Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County, Florida — key demographics (latest available U.S. Census Bureau estimates, primarily ACS 2023 1-year and 2023 Population Estimates Program)

Population size

• Total population: about 1.55 million (2023 estimate)
• 2020 Census count: 1,492,191

Age

• Median age: ~46 years
• Under 18: ~20%
• 18–64: ~55%
• 65 and over: ~25%

Gender

• Female: ~52%
• Male: ~48%

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive; ACS)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~54–55%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~24–25%
• Non-Hispanic Black: ~18–19%
• Non-Hispanic Asian: ~3%
• Non-Hispanic other/multiracial: ~2–3%

Household data

• Households: ~630,000
• Average household size: ~2.4 persons
• Family households: ~60% of households; married-couple households ~45–47%
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• Households with someone age 65+: ~35–40%
• Housing tenure: ~69–70% owner-occupied, ~30–31% renter-occupied

Notes: Figures are rounded for clarity; ACS values are survey estimates and may have margins of error. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 (1-year) and Population Estimates Program (2023).

• Scope: Palm Beach County, FL; population ~1.53M (2023); density ~770 people/sq mi.
• Estimated email users: ~1.2M residents. Basis: ~92% of adults in the U.S. use email (Pew), applied to Palm Beach’s older-skewing adult population, plus teens.
• Age mix of adult email users (est. share of email users): 18–29 ≈18%, 30–49 ≈32%, 50–64 ≈24%, 65+ ≈26%. The county’s large 65+ cohort keeps the senior share high despite slightly lower adoption among older adults.
• Gender split of email users: ≈53% female, 47% male (reflects county’s ~52/48 female/male population and near‑equal email adoption by gender).
• Digital access and trends:
  • 96%+ of households have a computer; ~91% subscribe to home broadband; ~9% lack a home internet subscription (ACS 2022).
  • Home broadband subscription is up roughly 3 percentage points since 2019, indicating steady gains in connectivity.
  • Gaps persist in parts of the western Glades and some lower‑income urban tracts, where non‑subscription rates are higher.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • The dense coastal corridor (Jupiter–West Palm Beach–Boca Raton) has ubiquitous cable DOCSIS 3.1 and expanding fiber with gigabit-class service; inland areas rely more on cable and fixed wireless.
  • 17 county library branches provide free Wi‑Fi and public computers, supporting email access.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Palm Beach County, FL (distinctives vs. statewide)

User and household estimates

• Population baseline: ~1.54 million residents (2023). About 81–82% are adults, implying roughly 1.25 million adults.
• Adult smartphone users: ≈1.1 million, derived from current adult smartphone ownership rates applied to the county’s older-but-higher-income demographic mix.
• Households: ≈625,000. Households with a smartphone: ≈575,000 (about 92–93%). Households with broadband of any type: ≈560,000 (about 89–90%).
• Mobile-only home internet: ≈12% of households rely solely on a cellular data plan for home internet (roughly 70,000–75,000 households). This is modestly lower than Florida’s statewide share, reflecting higher wired broadband availability and higher incomes in much of the county.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age: Palm Beach County skews older (about one-quarter of residents are 65+ versus a lower share statewide). This dampens mobile-only reliance and slows smartphone saturation relative to younger counties, but senior adoption has risen quickly in recent years, lifting overall smartphone penetration.
• Income and education: Median household income is higher than the Florida median, correlating with multi-line family plans, multiple devices per household, and higher take-up of both wired broadband and 5G-capable handsets.
• Geography within the county:
  • East corridor (Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter): very high smartphone and 5G uptake, heavy daytime work-and-tourism mobile traffic, and widespread overlap with fixed broadband.
  • Western communities (Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and agricultural areas): lower fixed-broadband availability and adoption; higher reliance on mobile data for primary internet, and more time on LTE versus mid-band 5G.

Digital infrastructure points

• 5G footprint: All three national carriers operate dense coastal macro grids with mid-band 5G (e.g., 2.5 GHz or C-band) widely available from Boca Raton through Jupiter and across West Palm Beach. mmWave nodes are deployed at select downtown/venue locations. Population coverage for 5G in the urban east is effectively near-universal; remaining gaps are primarily indoor or in-building without DAS.
• Capacity corridors: I-95, Florida’s Turnpike, US-1, and major east–west arterials (Okeechobee Blvd, Southern Blvd/SR-80, Glades Road) host layered macro sites and small cells, supporting commuter and seasonal peaks. In-building systems (DAS) are common at the airport (PBI), hospitals, large malls, and university/office campuses, improving indoor quality compared with many Florida counties.
• Western/sugarcane belt: Fewer macro sites per square mile and more agricultural land reduce spectral reuse; users spend more time on LTE and low-band 5G. This contrasts with Florida’s statewide pattern where many counties either have uniformly dense coastal grids (Southeast FL) or more uniformly sparse rural grids; Palm Beach’s east–west divide is unusually pronounced within a single county.
• Seasonal load: The county experiences strong winter population inflows that spike mobile traffic on coastal sectors, transit hubs, and retail districts; operators in this market have provisioned additional capacity (small cells and additional 5G carriers) along the east corridor more aggressively than in most Florida counties outside Miami-Dade/Broward.

How Palm Beach County differs from Florida overall

• Slightly lower share of mobile-only home internet than the state average, thanks to higher incomes and strong wired availability in the coastal cities.
• More pronounced intra-county divide: very dense, high-capacity 5G along the coast versus sparser western infrastructure, producing sharper east–west disparities in mobile speeds and mobile substitution than seen in the average Florida county.
• Older age structure than Florida overall softens mobile-only reliance and keeps a measurable (though shrinking) cohort of non-smartphone or limited-use users, even as overall smartphone penetration remains high.
• Above-average presence of enterprise in-building systems and coastal small-cell densification, raising indoor reliability compared with many parts of the state.

Sources and basis

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) Computer and Internet Use (e.g., S2801, S2802) for household smartphone availability and subscription types.
• Pew Research Center for age-related smartphone adoption benchmarks applied to county age structure.
• Carrier coverage and deployment disclosures and commonly observed 5G rollouts (mid-band along coastal urban corridors; mmWave at select venues) across 2022–2024.

Palm Beach County, FL social media usage (2024 snapshot)

• User base

  • Adults (18+): approximately 1.22 million (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022).
  • Most-used platforms among adults in Palm Beach County (estimated reach of adults; locally adjusted from Pew Research Center 2024 rates, weighted for PBC’s older age profile):
    • YouTube: ~80%
    • Facebook: ~70%
    • Instagram: ~40%
    • Pinterest: ~36%
    • LinkedIn: ~30%
    • TikTok: ~26%
    • Snapchat: ~22%
    • WhatsApp: ~24%
    • X (Twitter): ~20%
    • Nextdoor: ~20%

• Age groups

  • 18–29: Very high on Instagram and TikTok (nationally ~78% and ~62% respectively); Snapchat heavy; Facebook comparatively lower. Video-first discovery is dominant.
  • 30–49: Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram substantial; TikTok moderate. Strong engagement with family, events, and local dining/fitness content.
  • 50–64: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Instagram moderate; Pinterest and Nextdoor meaningful for projects, neighborhoods, and services.
  • 65+: Facebook remains the primary network (about six-in-ten nationally); YouTube substantial; Nextdoor and Facebook Groups are important for HOA and civic information.

• Gender breakdown

  • County adult population skews slightly female (~52% female, 48% male).
  • Platform skews: Pinterest heavily female (about half of U.S. women vs roughly a quarter of men use it); Facebook and Instagram slightly female-leaning; LinkedIn and X slightly male-leaning; WhatsApp mixed with stronger usage among multilingual households.

• Behavioral trends

  • Community and hyperlocal: Heavy reliance on Facebook Groups and Nextdoor for HOA updates, hurricane prep, school news, and local services.
  • Video-first consumption: YouTube plus short-form video (Reels, TikTok) drive discovery for beaches, dining, nightlife, fitness, and especially real estate.
  • Seasonality: Engagement lifts November–April during “snowbird” season; evenings and weekends see activity peaks for lifestyle content.
  • Real estate and luxury: High interaction with neighborhood spotlights, open houses, and premium retail/dining, particularly in Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Delray, and West Palm Beach.
  • Messaging ecosystems: Facebook Messenger widely used among older adults; WhatsApp common in Hispanic and international communities for family and neighborhood coordination.
  • Civic and public safety: Strong engagement with county/municipal pages for weather alerts, road closures, and elections.

• Practical takeaways

  • Use Facebook and YouTube for broad county reach (especially 35+).
  • Use Instagram and TikTok to reach under-35s and build lifestyle-driven awareness.
  • Leverage Nextdoor and Facebook Groups for neighborhood-level calls-to-action.
  • Prioritize captioned vertical/square video; emphasize local landmarks, service utility, and timeliness.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022; DataReportal Digital 2024 (USA) for national penetration context.