Randolph County

Randolph County, Georgia — key demographics

Population size

• 2020 Census: 6,425 (down from 7,719 in 2010; −16.8%)

Age (ACS 2018–2022)

• Median age: ~44.8 years
• Under 18: ~20%
• 18–64: ~56%
• 65 and over: ~23%

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Female: ~53%
• Male: ~47%

Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census)

• Black or African American alone: ~61%
• White alone: ~33%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~4%
• Two or more races: ~2%
• Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other races: ~1% combined Note: Hispanic origin is an ethnicity; race “alone” shares exclude people reporting multiple races.

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~2,550
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~62% (average family size ~3.0)
• Married-couple households: ~30%
• Nonfamily households: ~38%; living alone: ~35% of all households; ~17% are individuals 65+
• Tenure: owner-occupied ~66%; renter-occupied ~34%

Insights

• The county is majority Black, has a relatively older age profile, a high share of single-person households, and continued population decline over the last decade.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census and 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Randolph County, GA snapshot

• Population ≈6,400; adults (18+) ≈4,900; density ≈15 residents/sq mi (very rural).

Estimated email users

• ≈4,200 adult email users (≈86% of adults).

Age distribution of email users (share of users; approx. adoption within group)

• 18–24: 9% of users; ~80% use email.
• 25–44: 29%; ~92%.
• 45–64: 36%; ~88%.
• 65+: 26%; ~70%.

Gender split among email users

• Female ≈52%; Male ≈48% (women slightly more likely to be online and to maintain active email).

Digital access and trends

• Households with any internet: ~64%.
• Fixed broadband subscription (cable/DSL/fiber): ~58–60%.
• Smartphone‑only home internet: ~14%.
• No home internet: ~33–36%.
• Trend since 2018: +5–7 percentage points in fixed‑broadband adoption; steady rise in smartphone‑only access.

Connectivity context

• Low density and long last‑mile distances constrain fixed broadband build‑out; residents rely more on mobile data and public Wi‑Fi (libraries/schools). These access patterns concentrate email use among working‑age adults, with lower—but growing—use among seniors.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Randolph County, Georgia

Baseline context

• Population: approximately 6,400 residents (2020 decennial census), with a predominantly rural settlement pattern centered on Cuthbert.
• Demographics: majority Black population, older-than-state age profile, and lower median household income than the Georgia average. These factors historically correlate with higher mobile-first internet reliance.

User estimates and adoption

• Active mobile users: 4,000–4,300 residents are likely active smartphone users, reflecting high uptake but below metro/state rates due to age and income mix.
• Household connectivity mix:
  • Mobile-only home internet: about 30–35% of households rely primarily on cellular data for home internet, notably higher than Georgia’s statewide share (roughly in the mid-teens).
  • Any broadband (fixed or mobile): lower than the state average, with a larger fraction of homes using cellular hotspots/phone tethering in place of cable/fiber.
• Plan types and spend:
  • Prepaid share is materially higher than statewide (majority of lines locally vs. a minority statewide), driven by income volatility and weaker fixed-broadband alternatives.
  • ARPU is lower than the state average; multi-line postpaid family plans are less prevalent.
• Device mix:
  • Android share exceeds the Georgia average, consistent with higher prepaid penetration and cost sensitivity.
  • Feature phone usage persists among the oldest cohorts more than at the state level, though still a small minority of users.

Demographic breakdown of usage patterns

• Age:
  • 18–34: highest smartphone saturation and mobile-first behavior; heavy app/social/video usage; more likely to hotspot for home connectivity.
  • 35–64: broad smartphone adoption with mixed use of prepaid and budget postpaid; practical use skew (banking, government services, messaging).
  • 65+: noticeably lower smartphone adoption than the state average; higher share of basic or older smartphones and smaller data plans.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Black households (the county majority) show above-average mobile-first reliance given fixed-broadband gaps and cost trade-offs; video and social usage are strong, with Android and prepaid over-indexing.
  • White households show slightly higher fixed-line adoption than Black households locally, but still below state norms.
• Income:
  • Lower-income households disproportionately use prepaid and ACP-successor discount offerings when available; with the lapse of ACP funding in 2024, many households have shifted to lighter data plans or rely more on public Wi‑Fi plus mobile data.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Cellular coverage:
  • 4G LTE provides the baseline across most populated corridors; service degrades in sparsely populated farm/forest tracts, with noticeable dead zones off main routes.
  • 5G: predominantly low-band coverage with patchy mid-band; practical speeds often resemble strong LTE rather than metro-grade 5G. This contrasts with Georgia’s metro areas, where mid-band 5G is common and capacity significantly higher.
• Carriers:
  • AT&T and Verizon generally have the most consistent countywide LTE footprints; T-Mobile coverage is improving along primary corridors but remains spottier off-route compared to metro Georgia.
  • FirstNet (AT&T) presence supports public-safety coverage; overall redundancy is thinner than in urban counties.
• Backhaul and fixed alternatives:
  • Limited fiber-to-the-home and modest cable footprints; legacy DSL remains in parts of the county. Constrained fixed-broadband availability and speeds push more households to adopt cellular as primary internet.
  • New federal/state rural broadband builds are in progress regionally but have not yet equalized capacity with state urban/suburban areas.

How Randolph County differs from Georgia overall

• Mobile-first reliance is substantially higher, with a far larger share of households using cellular data as their primary or only home internet.
• 5G availability exists but delivers lower typical speeds and capacity than in Georgia’s metro counties due to limited mid-band deployment and sparser tower density.
• Prepaid penetration and Android share are higher; postpaid family plans and iPhone share are lower than the state averages.
• Age and income structure depress overall smartphone adoption slightly versus the state, but among working-age residents, smartphone penetration remains very high.
• Usage patterns skew toward essential communications, government/benefits access, and practical apps; heavy streaming occurs but is constrained by data caps and signal variability more than in metro Georgia.

Implications

• Network investments that add mid-band 5G sectors and fiber backhaul to existing towers would produce outsized gains versus state averages because many users are mobile-first.
• Affordable, predictable prepaid/postpaid-light plans with generous hotspot allotments are most aligned with local needs.
• Continued rural fixed-broadband expansion will likely moderate, but not eliminate, above-average mobile-first behavior in the next few years; cellular will remain a primary on-ramp to the internet for a large share of households.

Social media in Randolph County, Georgia — short breakdown

Scope and method

• County-level usage data are not directly published. Figures below are modeled estimates for Randolph County adults, derived from U.S. Census/ACS demographics for small rural Georgia counties and Pew Research Center’s 2024 platform usage by age, location (rural), and gender. Values are rounded.

User stats

• Population: roughly 6.4K residents; adults (18+): about 5.0K.
• Estimated adult social media users: 3.3K–3.7K (about 66–74% of adults).
• Typical daily users among social users: about 70% engage daily (skews older toward Facebook, younger toward TikTok/Instagram).

Most-used platforms (share of adult social media users in the county, estimated)

• YouTube: ~80%
• Facebook: ~75%
• Instagram: ~35%
• TikTok: 25–30%
• Pinterest: ~28% (higher among women)
• X (Twitter): 12–15%
• Snapchat: ~12%
• Reddit: ~6%
• Nextdoor: low single digits

Age groups (estimated adoption of any social media within each bracket; platform skews in parentheses)

• 18–29: 90–95% (Instagram/TikTok highest; YouTube near-universal)
• 30–49: 85–90% (Facebook + YouTube core; Instagram moderate)
• 50–64: 70–75% (Facebook + YouTube dominant; Pinterest moderate)
• 65+: 55–60% (Facebook primary; YouTube for how‑to/news)

Gender breakdown (estimated among adult social media users)

• Women: ~55% of users; platform skews—Facebook and Pinterest over-index
• Men: ~45% of users; platform skews—YouTube and X over-index

Behavioral trends

• Community-first usage: Heavy reliance on Facebook Groups for churches, schools, youth sports, civic alerts; Marketplace is a major local buy/sell channel.
• Video is utility-driven: YouTube used for tutorials, repairs, hunting/fishing, farm/yard equipment, and local event replays; short vertical video (Reels/TikTok) growing among under-35s.
• Local news and trust: High engagement with county/city pages, school systems, public safety, and word-of-mouth posts; recommendations from known locals drive decisions.
• Posting vs. lurking: Many users consume more than they post; older users share local news, obituaries, church events; younger users post Stories/Reels.
• Timing: Engagement peaks early morning (6–8 a.m.) and evenings (6–9 p.m.), with weekend spikes around community events.
• Small business use: Facebook Pages and boosted posts are the primary tools; events and live video outperform static promos; DM/Messenger is a common service channel.

Notes on sources

• Pew Research Center (2024) U.S. social media platform use by age, gender, and community type (rural).
• U.S. Census/ACS for small-county population and age structure; figures above adapt national/rural patterns to Randolph County’s size and older age mix.