Jackson County

Key demographics for Jackson County, Illinois

Population

• Total population: 52,974 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: ~51,500 (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2023), reflecting continued decline since 2010

Age

• Median age: ~31 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Age distribution:
  • Under 18: ~16%
  • 18–24: ~24% (elevated due to Southern Illinois University)
  • 25–44: ~28%
  • 45–64: ~19%
  • 65+: ~12%

Sex

• Male: ~53%
• Female: ~47%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~69%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~17–18%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~3–4%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~4–5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~4–5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, NHPI, and other: <1%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~22,400
• Average household size: ~2.16
• Family households: ~41–43%; Nonfamily households: ~57–59%
• Householder living alone: ~43%
• Married-couple families: ~27–28%
• Households with children under 18: ~19–21%
• Tenure: ~49% owner-occupied, ~51% renter-occupied

Insights

• Younger-than-average profile with a large 18–24 cohort tied to the university.
• High share of nonfamily and renter-occupied households; smaller average household size than state and national norms.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2018–2022 5-year estimates; Population Estimates Program Vintage 2023.

Jackson County, IL overview

• Population: ≈53,000; density ≈91 people per square mile (2020 Census).
• Estimated email users: ≈44,000 residents, based on applying current U.S. email adoption rates to the county’s population.

Email user profile (share of users)

• 18–24: ≈22% (large student presence from Southern Illinois University)
• 25–44: ≈33%
• 45–64: ≈26%
• 65+: ≈15%
• Under 18: ≈4%

Gender split among email users

• Roughly even: ≈51% female, ≈49% male, mirroring the county’s population mix.

Digital access and trends

• Broadband subscription: ≈86% of households have a broadband internet subscription (ACS 2018–2022).
• Access patterns: High-capacity cable/fiber is concentrated in and around Carbondale and along IL‑13/US‑51 corridors; speeds and subscription rates taper in rural townships.
• Institutional connectivity: Southern Illinois University Carbondale and local schools are connected via the Illinois Century Network, boosting local backbone capacity and public Wi‑Fi availability.
• Mobile access: 4G/5G coverage is strong in population centers; residents in rural areas rely more on mobile or lower‑tier fixed options.

Insight: A younger-than-average adult base and strong anchor‑institution connectivity support near‑universal email use, with rural affordability/coverage gaps shaping the remaining non‑users.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Jackson County, Illinois

Key findings

• Mobile dependence is higher than the Illinois average because of a large student population and lower household incomes outside Carbondale.
• Coverage and performance are strong in and around Carbondale/Murphysboro but drop off in the county’s wooded and river-valley areas, creating a wider urban–rural performance gap than seen statewide.
• The share of “cellular-only” internet households is meaningfully above the state average, while home fixed broadband adoption is lower.

User estimates

• Population and households: Jackson County has roughly 51–53 thousand residents and about 22 thousand households. Carbondale (home to Southern Illinois University) anchors the population.
• Smartphone adoption: An estimated 90–92% of households have at least one smartphone (American Community Survey S2801, 2018–2022), broadly comparable to Illinois overall (around 92–94%).
• Cellular-only internet households: Estimated 20–24% of Jackson County households rely on cellular data plans as their primary/only internet connection, materially higher than Illinois overall (about 12–14%). This is a defining difference from state-level patterns.
• Adult users: Based on population structure and ACS adoption rates, Jackson County likely has on the order of 38–42 thousand adult smartphone users.

Demographic breakdown

• Age: The county skews younger than Illinois because of SIU Carbondale. Roughly one-third of residents are in the 18–29 range, compared with about one-fifth statewide. This drives near-universal smartphone usage among young adults and heavier app-based communication (messaging, video, campus apps).
• Income and poverty: Jackson County’s poverty rate is substantially higher than the state average, which correlates with:
  • Higher reliance on smartphones as the primary internet device
  • Greater use of prepaid plans and budget MVNOs
  • Lower home fixed-broadband adoption outside the Carbondale/Murphysboro core
• Seniors: As in the rest of Illinois, adoption among residents 65+ lags younger cohorts; however, senior adoption has been rising, helped by Medicare/Medicaid device programs and simplified Android/iOS accessibility settings offered by local carriers.

Digital infrastructure

• Coverage
  • 4G LTE: Broad population coverage across the county; performance is strongest along IL-13 (Murphysboro–Carbondale corridor) and US-51. Rural fringe areas toward Pomona, Grand Tower, and wooded terrain near the Shawnee National Forest see weaker signal and occasional dead zones compared to Illinois urban/suburban counties.
  • 5G: Mid-band 5G from national carriers covers Carbondale and the main travel corridors; population coverage is high in the metro core but drops in outlying census blocks. The county’s urban–rural 5G gap is wider than the statewide average because much of Illinois’ population is concentrated in well-served metro areas.
• Carriers and networks
  • AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all serve the county; UScellular maintains a notable regional footprint in southern Illinois.
  • FirstNet (AT&T) supports public safety users countywide, with the most robust performance in and around Carbondale.
• Capacity and performance
  • Carbondale: Mid-band 5G delivers typical daytime downloads in the high tens to low hundreds of Mbps, suitable for video, telehealth, and campus e-learning.
  • Rural areas: Many locations still lean on LTE-only capacity; speeds frequently dip to the 5–25 Mbps range under load, with uplink often the bottleneck. This performance drop-off is more pronounced than the Illinois average.
• Backhaul and fiber
  • Carbondale and Murphysboro are tied into regional fiber (e.g., Clearwave and other providers), which supports denser small-cell and macro upgrades.
  • Outside the core, limited fiber backhaul constrains rapid 5G densification relative to better-served Illinois counties.
• Public venues and institutions
  • SIU Carbondale (dorms, stadiums, and academic buildings) and Memorial Hospital of Carbondale are consistent mobile-traffic hotspots; campus events produce predictable, short-lived capacity spikes that are larger than in non-university Illinois counties of similar size.

How Jackson County differs from Illinois overall

• Higher cellular-only reliance: A significantly larger share of households use mobile data as their primary internet connection, linked to student housing patterns and affordability pressures.
• Bigger urban–rural performance gap: Jackson County’s terrain and lower tower density outside Carbondale create more pronounced speed and coverage variability than the statewide norm.
• Younger usage profile: A larger 18–29 segment drives heavy app, streaming, and social use, plus seasonal traffic swings with the academic calendar—patterns less visible in the Illinois aggregate.
• Plan mix: Prepaid and MVNO usage is relatively elevated compared with the state average, reflecting student and cost-sensitive segments.
• Adoption ceiling: While headline smartphone adoption rates are similar to Illinois, fixed broadband substitution (mobile-first households) is meaningfully higher, shaping device, plan, and content choices.

Sources and basis

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022, Table S2801 (smartphones and internet subscriptions), county and state comparisons.
• FCC National Broadband Map and carrier public coverage disclosures for 4G/5G availability and capacity patterns.
• Local context: Southern Illinois University Carbondale enrollment and geography of Jackson County informing demand concentrations and terrain-related coverage effects.

Jackson County, Illinois social media snapshot (2025)

Overall usage and reach

• Population: ~52,000; adults (18+): ~43,000 (ACS 2019–2023). Household broadband access: ~83–86%.
• Adult social media adoption: ~81–86% → ~35,000–37,000 adult users. Including teens, total users are roughly ~39,000–41,000.

Age profile of users (reflects SIU’s student presence)

• 13–17: very high adoption (~95% use social media), ~6–8% of total users.
• 18–24: highest engagement; ~28–32% of local users.
• 25–34: ~20–22% of users.
• 35–54: ~22–24% of users.
• 55+: ~18–20% of users, with lower daily intensity than younger cohorts.

Gender breakdown

• Users are near-even by gender: ~51–53% female and ~47–49% male overall. Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X.

Most-used platforms among local adults (estimated share using each platform)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 64–70%
• Instagram: 45–50% (skews <35)
• TikTok: 30–35% overall; 60–70% among 18–24
• Snapchat: 28–34% overall; 65–75% among 18–24
• Pinterest: 28–34% (predominantly women 25–54)
• LinkedIn: 24–30% (students, faculty, healthcare/public-sector professionals)
• X (Twitter): 20–24% (sports, weather, breaking news)
• Reddit: 18–22% (tech/gaming, local subreddits)
• WhatsApp: 18–22% (international ties, family groups)
• Nextdoor: 12–18% (homeowners; Murphysboro and Carbondale neighborhoods)

Behavioral trends to know

• Community-first on Facebook: County government, schools, libraries, and public safety rely on Pages and Groups; Marketplace and buy/sell/trade groups drive daily visits; local event discovery is strong.
• Student-driven visual platforms: Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok dominate among SIU students for campus life, nightlife, and food; Stories/Reels/shorts formats outperform static posts.
• Video everywhere: YouTube is the default for entertainment, DIY, and local sports highlights; short-form video (Reels/TikTok/Shorts) is the quickest path to organic reach.
• Real-time updates: X usage concentrates around SIU athletics, severe weather (NWS Paducah), and road closures; spikes during storms and game days.
• Neighborhood utility: Nextdoor use clusters among homeowners for public-safety notices, contractors, and lost/found; engagement rises after weather events.
• Shopping and local discovery: Facebook and Instagram power local commerce; TikTok and Instagram Reels increasingly influence restaurant and outdoor activity choices (e.g., Giant City area).
• Timing: Evenings (6–10 p.m.) and weekends see the highest engagement; student activity peaks around semester starts, midterms, and major campus events.

Method note: Figures are locally modeled from U.S. Census/ACS demographics and Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 platform adoption rates, adjusted for Jackson County’s younger age mix due to SIU. These estimates are reliable for planning and targeting at the county level.