Meriwether County

Meriwether County, Georgia — key demographics (most recent Census Bureau data)

Population size

• Total population: ~20.3k (2023 estimate; U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates)

Age

• Median age: ~43 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Age distribution: Under 18: ~22%; 18–64: ~58%; 65 and over: ~20% (ACS 2019–2023)

Gender

• Female: ~51.5%
• Male: ~48.5% (ACS 2019–2023)

Race and ethnicity (Hispanic can be of any race; shares sum to ~100%)

• Black or African American: ~49–50%
• White: ~45–46%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~3–4%
• Two or more races: ~1–2%
• Asian: ~0–1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native and other: <1% combined (ACS 2019–2023)

Households and housing

• Households: ~7.8–8.0k (ACS 2019–2023)
• Average household size: ~2.5 persons
• Family households: ~2/3 of all households; one-person households: ~30% (ACS 2019–2023)
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–78% (ACS 2019–2023)

Economic context (household-related)

• Median household income: ~$48–50k
• Persons in poverty: ~20–23% (ACS 2019–2023)

Notes: Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year; 2023 Population Estimates). Rounding applied for readability; ACS estimates carry margins of error.

Meriwether County, GA email usage snapshot

• Population baseline: 20,613 residents (2020 Census), ~503 sq mi; density ≈41 people/sq mi.
• Estimated email users: ≈15,800 residents use email at least monthly.

Age distribution of email users (est.):

• 13–17: ~0.6k (4%)
• 18–34: ~3.8k (24%)
• 35–54: ~5.1k (32%)
• 55–64: ~2.8k (18%)
• 65+: ~3.5k (22%)

Gender split among users (est.):

• Women: ≈52% (~8.2k)
• Men: ≈48% (~7.6k)

Digital access and connectivity:

• Roughly three-quarters of households have a broadband subscription (ACS-style county trend for rural GA), with 10–15% of adults relying on smartphone-only internet and about 8–10% offline.
• Lower density and dispersed housing increase last‑mile costs; the most robust wired options cluster around Manchester, Warm Springs, and primary corridors, with fixed‑wireless filling gaps elsewhere.

Insights:

• Email penetration is high across working-age adults and strong among seniors, making it a reliable outreach channel.
• Optimize for mobile: a large share of residents read email on smartphones due to mixed broadband quality and smartphone dependence.

Mobile phone usage in Meriwether County, Georgia — summary and county-vs-state contrasts

Context

• Population and settlement: Meriwether County has roughly 20–21 thousand residents across about 500 square miles, with a predominantly rural settlement pattern (small towns such as Manchester, Warm Springs, Greenville surrounded by sparsely populated areas). Rurality is the single biggest driver of differences from statewide mobile patterns.

User estimates and adoption

• Smartphone users: Approximately 16.5–18.0 thousand residents use a smartphone (about 80–87% of residents), below Georgia’s ~90% household-level smartphone availability. The gap is explained by a higher share of seniors, lower median incomes, and patchier 5G coverage than the state average.
• Primary reliance on mobile data for home internet: An estimated 20–25% of households rely primarily on mobile data (hotspots or phone tethering) for home connectivity, materially higher than Georgia’s typical low-teens share. This reflects limited fiber/cable availability outside town centers.
• Wireless-only voice: As in most of Georgia, the vast majority of households are wireless-only for voice; Meriwether tracks the statewide shift away from landlines, with rural households particularly reliant on mobile voice and messaging for basic communications.

Demographic usage patterns (how Meriwether differs from Georgia)

• Age: The county’s age profile skews older than the state, which pulls down overall smartphone adoption and 5G device penetration. Youth and working-age adults show near-universal smartphone use, but adoption among 65+ is meaningfully lower than the state average.
• Race/ethnicity and income: The county has a higher share of Black residents and a lower share of Hispanic residents than Georgia overall, with household incomes below the state median. Consistent with statewide and national patterns, Black households are more likely to depend primarily on mobile internet when fixed broadband is scarce or costly—one reason Meriwether’s “mobile-first” share runs above the Georgia average.
• Plan mix and devices: Budget sensitivity and weaker indoor coverage in some areas tilt usage toward value plans (including prepaid and MVNOs) and Android devices more than in metro/suburban Georgia; this shows up in lower average downlink speeds and higher evening congestion in speed-test data relative to the state.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Networks present: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile provide countywide service; MVNOs ride these networks. AT&T’s FirstNet coverage supports public safety and tends to be strongest along major corridors.
• Macro sites: The county is served by a modest grid of macro towers and rooftop sites distributed along GA-85/US-27 Alt and within/around Manchester, Warm Springs, and Greenville. Tower density is materially lower than metro/suburban Georgia, and several rural tracts have larger inter-site distances that create edge-of-cell performance and indoor coverage challenges.
• 4G LTE: Broad outdoor LTE coverage across towns and primary highways; performance degrades in forested or hilly terrain and inside older single-family homes with metal roofs or low-e glass.
• 5G: Low-band 5G from AT&T and Verizon extends along key corridors and towns; T-Mobile mid-band 5G offers materially faster service in and immediately around the larger towns. Outside these pockets, many areas remain LTE-only. Net 5G population coverage and capacity are both below Georgia’s statewide footprint.
• Typical performance: LTE downlink often ranges ~10–50 Mbps in town centers and along highways, dropping at cell edges; mid-band 5G (where available) commonly delivers ~100–300 Mbps but with small footprints. Evening congestion is more pronounced than state averages because mobile networks shoulder more of the home-internet load where cable/fiber are absent.
• Backhaul and power: A mix of fiber-fed and microwave backhaul exists; microwave-linked rural sites can constrain peak capacity. Extended outages are uncommon but restoration in low-density areas can lag urban Georgia after severe weather.
• Fixed-broadband interplay: Cable and fiber are available in town cores; large unincorporated areas remain dependent on DSL, fixed wireless, satellite, or mobile hotspots. This scarcity of high-quality fixed options is the core driver of Meriwether’s above-average primary reliance on mobile data.

Key trends that diverge from Georgia’s statewide profile

• Adoption: Overall smartphone and 5G device adoption are a few points lower than the state average, driven by older age structure and income mix.
• Reliance: A substantially higher share of households use mobile data as their primary home connection compared with the state, elevating evening mobile network load.
• Coverage and capacity: 5G coverage is spottier and macro-site spacing wider than in metro/suburban counties, yielding more variability in indoor service and lower median speeds.
• Plan economics: Greater use of value/prepaid plans and MVNOs than in metropolitan Georgia, reflecting price sensitivity and variable signal quality.
• Investment priority: New capacity and coverage gains are concentrated first in the larger towns and highway corridors; rural hamlets see slower 5G densification than the statewide pace.

Implications

• For residents and businesses: Expect solid LTE/5G service in and near towns and along main roads, with performance tapering in outlying areas; mobile hotspots remain a practical substitute where fixed broadband is limited.
• For network planners: The largest gains will come from rural infill (additional low-band sites for reach plus selective mid-band 5G for capacity), fiber backhaul upgrades to microwave-fed sites, and targeted indoor coverage solutions for civic buildings and healthcare facilities.
• For digital equity efforts: Because mobile-first households are overrepresented relative to the state, device affordability, hotspot programs, and fixed-broadband buildout (especially fiber) will disproportionately improve outcomes in Meriwether compared with typical Georgia counties.

Social media usage in Meriwether County, GA (2025 snapshot)

Overall reach (residents 13+)

• Use at least one platform monthly: ~74%
• Daily users: ~58%

By age (share using any social monthly)

• 13–17: ~92%
• 18–29: ~88%
• 30–49: ~81%
• 50–64: ~69%
• 65+: ~47%

By gender (adults 18+ using any social monthly)

• Women: ~76%
• Men: ~71%

Most‑used platforms (adults 18+, monthly use; county estimates)

• YouTube: ~78%
• Facebook: ~70%
• Instagram: ~35%
• TikTok: ~28%
• Pinterest: ~28%
• Snapchat: ~18%
• X (Twitter): ~15%
• WhatsApp: ~12%
• LinkedIn: ~10%
• Nextdoor: ~6%

Teens (13–17, monthly use; localized from national teen patterns)

• YouTube: ~95%
• TikTok: ~78%
• Snapchat: ~72%
• Instagram: ~70%
• Facebook: ~40%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the default local hub for community news, schools, churches, county groups, and high‑school sports; Marketplace is heavily used for buy/sell.
• Video first: short‑form (Reels/TikTok) drives reach under 35; YouTube “how‑to,” music, and local interest content perform best with 30+.
• Groups > pages: neighborhood/county groups yield higher comments and shares than brand pages; posts tied to local events, weather, public services, and school activities outperform generic content.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the primary DM channel; WhatsApp remains niche; most small businesses rely on Messenger for inquiries.
• Engagement timing: evenings (6–9 pm) and weekends show the highest reactions and comments; weekday daytime engagement tracks school/work breaks.
• Ads: hyper‑local geo‑targeting (city/ZIP) outperforms wide radius; short video and single‑image Marketplace placements convert well; value/utility framing resonates with 35+ while entertainment/deals work best under 35.

Notes on figures

• County‑level platform user counts are not directly published. Percentages above are planning‑grade local estimates derived from Pew Research Center’s 2024–2025 US platform adoption rates, adjusted to Meriwether County’s older age profile and rural broadband patterns (ACS 2023). Allow approximately ±5–7 percentage points around platform estimates and ±3–5 for overall adoption.