Pitkin County

Pitkin County, Colorado — key demographics (latest Census/ACS)

Population

• Total population: 17,358 (2020 Census); 18,849 (2023 estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~44 years
• Under 5 years: 3.4%
• Under 18 years: 16.2%
• 65 years and over: 22.9%

Gender

• Female: 48.3%
• Male: 51.7%

Race and ethnicity

• White alone: 91.6%
• Black or African American alone: 0.6%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.7%
• Asian alone: 1.4%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 5.6%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 9.9%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: 83.0%

Households and housing

• Households: ~7,600
• Average household size: ~2.1 persons
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~68%
• Notable pattern: high share of seasonal/second homes contributes to smaller household size and lower year-round occupancy

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022/2019–2023 ACS; 2023 Population Estimates).

Pitkin County, CO (population ≈18,000) has an estimated ≈15,800 resident email users (about 88–90% of residents), reflecting Colorado’s high internet adoption and the county’s affluent, well-connected communities.

Age distribution of email users (approximate share of users):

• 13–17: 7%
• 18–34: 24%
• 35–64: 49% (largest cohort)
• 65+: 20% (slightly lower adoption than younger adults, but still high)

Gender split: County population is roughly 53% male and 47% female; email usage is essentially equal by gender, yielding about 52% male and 48% female among users.

Digital access trends and connectivity:

• Over 90% of households subscribe to broadband, with growing fiber and gigabit availability; Aspen/Snowmass sit on the Project THOR regional middle‑mile, improving redundancy and uptime.
• 5G and strong LTE coverage concentrate along CO‑82; mountainous terrain causes spotty service in remote valleys and passes.
• Remote/hybrid work, tourism, and service-sector employment sustain heavy email reliance year‑round, with seasonal surges.

Local density facts: Population density is roughly 18 residents per square mile, but the majority live along the Hwy‑82 corridor (Aspen–Snowmass–Basalt), where broadband speeds and competition are highest, complemented by public Wi‑Fi in municipal buildings and libraries.

Pitkin County, CO mobile phone usage summary (2024)

Snapshot and user estimates

• Population and households: ~18,000 residents and ~8,200 households (Census/ACS 2023).
• Mobile phone users: ~15,000 individual users (estimate derived from age structure and ACS device-access rates).
• Smartphone access (households): 95–97% of households report having a smartphone (ACS S2801, latest year available).
• Cellular data plan (households): ~75–80% have a cellular data plan; mobile-only internet households are low at ~5–7% (ACS S2801).
• How Pitkin differs from Colorado overall:
  • Higher smartphone access and lower mobile-only reliance than the state average (Colorado mobile-only household share typically low double-digits statewide).
  • Very high resident coverage along the State Highway 82 corridor, but a much smaller share of county land area has reliable signal compared with Colorado’s Front Range counties.

Demographic breakdown of mobile adoption and use

• Age:
  • Adults 18–64: near-universal smartphone adoption (>95%); makes up the bulk of daily users in Aspen–Snowmass service, hospitality, and professional sectors.
  • 65+: adoption is higher than the state average for this age group (≈80–90% vs statewide upper-70s to low-80s), driven by income and education levels.
  • Teens (13–17): very high adoption (>90%); heavy use of social, messaging, and streaming concentrated in Aspen, Snowmass Village, and school/activity hubs.
• Income and education:
  • Higher-income households, second-home owners, and remote workers show near-ubiquitous smartphone and multi-line plans; device-per-person ratios are above state norms.
  • Lower-income service workers (many commuting from Garfield and Eagle Counties) skew toward single-line, cost-optimized plans but still show high smartphone penetration.
• Language and ethnicity:
  • Hispanic/Latino residents (roughly 8–10% of the county population) exhibit high smartphone reliance for communications and remittances; app-based messaging and bilingual content usage are above-average for the county share.
• Seasonal dynamics:
  • Daytime and peak-season populations routinely exceed 30,000, materially increasing mobile demand during ski season, festivals, and the X Games; carriers augment capacity with temporary cells (COWs) and small cells.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers and radio access:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) operate LTE and 5G in the population centers; mid-band 5G is present in Aspen and Snowmass Village cores, with low-band 5G extending along SH-82 toward Basalt.
• Coverage geography:
  • Reliable service is strongest along SH-82 (Aspen–Snowmass–Brush Creek–Intercept Lot–Woody Creek–Basalt). Coverage drops in steep canyons and backcountry: Castle Creek, Maroon Creek, Independence Pass, Ashcroft, Fryingpan Valley, and high-altitude trailheads have significant gaps or only spotty low-band service.
  • Relative to the state, Pitkin has:
    • Higher percentage of residents covered by 4G/5G, given its concentrated settlement pattern.
    • Lower percentage of land area covered, due to terrain and protected lands limiting macro siting and backhaul.
• Sites and capacity:
  • Macro sites are clustered near Aspen Mountain/Ajax, Buttermilk, Snowmass, and the SH-82 corridor; resorts and downtown cores use small cells and indoor DAS to serve dense crowd loads.
  • Backhaul is a constraint off the main corridor; microwave is common where fiber is unavailable.
  • FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) presence covers the corridor and critical facilities to support public safety and wildfire response.
• Performance expectations:
  • In Aspen/Snowmass cores: typical 5G mid-band downlink 150–400 Mbps during non-peak, with uplink 15–50 Mbps; LTE fallback commonly 10–50 Mbps.
  • Along SH-82 outside cores: performance varies by terrain and load; valleys and canyons can drop to single-digit Mbps or no service.
  • Peak-event congestion is managed with temporary capacity, but upload performance and latency are the first to degrade during crowd surges.

Behavioral and market insights

• Wi‑Fi offload is heavy in lodges, hotels, transit centers, and restaurants, moderating cellular backhaul pressure in town while leaving outdoor and trail networks comparatively constrained.
• Roaming and transient users (tourists, second-home owners, international visitors) make Pitkin’s SIM mix and traffic patterns less stable than the state profile; weekend and holiday surges outpace typical Colorado counties.
• Work-from-home and hybrid professionals rely on dual-connectivity (fixed broadband + mobile hotspot). Mobile-only households are uncommon compared with state averages because fixed broadband availability and incomes are high in the populated corridor.

Key differences from statewide trends

• Higher device penetration and multi-line ownership, driven by income and second-home prevalence.
• Lower reliance on cellular as the sole home internet compared with Colorado overall.
• More pronounced urban–wildland coverage divide: excellent 5G in cores versus large dead zones across backcountry land area; Colorado’s Front Range counties do not exhibit this gap as strongly.
• Stronger seasonal variability in demand and more frequent use of temporary cells than typical counties.
• Older median age than the state but with unusually high smartphone adoption among older adults relative to statewide peers.

Sources and methodology

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) S0101 (age) and S2801 (Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions), latest 1-year/5-year releases through 2023 for Pitkin County and Colorado.
• FCC Broadband Data Collection (mobile) and carrier-reported 4G/5G footprints through mid-2024; generalized to resident-coverage versus land-coverage patterns given mountainous terrain.
• Local government permits, public safety/FirstNet announcements, and resort operator communications regarding small cells, DAS, and event deployments.
• Estimates for user counts are derived by applying ACS device-access rates to the county’s age structure and adjusting for seasonal daytime population.

Pitkin County, CO — social media usage snapshot (modeled to 2025)

How many people use social media

• Roughly 7 in 10 adults use at least one social platform (Pew Research Center, U.S. adults). In a county the size of Pitkin, that implies the majority of residents are active social media users.

Most-used platforms among adults (best-available proxy: U.S. adoption, Pew 2024)

• YouTube: ~83%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~50%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• TikTok: ~33%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• Reddit: ~22%
• WhatsApp: ~21%
• Nextdoor: ~18–20% Note: Local shares typically track these ranks closely; affluent, high-broadband mountain communities like Pitkin often over-index slightly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Nextdoor.

Age-group patterns (adults)

• 18–34: Very heavy on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube; Facebook used more for events/housing groups than posting.
• 35–54: YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram dominate; Nextdoor usage rises with homeownership; LinkedIn relevant for professionals.
• 55+: Facebook remains the default; YouTube for how‑to and travel; Pinterest for home/food interests; LinkedIn among executives/consultants.

Gender breakdown (usage tendencies)

• Women: More likely to use Facebook and Pinterest; high engagement in local parenting, community, and event groups; strong participation in marketplace-style groups.
• Men: More likely to use YouTube, Reddit, and X; higher engagement with snow conditions, gear reviews, backcountry discussions, and sports content.
• Instagram usage is broadly balanced by gender; LinkedIn skews toward higher-education/high-income cohorts of both genders common in Pitkin.

Behavioral trends specific to Pitkin County

• Seasonal peaks: Spikes in late Dec–Mar (ski season) and Jun–Aug (summer). Content and engagement surge during X Games Aspen and major snowstorms/powder days.
• Real-time utility: Rapid sharing of road closures (e.g., CO‑82/Independence Pass), avalanche advisories, lift status, wildfire/smoke updates via Facebook Groups, Instagram Stories, and X.
• Visual-first discovery: Short-form video (Reels/TikTok) and Stories drive restaurant, après-ski, and retail discovery; geotags around Aspen/Snowmass concentrate UGC.
• Community/localism: Facebook Groups and Nextdoor are pivotal for housing, childcare, service recommendations, and civic issues; authenticity and environmental stewardship themes get outsized engagement.
• Visitor vs. resident split: A large share of public posts come from visitors; residents skew to lurking, commenting, and group participation rather than public broadcasting.
• Daily rhythm: Mobile-dominant; early-morning checks for snow/road conditions and higher posting in early evening after ski day/work.

Sources and method

• Platform percentages are from Pew Research Center’s 2024 Social Media Use study (U.S. adults) and serve as the best-available proxy for county-level shares. Demographic tendencies reflect Pew’s age/gender breakouts and the U.S. Census Bureau’s ACS profile for Pitkin County. Local adoption typically varies only a few points from these benchmarks in similar high-income, high-broadband mountain counties.