at home: roughly 78–84% of households (cable/fiber/DSL). A small remainder (about 2–4%) have no internet subscription.

How Adams County differs from Colorado overall

• More mobile‑only households: Adams ~18–22% vs Colorado ~12–15%. Mobile substitution is notably higher in Adams.
• Slightly lower fixed‑broadband uptake: Adams ~78–84% vs Colorado ~82–88%. The gap is most visible in renter and lower‑income tracts in western Commerce City, parts of Thornton/Federal Heights, and older housing stock.
• Device mix skews more “phone‑first”: Smartphone access is similar to the state, but desktop/laptop and tablet ownership rates trail the state average; more residents rely on smartphones as their primary or only computing device.
• ACP/affordability legacy effects: Prior to the 2024 wind‑down of the Affordable Connectivity Program, enrollment rates in Adams trended above the state average. That fostered stronger adoption of mobile and 5G fixed‑wireless offers; the program’s lapse increases risk of churn back to mobile‑only service in Adams more than statewide.

Demographic patterns inside the county

• Age: Under‑35 households show the highest smartphone‑only reliance. Mobile‑only rates are well above the county average for this group and below average for 65+.
• Income: Households below ~$50k are much more likely to be mobile‑only (roughly 1.5–2x the county average share). Higher‑income areas (e.g., newer subdivisions in Thornton/Westminster/Northglenn) have higher fixed‑broadband and fiber take‑rates.
• Housing tenure: Renters are significantly more likely to be mobile‑only than owners.
• Race/ethnicity and language: Hispanic/Latino households (a larger share of Adams than the state overall) show higher smartphone dependence and higher mobile‑only rates than non‑Hispanic White households, aligning with statewide and national patterns but with a larger local effect in Adams due to its demographic mix.

Digital infrastructure snapshot

• Cellular coverage and performance:
  • Western/central corridors (I‑25, I‑76, I‑70, US‑85, E‑470) have dense 4G LTE and broad mid‑band 5G from T‑Mobile (n41) and Verizon (C‑band n77), with AT&T 5G+ in select nodes. Urban/suburban Adams sees strong 5G availability and competitive mid‑band speeds suitable for video and home internet substitution.
  • Eastern Adams (Bennett, Strasburg, Watkins, rural plains) relies more on low‑band 5G/LTE with fewer sites; speeds and capacity dip, and indoor coverage can be variable. This west‑to‑east gradient is sharper than the statewide average because Colorado’s Front Range counties often have more uniform urban density.
• 5G fixed‑wireless home internet (FWA):
  • T‑Mobile and Verizon 5G Home products are widely marketed in suburban Adams and have gained share, especially among renters and price‑sensitive households. Uptake is higher than the statewide average in similar suburban tracts, contributing to the county’s elevated mobile‑only/phone‑first profile.
• Wireline broadband:
  • Cable (Comcast Xfinity) covers most populated areas and is the default fixed option. FTTH buildout is present but patchier than in Denver/Boulder tech corridors; eastern tracts skew to cable/DSL or no wired option. Compared with Colorado overall, Adams has fewer neighborhoods with ubiquitous fiber, reinforcing mobile substitution.
• Public and transportation nodes:
  • Industrial/logistics clusters along I‑70/I‑76 and around Commerce City see heavy daytime mobile loads; networks are generally engineered for this but experience more peak variance than residential zones.
  • Parks/open‑space areas (e.g., Barr Lake vicinity) and far‑east agricultural roads have known weak/variable signal relative to Front Range norms.

What this means for planning and outreach

• Expect higher demand for affordable, uncapped mobile data and for FWA as a primary home connection than the Colorado average.
• Digital‑equity work in Adams benefits from mobile‑centric strategies: device support, multilingual onboarding, Wi‑Fi offload in multifamily/renter communities, and anchor‑institution Wi‑Fi in coverage‑constrained pockets.
• As fiber expands incrementally, the mobile‑only share will likely decline slowly in western suburbs but remain elevated in renter‑heavy and far‑east areas without new wireline investment.

Sources and notes

• U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018–2022 5‑year (Tables S2801/S2802: Computer/Internet subscription by device and selected demographics), county vs. state comparisons.
• Pew Research Center smartphone adoption benchmarks through 2023 for national context.
• Carrier 5G deployments and FCC Broadband Map patterns through 2024 for infrastructure characterization.
• Figures are rounded ranges derived from these sources and local population/household counts; they are suitable for strategy and sizing but not for regulatory reporting.

Social media snapshot: Adams County, Colorado (estimates for 2025)

How these numbers were built

• Benchmarked to recent U.S. social media adoption data (Pew Research Center 2023–2024) and applied to Adams County’s adult population (~400,000; total county ~525,000). Figures are modeled estimates, not official county measurements; expect ±3–5 percentage points.

Overall user stats

• Adults (18+): ~73% use at least one social platform ≈ 290k users
• Teens (13–17): ~95% use social media; local cohort ≈ 34k users
• Household internet access is high (Colorado averages near 90%+), supporting broad usage.

Age mix (adult users)

• 18–29: ~25–30% of local users
• 30–49: ~35–40% (largest share)
• 50–64: ~20–25%
• 65+: ~10–15% (heavy on Facebook/YouTube)

Gender breakdown (adult users)

• Women: ~52–55%
• Men: ~45–48%
• Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; men on YouTube, Reddit, X.

Most-used platforms (adults; percent of adults, with rough user counts)

• YouTube: 83% (330k)
• Facebook: 68% (270k)
• Instagram: 47% (190k)
• Pinterest: 35% (140k)
• TikTok: 33% (130k)
• LinkedIn: 30% (120k)
• Snapchat: 27% (110k)
• X (Twitter): 22% (90k)
• Reddit: 22% (90k)
• Nextdoor: 15% (60k; neighborhood-focused, highly localized engagement)

Most-used platforms (teens; percent of teens, rough counts)

• YouTube: 95% (32–34k)
• TikTok: 60–65% (21–23k)
• Instagram: 60–65% (21–23k)
• Snapchat: 60% (20–22k)

Behavioral trends to know

• Community-first: Strong participation in city- and school-centric Facebook Groups (Thornton, Commerce City, Brighton, Northglenn, Westminster areas) and on Nextdoor for neighborhood updates, safety, and city services.
• Marketplace culture: High engagement with Facebook Marketplace for vehicles, tools, home/yard items; local pickup posts perform well with price transparency and clear photos.
• Bilingual reach: Large Hispanic/Latino population means English/Spanish content, captions, and ads outperform monolingual posts; Spanish-language reels and community announcements see outsized shares.
• Short-form video wins: Reels/TikTok/Shorts drive discovery for local food, youth sports, outdoors, and events. Vertical video, subtitles, and geo tags boost completion rates.
• Commute and family-time peaks: Engagement typically clusters around 7–9 a.m., lunch, and 7–10 p.m. (after-school/after-work). Weekends favor events, youth activities, and DIY content.
• Youth messaging channels: Teens lean on Snapchat for daily communication; cross-posting short video to TikTok and Instagram Reels extends reach.
• Local credibility signals: Posts featuring schools, parks, county services, and Denver-metro tie-ins see higher comments and shares than generic content.
• Jobs and trade networks: LinkedIn usage is notable among logistics, healthcare, public sector, and DIA-corridor employers; job posts and credential-focused content perform well.
• Visual planning: Pinterest is a sleeper channel for homeowners (landscaping, remodels, crafts); how-tos and checklists outperform pure inspiration.

Note

• Percentages reflect adults unless noted; figures are estimates derived from national usage patterns scaled to Adams County’s demographics. For campaign planning, validate with platform geotargeting reach estimates and local page/group insights.