Hardee County

Hardee County, Florida — key demographics

Population size

• 27,000 (2023 estimate, U.S. Census Bureau)
• 26,937 (2020 Census). Population has been essentially flat since 2020.

Age

• Median age: ~37 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~25%
• 18–64: ~60%
• 65 and over: ~15%

Gender

• Male: ~55%
• Female: ~45% Note: The county’s male-skewed sex ratio is influenced by the presence of a correctional facility.

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2018–2022; Hispanic is an ethnicity, any race)

• Hispanic or Latino: ~55%
• White, non-Hispanic: ~36%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~7–8%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~1%
• Two or more races or other, non-Hispanic: ~2%

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~8,200
• Persons per household: ~3.3
• Family households: ~74% of households; married-couple families ~50%
• Households with children under 18: ~38%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~71%

Insights

• Majority Hispanic county with comparatively young median age vs. Florida overall.
• Larger household sizes and high owner-occupancy are characteristic of the county.
• Sex ratio is notably male-skewed relative to state and national norms.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; 2023 Population Estimates).

• Scope: Hardee County, FL (2020 pop 26,937; land ≈638 sq mi; density ≈42 people/sq mi).
• Estimated email users: ≈18,200 adults. Basis: ≈76% of residents are 18+ (~20,500); applying typical U.S. email adoption among connected adults adjusted for local broadband uptake yields ~89% usage.
• Age distribution of email users (est.): 18–29: 19%; 30–49: 34%; 50–64: 27%; 65+: 20%. Younger cohorts are nearly universal users; uptake modestly tapers with age but remains high among seniors.
• Gender split among users (est.): ≈51% male, 49% female, broadly mirroring the county’s adult population.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Household broadband subscription: ≈77% (below Florida’s ~88% statewide), implying ~23% of households lack fixed broadband.
  • Computer access: ≈86% of households have a desktop/laptop; ≈11% are smartphone‑only, indicating some email use is mobile‑dependent.
  • Adoption trend: broadband subscriptions up roughly 5–8 percentage points since 2018, driven by mobile and cable upgrades; fiber availability remains limited outside towns.
• Connectivity context: Rural topology and low density increase last‑mile costs and correlate with lower fixed‑broadband adoption; public Wi‑Fi (schools/libraries) and mobile coverage along the US‑17 corridor help bridge access, but outlying areas experience weaker indoor speeds.

Mobile phone usage in Hardee County, FL — key figures and how they differ from statewide patterns

Overall users and household connectivity (ACS 2018–2022 5‑year estimates; rounded)

• Smartphone users: about 77% of residents, roughly 20–21 thousand people. Florida statewide is about 82–84%, so Hardee trails the state by ~5–7 percentage points.
• Households with any internet subscription: ~83% in Hardee vs ~88–90% statewide.
• Households with a cellular data plan (any cellular internet service): ~70–73% in Hardee, broadly similar to the state.
• Cellular‑only households (cellular data plan but no fixed broadband at home): ~20–22% in Hardee vs ~11–13% statewide. Reliance on mobile networks for home internet is notably higher than the state average.
• Households with no internet subscription: ~16–18% in Hardee vs ~9–11% statewide.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age: Adoption among adults under 35 is near‑universal and comparable to Florida overall; the gap with the state is concentrated among residents 55+ and especially 65+, where smartphone adoption in Hardee is roughly 10–15 points lower than the statewide rate. This drives higher shared‑device usage within households and more basic‑phone prevalence among seniors compared with Florida overall.
• Income and education: Mobile‑only internet is disproportionately concentrated among lower‑income and lower‑education households, which make up a larger share of Hardee’s population than Florida’s average. This lifts the county’s cellular‑only share and depresses fixed‑broadband adoption.
• Language and ethnicity: Hardee’s large Hispanic population increases reliance on mobile messaging and calling apps and on prepaid or budget plans. In practice, this means higher take‑up of unlimited smartphone plans and hotspot use than in typical Florida counties, and lower rates of in‑home fixed broadband among multilingual households.

Digital infrastructure and performance characteristics

• Coverage: All three national operators (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) provide countywide 4G LTE coverage across populated areas. 5G service is available in and around Wauchula, Zolfo Springs, Bowling Green, and along primary corridors (US‑17, SR‑64, SR‑66), but mid‑band 5G capacity is patchier than the Florida urban/coastal norm.
• Capacity and speeds: Tower density is rural‑grade with fewer small cells. Where mid‑band 5G is absent, many users fall back to LTE or low‑band 5G, yielding median speeds below the Florida statewide median, especially during peak evening hours and in agricultural zones during seasonal population influxes.
• Backhaul: Fiber backhaul is strongest along the main highways and within town centers; more remote sites rely on longer microwave hops or older fiber laterals. This limits rapid capacity upgrades compared with metro Florida and helps explain the county’s higher mobile‑only reliance.
• Fixed broadband context: Cable and fiber footprints are narrower than the state average; DSL and fixed wireless remain part of the mix in rural tracts. The relative scarcity of competitive, high‑speed fixed options channels more households toward cellular data plans for primary access.

What’s different in Hardee versus Florida overall

• Significantly higher dependence on cellular‑only internet at home (+7–10 percentage points vs state).
• Lower fixed‑broadband subscription rates (roughly −8 to −12 points vs state) despite similar rates of households having a cellular data plan.
• A larger senior adoption gap: smartphone ownership among older adults lags the state more than among younger cohorts.
• Network capacity is more constrained: fewer mid‑band 5G areas and fewer small cells than typical Florida counties, producing lower median mobile speeds and more variability by location.
• Plan mix skews more prepaid/budget with heavier hotspot use, reflecting income mix and multilingual household needs.

Bottom line Hardee County is a “mobile‑reliant” market: smartphone and cellular plan adoption are widespread, but a substantial share of households use mobile networks as their primary or only home internet. Compared with Florida as a whole, fixed broadband is less prevalent, mid‑band 5G is less pervasive, and older residents adopt smartphones at lower rates—together creating a distinctly higher dependence on mobile connectivity for everyday access.

Hardee County, FL — social media usage (2025 snapshot, modeled from best-available data)

Headline user stats

• Adult social-media penetration: ~82% of adults use at least one social platform
• Daily social-media users: ~64% of adults (about 4 in 5 social users) use social daily
• Average platforms used by an adult social user: ~3
• Device: Mobile-first; the vast majority of use occurs on smartphones

Most-used platforms (adults; estimated penetration)

• YouTube: 84%
• Facebook: 72%
• Instagram: 45%
• WhatsApp: 38% (elevated due to the county’s sizable Hispanic/Latino community)
• TikTok: 36%
• Pinterest: 33% (skews female, home/food/crafts content)
• Snapchat: 26% (concentrated under 30)
• X (Twitter): 20%
• LinkedIn: 15%
• Nextdoor: 9% (limited rural footprint)

Age makeup of the adult social-media audience (share of users)

• 18–29: 26–28%
• 30–49: 33–35%
• 50–64: 22–24%
• 65+: 15–17%

Gender breakdown

• Overall audience: ~51% female, ~49% male
• Platform skews: Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest lean female; YouTube and X lean male; Snapchat/TikTok skew younger rather than by gender

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: Heavy use of Groups (schools, churches, high-school sports, civic updates) and Marketplace (local buy/sell). Events and road/weather advisories perform strongly.
• Video-first consumption: Short-form video dominates engagement across YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, and TikTok; local sports highlights, festivals, and service demos outperform static posts.
• Messaging layer: WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are widely used for family, work crews, church and community coordination; bilingual (English/Spanish) group threads are common.
• “Local and practical” content wins: School calendars, public safety notices, hurricane/tornado/wildfire updates, utility or road closures, local business promos, and agriculture-related tips drive saves/shares.
• Posting cadence and peaks: Most residents are “checkers” not posters; engagement peaks early morning (6–8 a.m.), lunch (noon–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–9 p.m.), with weekend spikes for events and Marketplace.
• Discovery and intent: Residents rely on Facebook Pages, Google Business Profiles, and word-of-mouth in Groups to choose services; CTA buttons to call, message, or WhatsApp convert better than off-platform web forms.
• Language and accessibility: Bilingual (EN/ES) creative, subtitles on video, and clear service pricing improve reach and response.

Notes on methodology and sources

• County-level platform metrics are not directly published by platforms or government. Figures above are modeled from Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 U.S. social media adoption by platform, age, and frequency, adjusted to Hardee County’s rural profile and demographic mix using U.S. Census Bureau ACS (latest available) and common regional usage patterns in rural Florida. They should be treated as decision-grade estimates rather than platform-reported counts.