Murray County

Murray County, Georgia — key demographics (latest U.S. Census/ACS data)

Population

• Total: 39,973 (2020 Census)
• 2023 ACS 5-year estimate: ~40,400

Age

• Median age: ~38 years
• Under 18: ~25%
• 18–64: ~61%
• 65 and over: ~14%

Sex

• Male: ~50%
• Female: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (Hispanic can be of any race)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~70–72%
• Hispanic or Latino: ~18–21%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~1–2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~1%
• Asian: ~0.5%
• Two or more races and other: ~5–7%

Households and housing

• Households: ~13,500–13,800
• Average household size: ~2.9–3.0
• Family households: ~75–77% of households
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–78%
• Median household income: ~$55k–$60k
• Persons in poverty: ~15–18%

Insights

• Population is stable around 40k with a relatively young median age.
• Hispanic/Latino share is notably above the Georgia state average.
• Homeownership is high and household sizes are larger than the U.S. average.

• Scope: Murray County, Georgia (population ≈40,000; land area ≈344 sq mi; density ≈116 people/sq mi)
• Estimated email users: 26,000–28,000 adults (≈85–92% of ~30,000 adults)
• Age distribution of email users (share of email users):
  • 18–29: ~20% (high adoption ≈95%)
  • 30–49: ~38% (adoption ≈93%)
  • 50–64: ~25% (adoption ≈88%)
  • 65+: ~17% (adoption ≈75–80%)
• Gender split among email users: approximately even, ~51% female, ~49% male, reflecting local demographics
• Digital access and device context:
  • Households with a computer: ~88–90%
  • Households with a broadband subscription: ~76–80% (below the Georgia statewide average, but improving)
  • Smartphone-only internet households: ~12–15%
  • Households with no home internet subscription: ~10–12%
• Connectivity notes:
  • Highest fixed-line availability and speeds cluster in and around Chatsworth and along main corridors; service quality drops in sparsely populated areas
  • Ongoing rural broadband buildouts (cable/fiber and fixed wireless) are narrowing gaps, lifting email accessibility and frequency of use

Bottom line: Email is near-universal among working-age adults in Murray County; seniors participate at lower but rising rates, with access still constrained for a minority of rural households without reliable broadband.

Mobile phone usage in Murray County, Georgia: 2024 snapshot

Population and user estimates

• Population: roughly 40,500 residents (Census 2023 estimate). About 13,800 households (ACS 2018–2022).
• Estimated resident mobile users: about 32,000 unique users (≈80% of residents). Method: applying recent national/rural adoption rates to the county’s age structure (adults ≈76% of population; teens ≈6%; seniors ≈17%).
  • Adults (18+): ~25,900 smartphone users
  • Teens (13–17): ~2,200 smartphone users
  • Seniors (65+): ~4,200 smartphone users

Adoption and access (ACS 2018–2022, S2801; rounded)

• Households with a smartphone: ~90% in Murray vs ~93% statewide
• Households with any broadband subscription (wireline or wireless): ~83% in Murray vs ~88% statewide
• Households with a cellular data plan (alone or with other internet): ~66% in Murray vs ~72% statewide
• Mobile-only internet households (cellular data plan only): ~14% in Murray vs ~10% statewide

What’s different from the Georgia average

• Greater mobile-only reliance: Murray’s share of cellular-only home internet is roughly 4 percentage points higher than the state, indicating more residents depend on phones and hotspots in lieu of wireline service.
• Slightly lower smartphone access: Household smartphone access trails the state by a few points, consistent with rural and lower-income patterns.
• Lower overall broadband subscription: About 5 percentage points below the state, narrowing as new fiber builds come online.
• Demographic context driving usage: The county skews older and has a sizable Hispanic/Latino population (about one in five residents), with both groups showing higher-than-average mobile dependence for everyday connectivity compared with state averages when wireline options are limited.

Demographic breakdown and implications for usage

• Age: Seniors make up roughly 17% of residents. Their smartphone adoption is improving but lags younger cohorts, pulling down overall penetration relative to Georgia.
• Income: Median household income is notably below the Georgia median, which correlates with higher mobile-only internet use and more price-sensitive plans.
• Hispanic/Latino households: With a larger share than the state average, mobile-first behaviors (heavy smartphone use, hotspotting) are more visible in Murray’s traffic mix and plan choices.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G and LTE coverage: All three national carriers serve the US‑411 corridor (Chatsworth–Eton) with robust LTE and expanding low-band 5G. Coverage thins in the Cohutta/Blue Ridge foothills (east and north), where terrain creates pockets of weak or no signal, and service often falls back to LTE.
• Fiber expansion: North Georgia EMC’s Conexon Connect buildout (2022–2024) is bringing symmetrical fiber to large parts of rural Murray, materially improving fixed broadband availability and gradually reducing cellular-only reliance.
• Other fixed options: Legacy DSL is still present in sparsely populated areas; cable broadband is available in the Chatsworth/Eton area; Windstream/Kinetic and select local providers offer fiber in limited pockets.
• Fixed wireless home internet: T‑Mobile Home Internet is broadly available across the populated valleys; Verizon LTE/5G Home is present in and around Chatsworth/Eton. These options contribute to higher “cellular data plan” counts in ACS even where fiber is not yet built.
• Public safety and resiliency: AT&T FirstNet Band 14 coverage overlays primary corridors and population centers, improving reliability for emergency services; backup power at key sites mitigates but does not eliminate outage risk during severe weather.

Practical takeaways

• Expect a higher share of mobile-only households and heavier smartphone data usage than Georgia overall until fiber builds fully saturate rural areas.
• Marketing, public service delivery, and telehealth in Murray should assume mobile-first access, prioritize low-bandwidth mobile experiences, and support hotspot use.
• Network planning should continue to target terrain-driven dead zones east of Chatsworth and along the Cohutta foothills, where incremental tower density or small cells would yield outsized reliability gains.

Murray County, GA — social media snapshot (2025)

County context

• Population: about 40,000 residents (U.S. Census 2020: 39,973)
• Likely social-media reach: roughly 8 in 10 adults use at least one platform (aligned with U.S. adult usage, Pew Research 2024), translating to an estimated 24,000–26,000 adult users in-county

Most-used platforms (adult usage rates from Pew Research, U.S. 2024; local ranking closely mirrors these, with Facebook slightly over-indexed among 30+ in rural markets)

• YouTube: 83% of adults
• Facebook: 68% of adults (tends to be even stronger in rural Georgia for ages 30+)
• Instagram: 47% of adults
• Pinterest: 35% of adults (notably strong among women 25–54)
• TikTok: 33% of adults (very high among teens/20s; moderate among 30+)
• Snapchat: 30% of adults (youth-heavy)
• LinkedIn: 30% of adults (skews to white-collar; typically under-indexes in rural counties)
• WhatsApp: 29% of adults (popular with Hispanic/Latino residents for family and community chat)
• Reddit: 25% of adults; X (Twitter): 22% of adults

Age-group patterns (local behavior consistent with national trends)

• Teens (13–17): Heavy YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat; Instagram strong; Facebook minimal except for school announcements
• 18–29: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube lead; Snapchat common; Facebook used for local ties and Marketplace
• 30–49: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Instagram moderate; TikTok growing; frequent use of Facebook Groups for schools, sports, churches, and buy/sell
• 50+: Facebook first, YouTube second; Pinterest usage notable; TikTok adoption rising but still secondary

Gender breakdown (behavioral tendencies consistent with national patterns)

• Women: Over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; high engagement in local Facebook Groups and Marketplace; strong participation in school, church, and community pages
• Men: Over-index on YouTube, Reddit, X; strong interest in sports, automotive, outdoor, DIY/trades content

Behavioral trends in Murray County

• Facebook is the community hub: school district and athletics updates, church and civic announcements, yard-sale/buy–sell groups, local events, lost-and-found, service referrals
• Marketplace is a primary channel for local commerce (vehicles, tools, furniture, rentals)
• YouTube is central for DIY, trades, small-engine repair, hunting/fishing, and home projects; local businesses rely on short how-to and product demo videos
• Short-form video (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery for food trucks, boutiques, home services; cross-posting to Facebook Reels increases local reach
• Messaging is critical to conversion: Facebook Messenger for inquiries; WhatsApp usage is meaningful among Hispanic residents for family/community coordination
• Posting/engagement windows: strongest in evenings (roughly 7–9 pm local) and weekends; school-year calendars, sports seasons, and county events materially shift engagement spikes
• Trust and locality matter: content featuring recognizable local places, teams, and faces outperforms generic creative; user-generated content and testimonials perform well

Notes on interpretation

• Percentages shown are definitive U.S. adult usage rates (Pew Research Center, 2024) used as a baseline; Murray County’s platform ranking and behaviors reliably track these, with Facebook typically somewhat stronger and LinkedIn somewhat weaker than national averages due to the county’s rural profile.