Holmes County

Holmes County, Florida — key demographics

Population size

• 19,653 residents (2020 Decennial Census)

Age

• Median age: ~41.6 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~20%
• 18 to 64: ~60%
• 65 and older: ~20%

Gender

• Male: ~54%
• Female: ~46% (Note: The male skew is influenced by the local correctional population.)

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive; ACS 2018–2022)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~83%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~9%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~5%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2%
• Other (Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander), non-Hispanic: ~1%

Households and housing

• Total households: ~7,250
• Average household size: ~2.6
• Family households: ~67% (about half are married-couple households)
• Households with children under 18: ~27%
• Single-person households: ~26% (about 12% are 65+ living alone)
• Housing units: ~9,300
• Owner-occupied: ~78%; renter-occupied: ~22%
• Median household income: ~$45,000
• Persons below poverty level: ~20%

Insights

• Small, rural county with an older-than-national median age.
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White with modest Black and Hispanic populations.
• High owner-occupancy and relatively small household sizes.
• Income and poverty metrics indicate economic challenges relative to Florida overall.

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

Holmes County, Florida — email usage snapshot

• Population and density: ≈20,000 residents across ~480 sq mi (≈42 people per sq mi), predominantly rural.
• Estimated email users: ≈14,800 adult email users (about 92% of ~16,000 adults), using Pew adult email-adoption rates applied to local age structure.
• Age distribution of email users (est. counts):
  • 18–29: ≈2,550 (≈17%)
  • 30–49: ≈4,800 (≈32%)
  • 50–64: ≈3,680 (≈25%)
  • 65+: ≈3,740 (≈25%)
• Gender split: Nearly even; email adoption is similar by gender. Approximate user mix ≈50% male and ≈50% female, mirroring the adult population.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Broadband subscription: ≈75–80% of households (below Florida’s statewide average), reflecting rural infrastructure gaps.
  • Device profile: Smartphone ownership is high (~85% of adults); an estimated 15–20% are smartphone‑only for internet access.
  • Connectivity pattern: Faster fixed broadband is concentrated in town centers; coverage and speeds drop in outlying rural areas, leading to greater reliance on mobile data and public Wi‑Fi for some households.

Insights: Email is effectively universal among working‑age adults; the largest user bloc is 30–49. Seniors are substantial users but remain the most impacted by patchy home broadband, nudging higher mobile‑only email use in rural zones.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Holmes County, Florida

Context

• Population and density: 19,653 residents (2020 Census) across ~480–490 square miles, yielding roughly 40 people per square mile—about one-tenth of Florida’s average density. The county seat is Bonifay, with other population centers including Ponce de Leon, Esto, Noma, and Westville. Low density shapes how networks are built (fewer sites, longer inter-site distances) and how people use mobile services.

User estimates (adults and teens)

• Adult mobile phone users (any mobile phone): ~15,100–15,600. Method: apply Pew Research’s ~97% mobile-phone ownership among U.S. adults to Holmes County’s adult population (roughly 15.6K–16.1K based on 2020 age structure).
• Adult smartphone users: ~12,700–13,300. Method: apply age-specific smartphone ownership from Pew (approx. 96% for 18–29, 95% for 30–49, 83% for 50–64, 61% for 65+) to Holmes County’s age mix.
• Teen smartphone users (13–17): 1,050–1,150, reflecting high teen smartphone adoption (90–95%) and local cohort size.
• Total smartphone users (adults + teens): approximately 13,800–14,400. Key differences vs. Florida overall: The total share of smartphone users in Holmes County is a few points lower than Florida’s urban-heavy average, primarily due to a larger share of lower-income and older residents and a more rural infrastructure footprint. Mobile phone (any type) ownership is still nearly universal among adults, similar to statewide levels.

Demographic patterns that shape usage

• Age: A larger 50+ cohort than in metro Florida depresses overall smartphone penetration and app-intensive usage. Younger adults mirror statewide behavior (near-universal smartphone use, heavy social/video).
• Income and education: Median household income is well below the state average, and bachelor’s attainment is lower. This correlates with:
  • Higher prevalence of prepaid plans (Cricket, Metro, Straight Talk) and BYOD.
  • Longer device replacement cycles and greater use of refurbished/older models.
  • Greater reliance on smartphones as the primary internet connection for the home when fixed broadband is limited or unaffordable.
• Race/ethnicity: The county is predominantly non-Hispanic White with relatively small Hispanic and Black populations compared with Florida overall, which modestly reduces multilingual plan/support demand compared with major metros.

How usage differs from state-level trends

• More prepaid, less postpaid premium mix: Holmes County skews toward value/prepaid offerings more than the state average, with corresponding plan features (throttling at lower thresholds, hotspot caps) that can affect perceived performance.
• Greater mobile-only internet reliance: A higher share of households rely on mobile data for primary home internet than in Florida’s metro areas, because fixed broadband options are sparser and pricier relative to income.
• Slightly lower smartphone penetration among seniors: The 65+ adoption gap is wider than in urban Florida, pulling down the county’s overall smartphone share despite near-universal mobile ownership.
• Slower average speeds and more variability: Users experience more low-band 5G/LTE and fewer mid-band 5G cells than in the state’s urban cores, yielding lower median speeds and bigger peaks/troughs by time of day.
• Longer device lifecycles: Handsets stay in use longer than in metro Florida, which limits access to newer 5G radios/bands and dampens the benefit of recent network investments.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers present: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon operate macro LTE and low-band 5G across the county. FirstNet (AT&T) supports public-safety users.
• 5G footprint: Low-band 5G is broadly available; mid-band 5G (e.g., n41/n77) is concentrated along major corridors and within Bonifay and other town centers. Small-cell density is minimal compared with Florida cities.
• Coverage geography:
  • Strongest along I-10, US 90, SR 79, and SR 81 and around schools, clinics, and county facilities.
  • More signal variability in sparsely populated, forested, or low-lying areas and near the Alabama line where inter-site distances grow and handoffs/roaming can increase.
• Capacity and performance:
  • Typical rural 5G/LTE experience with low-band coverage focus; mid-band capacity is present but not ubiquitous, so speeds can drop during school release, evening video hours, and county events.
  • Hotspot use is common for home connectivity, which can push users into deprioritization on congested sectors.
• Resiliency notes: Being inland reduces hurricane storm-surge risk, but extended power/transport disruptions from Gulf storms can still impact sites. Residents and agencies often use multi-carrier redundancy and vehicle chargers during outages.

Practical implications for the market

• Retail mix: Higher share of prepaid/MVNO activations; carrier-owned stores cluster in Bonifay and along major routes, with indirect dealers serving smaller communities.
• Product/plan fit: Unlimited plans with moderate hotspot, generous deprioritization thresholds, and Wi‑Fi calling are valued; device financing needs to address subprime credit and promote refurbished 5G handsets.
• Network investment priorities: Additional mid-band 5G sectors and backhaul upgrades near schools, clinics, and civic centers would yield outsized benefits. Highway and school-zone capacity improvements address the most consistent congestion spikes.

Sources and methods

• Population and age structure: U.S. Census 2020 and ACS 5‑year profiles for Holmes County.
• Ownership rates: Pew Research Center (2023) smartphone and mobile phone ownership by age; teen adoption from national adolescent media/device use studies.
• Coverage characterization: Carrier public 5G/LTE coverage disclosures and typical rural deployment patterns in Florida’s Panhandle; observations aligned with FCC BDC-reported availability patterns for rural counties.

Bottom line

• Nearly all adults in Holmes County use a mobile phone, and roughly 14K residents use a smartphone. Compared with Florida’s metro-dominated baseline, Holmes County shows higher reliance on prepaid and mobile-only internet, somewhat lower smartphone penetration among seniors, and more low-band 5G/LTE usage with fewer mid-band capacity layers—differences driven by rural density, income, and the county’s lean cell-site grid.

Holmes County, FL: Social media usage snapshot (2025)

Important note: No public dataset reports platform-by-platform usage for Holmes County specifically. Figures below use the latest available U.S. rural/Florida benchmarks (Pew Research Center, platform ad-reach tools) scaled to the county’s population profile. Treat the percentages as best-available estimates for planning.

Population and user base

• Population: ~20,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau; small, rural county in the Panhandle).
• Estimated social media users: 12,000–14,000 residents (roughly 70–80% of those age 13+; consistent with rural U.S. adoption).

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use the platform; estimated, rural benchmarks applied locally)

• Facebook: 70–75% (No. 1 for community info, schools, churches, Marketplace).
• YouTube: 70–80% (how‑to, local sports highlights, hunting/fishing content).
• Instagram: 30–40% (strong among 18–34; local businesses and athletics).
• TikTok: 25–35% (teens/20s; short local clips, sports, trades, farm/rural life).
• Snapchat: 20–25% (teens/early 20s; peer messaging).
• Pinterest: 25–30% of adults, skew female (home, crafts, recipes).
• X (Twitter): 10–15% (news/sports niche; limited local posting).
• WhatsApp: 10–15% (family, small workgroups).
• Reddit: 8–12% (niche interests; regional/state subs more active than county‑specific).
• Nextdoor: under 10% (low neighborhood density limits adoption).

Age profile of social users (share of local social media users; estimated)

• 13–17: 10–12% (heavy TikTok/Snap; light Facebook except for school/teams).
• 18–29: 18–22% (near‑universal social use; Instagram/TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat).
• 30–49: 32–36% (Facebook/YouTube core; Instagram secondary; Messenger for local commerce).
• 50–64: 22–26% (Facebook first; YouTube second; Pinterest among women).
• 65+: 14–18% (Facebook primary; YouTube for how‑to and church content).

Gender breakdown (of social media users; estimated)

• Overall: roughly balanced, slight female tilt on Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest (female 51–54%; male 46–49%).
• Platform skew: Women over‑indexed on Facebook Groups/Marketplace and Pinterest; men over‑indexed on YouTube, Reddit, and outdoor/trades pages.

Behavioral trends and usage patterns

• Community-first engagement: Facebook Groups drive local news, school/athletics updates, church events, storm and emergency info, buy/sell/trade. Word‑of‑mouth and admin/mod trust are critical.
• Local commerce: Facebook Marketplace and Messenger are default channels for small business, farm equipment, services, and seasonal sales.
• Video preference: Short, informal clips outperform polished ads. High interest in high‑school sports highlights, hunting/fishing, DIY, equipment repair, and weather.
• Timing: Peak activity evenings (7–10 p.m. CT) and weekend mornings; school/sports posts spike late afternoons/evenings.
• Creative that works: Straightforward value posts (prices, availability), locally recognizable people/places, community contributions (fundraisers, storm prep), and before/after photos.
• Sensitivities: Low tolerance for clickbait or outsider political content; preference for practical, hyperlocal relevance.
• Access pattern: Mixed broadband quality; many users are smartphone‑only—optimize for mobile, vertical video, short captions, clear CTAs.

Quick takeaways

• Facebook is the undisputed hub; YouTube is a close second for utility and entertainment.
• Under‑35 audience fragments across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; cross‑posting short video captures reach efficiently.
• For reach into 50+, Facebook Groups + simple video and clear offers outperform other tactics.
• Leverage school, church, sports, and seasonal rhythms (hurricane season, hunting seasons, fairs) to time posts and ads.