Yuma County

Key demographics for Yuma County, Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 ACS 5-year estimates)

Population

• Total population: 9,988 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~38.4 years
• Under 18: ~26–27%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender

• Male: ~50–51%
• Female: ~49–50%

Race/ethnicity

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~30%
• White alone, non-Hispanic: ~64–65%
• Other (non-Hispanic Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races): ~5–6% combined (Note: Hispanic can be of any race; sums reflect ethnicity + race categories.)

Households and housing

• Total households: ~3,800–3,900
• Average household size: ~2.6 persons
• Family households: ~65–66% of households
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~70–75%
• Households with children under 18: ~30–32%

Insights

• Rural county with a sizable Hispanic community (~3 in 10 residents).
• Age structure skews slightly older than the U.S. overall, with roughly 1 in 5 residents 65+.
• Household sizes are modestly above the U.S. average, and homeownership is high, consistent with rural housing patterns.

Yuma County, CO (population about 9,900; density about 4 people per square mile) is predominantly rural, shaping digital access and email behavior.

Estimated email users (age 13+): about 7,000.

Age profile of email users:

• 13–17: 7% (about 490)
• 18–34: 23% (about 1,610)
• 35–54: 34% (about 2,380)
• 55–64: 17% (about 1,190)
• 65+: 19% (about 1,330)

Gender split among users: approximately 50% female and 50% male, mirroring the county’s near‑even sex ratio.

Digital access and connectivity:

• About 80% of households have a broadband subscription (around 3,050 of roughly 3,800 households), with highest speeds in Yuma and Wray and slower or satellite‑reliant service in outlying farm and ranch areas.
• About 84% of adults carry smartphones, supporting email via mobile apps; around 8% of households are mobile‑only.
• Public Wi‑Fi and device access are available through libraries and schools in Yuma and Wray.

Trends and usage:

• Gradual fiber build‑outs in town centers and along main corridors are improving speeds and reliability.
• Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults and widely used by older residents for healthcare, agriculture markets, and government services, while teen usage is primarily for school and app accounts.

Mobile phone usage in Yuma County, Colorado (2024 snapshot)

Scope and scale

• Population and households: 9,988 residents (2020 Census); roughly 9,900 residents and about 3,800 households in 2023 estimates.
• Estimated mobile users: About 8,300 residents use a mobile phone (≈84% of the population), consistent with rural U.S. ownership levels.
• Estimated smartphone users: About 6,800 residents (≈69% of the population), reflecting lower rural smartphone adoption than Colorado’s urban Front Range.
• Mobile-only internet households: Approximately 500 households (≈13%) rely primarily on cellular for home internet, versus roughly 8–9% statewide.

Demographic factors and usage patterns

• Age mix: Yuma County skews older than the state, with a larger share of residents 65+. Smartphone adoption among seniors is materially lower (≈60–65%) than among working-age adults (≈80–90%) and young adults/teens (≈90%+). This age structure pulls countywide smartphone penetration below the Colorado average.
• Ethnicity and language: A sizable Hispanic population (on the order of 28–30%, higher than the state average) correlates with higher rates of mobile-first access (smartphone + hotspot) for work, education, and communication with extended family, especially in agricultural and shift-based employment.
• Income and occupation: Median household incomes trail the state average, and agricultural work is a larger employment share. Both factors are associated with:
  • Greater use of prepaid and value-focused plans
  • Above-average incidence of single-line accounts
  • Higher likelihood of relying on mobile data for broadband in areas without affordable wireline options

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Carriers present: AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile, and regional carrier Viaero Wireless all operate in the county. Viaero has an outsized footprint in the eastern plains and is a common choice in rural areas and along county roads.
• 4G/5G coverage:
  • LTE is broadly available along US‑34, US‑385, CO‑59, and in/around Yuma, Wray, Eckley, Idalia, and Clarkville. Coverage thins on unpaved roads and in far‑edge sections near the Nebraska and Kansas borders.
  • 5G is primarily low‑band (coverage‑oriented) rather than capacity‑oriented. T‑Mobile’s low‑band 5G covers most populated corridors; AT&T and Verizon 5G are strongest along main highways and in towns. Mid‑band 5G (high‑capacity) is far less prevalent than on the Front Range; mmWave is effectively absent.
  • FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) presence is oriented to highway corridors and public‑safety sites; off‑corridor Band 14 coverage is spotty compared with metro counties.
• Capacity and speeds:
  • Typical user experience relies on LTE or low‑band 5G with wide cells and few sectors per site, which limits capacity. Median speeds are notably lower than Colorado’s urban counties and can degrade during fieldwork seasons and school commute hours.
  • In‑building coverage challenges are common in metal agricultural structures and large warehouses; signal boosters are widely used.
• Backhaul and fiber:
  • Rural fiber from local cooperatives (notably Plains Cooperative/PC Telcom) underpins town‑center capacity and key transport routes. Legacy copper/DSL remains in scattered areas; cable broadband is limited to town cores. State/federal programs (BEAD, ReConnect) are actively targeting eastern plains backfill, which should gradually improve mobile backhaul and peak‑hour performance over the next 2–3 years.
• Roaming and borders: Connectivity near county edges often hands off to towers in adjacent Nebraska/Kansas. Device/carrier choice matters for farm and logistics operations that span state lines.

How Yuma County trends differ from the Colorado average

• Lower smartphone penetration and higher mobile‑only reliance: A larger senior share and lower household incomes drive fewer smartphones per capita and more households relying solely on cellular for home internet than the statewide norm.
• Coverage model favors breadth over capacity: Low‑band 5G and LTE cover long distances between sparsely spaced towers; Colorado’s urban counties enjoy denser sites, more mid‑band 5G, and much higher median speeds.
• Regional carrier relevance: Viaero’s network matters more in Yuma County than in metro counties, reflecting rural tower placement and service focus on agricultural corridors.
• Greater variability by micro‑location: Signal quality changes quickly with distance from highways, elevation, and building type—much more so than in Colorado’s dense Front Range markets.

Actionable implications

• For residents and small businesses: Carriers with proven rural coverage (including Viaero) or plans that include roaming on the eastern plains can materially improve reliability. Signal boosters are often necessary for metal buildings.
• For agencies and providers: Continued fiber backhaul buildout and selective infill sites along county roads will yield disproportionately large gains in user experience compared with adding spectrum alone.
• For workforce and education: Expect sustained demand for mobile hotspots and device‑based access in areas awaiting last‑mile fiber, particularly among mobile/seasonal workers and lower‑income households.

Notes on methodology

• Population and household counts are based on U.S. Census Bureau 2020 and recent estimates.
• User and mobile‑only household figures are derived by applying current rural U.S. mobile/smartphone adoption benchmarks (Pew Research and industry analyses) to Yuma County’s population and age structure; they are county‑specific estimates aligned with observed rural‑vs‑state patterns in Colorado.

Yuma County, CO — Social Media Usage (modeled 2025 estimates)

Headline user stats

• Population: ~9,900; adults (18+): ~7,250
• Adult social media users: ~5,400 (≈74% of adults; ≈55% of total population)
• Average daily users among adult social media users: ~70%

Age breakdown of adult social media users

• 18–29: 23%
• 30–49: 40%
• 50–64: 24%
• 65+: 13%

Gender breakdown of adult social media users

• Female: ~52%
• Male: ~48%

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults who use each)

• YouTube: ~82%
• Facebook: ~72%
• Instagram: ~42%
• Pinterest: ~33%
• TikTok: ~31%
• WhatsApp: ~26%
• Snapchat: ~24%
• X (Twitter): ~19%
• LinkedIn: ~20%
• Reddit: ~16%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook as the community hub: Heavy use of Groups, Pages, and Marketplace for local news, school sports, events (county fair, 4-H), farm/ranch classifieds, and public notices. Messenger is a primary communication tool.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube is dominant for how-to, equipment maintenance, weather/ag market commentary, church services, and local recordings. Short-form vertical video (FB/IG Reels, TikTok) drives the highest completion rates for local businesses and events.
• Youth skew on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat: Teens and 18–29s rely on TikTok and Snapchat for peer communication and highlights; Instagram for athletics and local creator content.
• Hispanic community usage: Elevated Facebook and WhatsApp adoption for family, small business, and community coordination; Spanish-language posts earn above-average engagement.
• What content performs best: High school sports highlights, severe weather and road conditions, local government/service updates, lost-and-found, farm/ranch tips, and buy/sell posts. Posts with clear locality cues (town names, landmarks, school mascots) outperform.
• Timing: Engagement peaks before work (7–8 a.m.), lunchtime (12–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–9 p.m., MT). Weekend mornings show strong Marketplace and event interest.
• Platforms with limited traction: LinkedIn and Reddit remain niche; X (Twitter) usage centers on state agencies, local officials, and sports/alerts.

Notes on method

• Figures are county-level modeled estimates derived from Yuma County’s age/sex composition (U.S. Census/ACS) applied to Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. social platform adoption by age and rural/urban segment, with adjustments for local rural patterns and Hispanic usage.