Miami Dade County

Miami-Dade County, Florida — key demographics (latest available: 2023 unless noted)

Population size

• Total population: ~2.68 million (2023 estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~41 years
• Under 18: ~20%
• 65 and over: ~18%

Sex

• Female: ~51.8%
• Male: ~48.2%

Race and ethnicity

• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~72–73%
• Black or African American alone: ~17–18%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~13%
• Asian alone: ~1–2% Note: Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately; categories can overlap and may not sum to 100%.

Households and housing

• Households: ~1.0 million
• Average household size: ~2.7–2.8 persons
• Family households: ~63–66% of households
• Tenure: ~48–49% owner-occupied; ~51–52% renter-occupied

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey (1-year) and 2023 Population Estimates Program.

• Population and density: ≈2.70M residents; ≈1,420 people per square mile across 1,898 sq mi of land.
• Estimated email users (adults 18+): ≈2.0M adult email users, based on ~92% email adoption among ≈2.17M adults.
• Age distribution (email users, est.):
  • 18–34: ~540k (about 27%)
  • 35–64: ~1.08M (about 54%)
  • 65+: ~380k (about 19%)
• Gender split:
  • Residents: ~52% female, ~48% male
  • Email users (est.): ~51% female, ~49% male (email use is near‑universal across genders)
• Digital access trends (households):
  • Broadband subscription: ~85%
  • Computer/smartphone access: ~92–93%
  • No home internet: ~8%
  • Smartphone‑only internet: ~13%
  • Implication: Email is primarily mobile for a notable minority, but most households have fixed broadband plus devices.
• Connectivity facts:
  • Urbanized eastern corridor has extensive fiber/cable coverage (AT&T Fiber, Xfinity); 5G covers virtually all populated areas.
  • Fixed broadband availability and high median speeds in the Miami metro support heavy email usage and multi‑device access.

Bottom line: With high broadband/device penetration and dense, well‑served urban areas, roughly two million adults in Miami‑Dade actively use email, skewing slightly toward middle‑aged users and mirroring the county’s slight female majority.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Topline usage and user estimates

• Population and households (2023): Miami-Dade County ≈2.67 million residents and ≈1.02 million households.
• Smartphone access: About 94% of households have a smartphone (≈960,000 households), above the Florida average of roughly 92–93%.
• Cellular data plans: About 89% of households have a cellular data plan for a smartphone/tablet, versus ≈85–86% statewide.
• Cellular-data-only internet (no fixed broadband at home): Approximately 19% of Miami-Dade households rely only on cellular data, compared with about 14% statewide. This indicates heavier mobile reliance in Miami-Dade.
• Any internet subscription (of any type): ≈88% of households in Miami-Dade vs ≈90% statewide, reflecting that Miami-Dade’s higher mobile take-up is paired with slightly lower overall subscription rates.
• Device mix: Desktop/laptop ownership is lower in Miami-Dade (≈78% of households) than in Florida overall (≈83%), another sign of mobile-first behavior.
• Individual user estimate: Applying prevailing adult smartphone adoption to the county’s adult population yields roughly 1.9–2.0 million smartphone users in Miami-Dade. This aligns with the high household smartphone penetration and lower PC ownership.

Demographic breakdown (household-level patterns)

• Age:
  • Under 35 householder: Smartphone access is near-saturation (≈97–98%), modestly above the state average.
  • Age 65+ householder: Smartphone access around the mid-80s percent in Miami-Dade, similar to or slightly above Florida, but with notably higher cellular-only reliance than peers statewide.
• Income:
  • Low-income households (<$25,000): Cellular-data-only reliance is materially higher in Miami-Dade (about one-third of such households) than the statewide share (roughly one-quarter), underscoring affordability-driven mobile substitution.
• Race and ethnicity:
  • Hispanic/Latino households (a majority in Miami-Dade): Very high smartphone access and measurably higher cellular-only internet reliance (mid-20s percent) than the statewide Hispanic average (high teens). This contributes significantly to countywide mobile-first usage.
  • Black households in Miami-Dade show above-state cellular-only reliance as well, though the gap is smaller than among Hispanic households.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• 5G availability: 5G from at least one national carrier covers virtually the entire populated area of Miami-Dade (≥99% of residents). Coverage from multiple carriers overlaps broadly in the urban core.
• Network density: Dense macro/small-cell layering in Brickell, Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and along key transit corridors (I‑95/US‑1, Dolphin/Palmetto expressways) supports high-capacity urban 5G. Small-cell deployment per square mile is higher than the state average in these zones.
• Speeds and experience: Median mobile download speeds in the Miami metro are among the highest in Florida, typically 10–20% faster than the statewide median. Urban cores see the largest gains due to extensive mid-band 5G and targeted capacity upgrades.
• Operator dynamics: All national operators (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) provide countywide LTE and 5G; ultra-high-capacity 5G (mmWave or equivalent high-capacity nodes) is concentrated in dense, high-traffic districts and major venues (e.g., Miami International Airport and PortMiami approaches), reflecting tourism and event-driven demand.

How Miami-Dade differs from Florida overall

• More mobile-first: Higher smartphone and cellular plan adoption, lower desktop/laptop incidence, and a notably larger share of cellular-data-only households mark a clear tilt toward mobile reliance compared with the state.
• Demographic drivers: Younger household profiles than the Florida average and a large Hispanic population correlate with stronger mobile usage and higher cellular-only substitution, especially in lower-income brackets.
• Infrastructure-led performance: Denser small-cell and mid-band 5G buildouts in the urban core push local median speeds above the Florida median despite heavier demand, indicating sustained investment and competitive pressure in the county’s high-traffic zones.

Notes on data

• Household device and subscription figures reflect 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) “Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions” (S2801/S2802) patterns for Miami-Dade County compared with Florida.
• Coverage and performance characterizations reflect 2024 FCC broadband availability mapping and industry speed-testing benchmarks aggregated at the metro level.

Miami-Dade County social media snapshot (best-available 2024–2025 estimates modeled from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 demographics and Pew Research Center social media usage rates)

Headline user stats

• Total population: ~2.67M (ACS 2023). Adults (18+): ~2.14M.
• Estimated social media users:
  • Adults (18+): ~1.77M (≈83% of adults)
  • Teens (13–17): ~0.14M (≈95% of teens)
  • Total 13+: ~1.91M (≈71% of total population)

Age breakdown (approx. share of adult social media users)

• 18–29: 25% (0.44M users)
• 30–49: 40% (0.71M)
• 50–64: 24% (0.42M)
• 65+: 11% (0.20M)
• Teens 13–17 add ~0.14M users on top of the adult totals

Gender breakdown

• Women: ~52–53% of social media users
• Men: ~47–48% of social media users Notes: Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram skew more female; X (Twitter), Reddit, and LinkedIn skew more male. Overall usage rates by gender are similar in the U.S., so Miami-Dade’s user split closely tracks its population (slightly more female).

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults who use the platform; modeled for Miami-Dade’s demographics)

• YouTube: 84% (1.80M adults)
• Facebook: 69% (1.48M)
• Instagram: 55% (1.18M) — higher than U.S. average due to the county’s largely Hispanic population
• WhatsApp: 50% (1.07M) — significantly above U.S. average; widely used for family, business, and neighborhood groups
• TikTok: 36% (0.77M)
• Snapchat: 32% (0.69M)
• Pinterest: 31% (0.66M)
• LinkedIn: 22% (0.47M)
• X (Twitter): 21% (0.45M) Notes: Percentages reflect adults; many people use multiple platforms. Teen usage is substantially higher for YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram than for Facebook or X.

Behavioral trends and local nuances

• Bilingual-by-default: High prevalence of Spanish and Spanglish alongside English. Content localized in both languages performs measurably better, especially on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
• Messaging-first communities: WhatsApp is integral for neighborhood groups, school/parent circles, small-business customer lists, cross-border family chats, and micro-communities; broadcast lists and status updates see strong reach.
• Video-forward culture: Reels, Shorts, and Stories dominate discovery and engagement, especially for hospitality, nightlife, fashion, beauty, fitness, and real estate. Creator collaborations and UGC drive outsized local reach.
• Hyperlocal groups and marketplaces: Facebook Groups and Marketplace are key for neighborhoods, events, buy/sell, and services; local small businesses lean on these for demand generation and customer support.
• Youth skew on visual apps: Teens and 18–29s cluster on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat; they are lighter on Facebook and X, and respond best to short-form, music-led, trend-aware content tied to local venues and events.
• Event- and season-driven spikes: Hurricane season, election cycles, festivals (e.g., Art Week), and major sports events reliably spike news, local-info sharing, and government/emergency accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
• Commerce and bookings: Instagram and WhatsApp drive DMs-to-sale for restaurants, salons, nightlife, fitness, and tourism. Link-in-bio funnels, story highlights, and WhatsApp-click-to-chat convert well for bookings and reservations.

Method notes and sources

• Population, age, and gender: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2023, Miami-Dade County.
• Platform usage and age/gender patterns: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (U.S. adults) and Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023 (U.S. teens).
• Miami-Dade platform percentages are modeled by applying Pew’s U.S. adult rates and Hispanic sub-group patterns to Miami-Dade’s demographics; WhatsApp and Instagram are adjusted upward to reflect the county’s majority Hispanic population.