Bacon County

Here are current, high-level demographics for Bacon County, Georgia (primarily from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates; rounded):

• Population: ~11.3k (2023 estimate). 2020 Census: ~11.1k.
• Age:
  • Median age: ~39 years
  • Under 18: ~24%
  • 18–64: ~58%
  • 65 and over: ~18%
• Gender: ~49% male, ~51% female
• Race/ethnicity (of total population):
  • White (non-Hispanic): ~67%
  • Black or African American: ~24%
  • Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~7%
  • Other/multiracial (including Asian, Native American, etc.): ~2%
• Households:
  • Total households: ~4,100
  • Average household size: ~2.6
  • Family households: ~70% of households (married-couple families ~45–47%)
  • Nonfamily households: ~30%
  • Housing tenure: ~73% owner-occupied, ~27% renter-occupied

Bacon County, GA snapshot (estimates)

• Population: ~11.2K; low rural density ~39 people/sq mi (vs GA ~190), which typically depresses fixed-broadband options outside Alma.
• Email users: ~7.8K–8.5K residents use email.
  • Adults 18–34: ~2.0–2.3K; email use ~90–95%.
  • 35–54: ~2.5–2.9K; ~90–95%.
  • 55–64: ~1.2–1.4K; ~85–92%.
  • 65+: ~1.8–2.1K; ~70–80%.
  • Teens (13–17): ~0.6–0.8K; ~80–90%.
• Gender split: ~50% male / 50% female; email usage is similar by gender.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Households with a computer: ~80–85%.
  • Households with an internet subscription: ~65–75% (below Georgia average; gradual uptick in recent years).
  • Smartphone-only internet: ~15–20% of households, higher outside the city due to limited wired service.
  • Public anchors (schools, library) and mobile hotspots play an outsized role for access and email.
  • Fixed broadband speeds/availability improve near Alma; many outlying areas rely on mobile, fixed wireless, or satellite.

Method: County population and age mix from Census/ACS applied to Pew Research email-adoption benchmarks by age; access rates reflect typical rural-Georgia ACS ranges.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Bacon County, Georgia (estimates and trends)

Key ways Bacon County differs from Georgia overall

• Higher smartphone dependence: A larger share of households rely primarily on smartphones for internet access (limited or no fixed broadband), compared with the statewide average.
• More prepaid and budget plans: Cost sensitivity leads to greater use of prepaid lines and lower-cost Android devices than in urban/suburban Georgia.
• Coverage gaps and lower median speeds: Service is reliable in and around Alma and along main corridors, but signal quality drops off faster in agricultural/forestry areas than is typical statewide; 5G is more often low-band with fewer mid-band capacity sites.
• Heavier use of public/anchor Wi‑Fi: Schools, the public library, health clinics, and churches play a larger role as connectivity hubs than in metro counties.

User estimates (order-of-magnitude, based on rural adoption patterns and 2020–2023 data)

• Population: roughly 11–12 thousand; adults about three-quarters of residents.
• Adult smartphone users: about 6,800–7,400 (assuming 80–85% adult adoption typical of rural areas).
• Teen smartphone users: roughly 700–900 (high adoption among ages 13–17).
• Smartphone-only households: on the order of 800–1,000 households likely rely mainly on a phone data plan rather than a wired home subscription (materially higher share than Georgia overall).
• Feature phones and basic handsets: small but nontrivial minority (a few percent), skewing older.

Demographic patterns

• Age: Nearly universal adoption among younger adults; noticeably lower among residents 65+, who are also more likely to use basic phones or share devices. This age gap is wider than the statewide gap.
• Income and education: Lower median household income than the state average correlates with higher smartphone dependence, more prepaid lines, and data-capped plans. Multi-line family plans are common to manage cost.
• Race/ethnicity: As elsewhere, Black and Hispanic residents are more likely to be smartphone-dependent than White residents. Because smartphone dependence is already elevated countywide, these differences are more pronounced locally.
• Work patterns: Agriculture, forestry, logistics, and shift-based retail drive heavy use of voice/text, messaging apps, and push-to-talk–style features; mobile data use peaks around commuting and school hours rather than office-day patterns seen in metro areas.

Digital infrastructure and network notes

• Carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile all serve the area; roaming is important in fringe zones. FirstNet (AT&T) public-safety coverage is present but not uniform in rural tracts.
• Radio access: 4G LTE is the baseline; 5G is available mainly on low-band spectrum with pockets of mid-band near population centers/transport corridors. mmWave is unlikely.
• Capacity and speeds: Median speeds are generally lower than Georgia’s metro counties due to fewer mid-band 5G sites and sparser tower density; peak-time slowdowns are more noticeable where multiple carriers share backhaul.
• Coverage gaps: Signal attenuation in pine forest and low-lying areas creates dead zones off main roads; in-home coverage boosters and Wi‑Fi calling are common workarounds.
• Backhaul and fiber: Fiber routes exist along primary rights-of-way but are less dense than statewide; upcoming state/federal broadband builds (e.g., BEAD) should improve backhaul and enable additional 5G capacity over 2025–2028.
• Public/anchor connectivity: Schools, the public library, and clinics provide crucial Wi‑Fi and device-charging access used by students and phone-dependent households; parking-lot Wi‑Fi remains a safety net during outages.
• Resilience: Storms and power interruptions can knock out remote sites longer than in urban counties; battery backup and generator coverage is improving but variable.

Implications to watch

• As fiber expands to more homes and towers, expect a gradual shift from smartphone-only to mixed home+mobile connectivity, plus better 5G mid-band performance.
• Telehealth, online learning, and app-based government services will continue to depend on improving coverage in low-density areas and on affordable data plans.
• Retail and support ecosystems (device repair, SIM activation, financing) remain thinner than in metro areas, reinforcing the role of prepaid and mail-order channels.

Notes on method

• Figures are estimates derived from county population/household counts, rural adoption rates from national surveys, and known rural–urban gaps in Georgia. Exact, current county-level smartphone metrics are rarely published; where precise data are unavailable, ranges reflect conservative extrapolation.

Below is a concise, practical snapshot for Bacon County, GA. Note: There’s no official, platform-by-platform dataset at the county level. Figures are modeled from Pew Research Center’s 2024 US platform adoption, rural-Southeast patterns, and the county’s age mix. Treat percentages as reasonable estimates for local adults.

At a glance

• Population: ~11–12K; adults 18+: ~8–9K
• Social media users: ~6.0–7.2K adults (≈75–80% of adults)
• Access: 70–80% of households have home broadband; 15–25% are smartphone-only

Most-used platforms (share of local adults)

• YouTube: 75–80%
• Facebook: 60–70%
• Instagram: 30–40%
• TikTok: 25–35%
• Pinterest: 25–30% (skews female 25–54)
• Snapchat: 15–25% (teens/20s)
• WhatsApp: 10–15% (higher in bilingual households)
• X/Twitter: 12–18%
• LinkedIn: 10–15%
• Nextdoor: <5%

Age groups (estimated adoption and tendencies)

• 18–29: 90–95% use social; heavy on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; YouTube near-universal
• 30–49: 85–90%; Facebook + YouTube dominant; Instagram a strong second
• 50–64: 70–75%; Facebook + YouTube; moderate Pinterest
• 65+: 55–60%; Facebook primary; YouTube for how-to, church/livestreams

Gender breakdown

• Users: ~52–54% female, ~46–48% male (mirrors population)
• Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, X, Reddit

Behavioral trends to know

• Community-first on Facebook: Local Groups (buy/sell/trade, school sports, weather, church events) drive outsized reach and discussion
• Video-forward: Short, vertical clips (Reels/TikTok) with recognizable local people/places outperform links and long text
• Messaging habits: Facebook Messenger is default for local businesses; SMS stays strong; WhatsApp used in some multilingual families
• Discovery: Local news/events spread via Facebook Pages, Groups, and shares far more than X or Reddit
• Timing: Peaks around 6–8 am and 7–10 pm; Friday evenings (high school sports) and Sunday afternoons (church/community updates) see bumps
• Seasonality: Spikes around school calendar, football season, severe weather, and spring–summer agriculture events (e.g., blueberry harvest/festival)
• Commerce: Facebook Marketplace is heavily used; DM-to-book for local services is common; simple offers/coupons outperform external link clicks
• Trust cues: Posts featuring known locals, schools, churches, and small businesses get higher engagement than faceless brand content

How to apply

• Prioritize Facebook (Pages + Groups + Marketplace) and YouTube; add Instagram and TikTok for under-45 reach
• Geo-target ads within ~10–20 miles; use short local video, faces, and clear CTAs; minimize text-heavy creatives
• Post around morning/evening peaks; cross-post short-form video to FB Reels, IG Reels, and TikTok