Mason County

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• Population and density: Mason County has about 13,100 residents, roughly 23 people per square mile, indicating sparse, rural connectivity needs.
• Estimated email users: About 9,300 adult email users (≈89% of adults).
• Age distribution of email use (users, not total people): 18–29 ≈1,760 (≈96% of that cohort); 30–49 ≈2,990 (≈95%); 50–64 ≈2,360 (≈90%); 65+ ≈2,230 (≈78%). Seniors are the largest offline group.
• Gender split: Usage is essentially balanced—about 51% female, 49% male among email users—reflecting county demographics and minimal gender gap in email adoption.
• Digital access: Roughly 80% of households have home broadband; 88–90% have a computer or tablet; 10–12% are smartphone‑only; 18–20% lack a home broadband subscription. Library and school Wi‑Fi fill some gaps.
• Trends: Home broadband subscription has risen ~5 percentage points since 2018, while smartphone‑only reliance has inched up, concentrating among lower‑income and older residents outside town centers.
• Connectivity facts: Higher‑speed cable/fiber is concentrated in Havana, Mason City, and Manito; many outlying farmsteads depend on fixed wireless or satellite, with lower speeds and higher latency, which suppresses consistent email access for a minority of households.

Mobile phone usage in Mason County, Illinois — 2024 snapshot

Topline numbers

• Population: ~13,000 residents; ~10,300 adults (18+).
• Adults with a mobile phone (any type): ~9,600 (≈93% of adults).
• Adults with a smartphone: ~7,900 (≈77% of adults).
• Mobile-only internet households (no home wired broadband, rely on mobile or fixed wireless): ~1,350 households (≈24% of ~5,700 households).
• Median monthly mobile data use per smartphone: ~24 GB (county average), higher than statewide averages due to limited wired alternatives.

How Mason County differs from Illinois overall

• Smartphone adoption is lower: ≈77% vs ≈85–88% statewide, driven by an older age profile and lower incomes.
• “Mobile-only” reliance is higher: ≈24% of households vs ≈15–17% statewide.
• 5G experience skews low-band: broad low-band 5G coverage but limited mid-band 5G capacity outside town centers, so median speeds are 40–60% lower than the Illinois average.
• Prepaid/MVNO usage is higher: roughly 30% of lines vs ≈20–23% statewide, reflecting price sensitivity and credit constraints.
• Fixed wireless (5G home internet) adoption is noticeably higher than state average, filling gaps where cable/fiber are sparse.

Demographic drivers and usage patterns

• Age structure: Share of residents 65+ is about 22–24% (vs ~16–17% statewide). By age cohort, estimated smartphone adoption:
  • 18–34: 95–97%
  • 35–64: 85–88%
  • 65+: 55–65%
• Income: Median household income is roughly $56,000 (vs ~$78,000 statewide). By income cohort, estimated smartphone adoption:
  • < $35k: 68–74%
  • $35–75k: 80–85%

  • $75k: 90%+

• Implications:
  • More basic/feature-phone users among seniors.
  • Heavier mobile data use per line (≈24 GB/month) where home broadband is absent; video streaming often throttled to SD in fringe areas.
  • Longer device replacement cycles than the state average; higher use of prepaid plans.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Networks present: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and UScellular operate across the county; MVNOs (e.g., Cricket, Straight Talk, Boost, Spectrum Mobile, Google Fi) ride these networks.
• 4G/5G coverage:
  • 4G LTE: ~98% outdoor population coverage, strongest along US‑136, IL‑29, IL‑97, and in towns (Havana, Mason City, Manito).
  • 5G low-band (AT&T/Verizon DSS, T‑Mobile n71): ~80–90% outdoor population coverage.
  • 5G mid-band (capacity 5G, e.g., T‑Mobile n41, AT&T/Verizon C‑band): limited to small clusters and corridors near towns; large rural tracts remain 4G‑only or low‑band 5G.
• Speeds (typical user experience):
  • Mason County: median 25–40 Mbps down, 3–8 Mbps up; latency ~35–55 ms.
  • Illinois statewide: median 80–120 Mbps down, 10–20 Mbps up; latency ~28–40 ms.
• Cell-site footprint:
  • Rural macro-site density is modest—on the order of a few sites per 100 square miles—with multi-tenant towers near population centers and major roads. Coverage gaps persist in low-lying river bottoms, wooded areas (e.g., Sand Ridge State Forest), and some farm sections.
• Backhaul and capacity:
  • Mixed microwave and fiber backhaul; fiber is concentrated along primary corridors and towns, with more microwave-fed sectors in outlying areas. This constrains peak-time speeds relative to urban Illinois, where fiber-fed mid-band 5G is widespread.
• Fixed wireless/home internet:
  • 5G-based home internet from T‑Mobile and Verizon is available to a sizable share of households; estimated adoption 8–12% of households, with highest take-up outside cable/fiber footprints.

Community-level patterns

• Towns (Havana, Mason City, Manito): better in-building coverage, more mid-band 5G nodes, and higher peak speeds.
• Rural tracts and river valley: frequent transitions between carriers and bands; LTE fallback common indoors; Wi‑Fi calling mitigates coverage but depends on limited home broadband availability.
• Events and peak loads: Temporary slowdowns near schools, fairs, and athletic facilities are more pronounced than in metro Illinois due to fewer sectors and less backhaul headroom.

Trends since 2020

• Coverage: Rapid expansion of low-band 5G across the county; incremental infill of LTE capacity sectors on existing towers.
• Capacity: Modest speed gains countywide; biggest improvements where mid-band 5G was added near town centers.
• Access substitution: Continued shift toward mobile and fixed wireless as primary internet among households without cable or fiber, widening the gap with the state average.
• Affordability: Elevated enrollment in discounted/prepaid plans; ACP phase-down heightened sensitivity to plan pricing and data thresholds in 2024.

Methodological notes

• Figures are county-level estimates derived from 2020–2024 ACS demographics, Pew Research smartphone adoption by age/income, FCC mobile coverage filings, carrier public maps, and aggregated crowdsourced performance datasets for Illinois. Estimates are rounded to reflect the precision appropriate for a rural county sample and to distinguish Mason County from statewide conditions.

Social media usage in Mason County, IL (best-available county estimate, 2025)

How this was built: County-level, platform-by-platform statistics are not directly published. Figures below synthesize Mason County’s population profile (2020 Census) with the latest U.S. platform usage by age and gender (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024) to produce county-relevant estimates. Treat percentages as indicative, rounded to whole numbers.

Topline user stats

• Population context: Mason County ≈13.7k residents with an older age profile than the U.S. average (larger 50+ share).
• Adult social media penetration (18+): roughly 70–76% of adults use at least one social platform. That implies approximately 7,500–8,200 adult users countywide.
• Teen usage (13–17): very high overall adoption; YouTube ≈93%, TikTok ≈63%, Snapchat ≈60%, Instagram ≈59%, Facebook ≈33% (Pew teen survey).

Most-used platforms (adults), estimated for Mason County

• YouTube: 78–83% of adults (U.S. baseline ~83%). Ubiquitous across ages; slight dip among 65+.
• Facebook: 70–75% (U.S. ~68%). Skews older; locally a top daily platform due to older/rural profile.
• Instagram: 35–45% (U.S. ~47%). Strong among 18–34; lower among 50+.
• TikTok: 25–35% (U.S. ~33%). Fast growth in 18–34; limited 50+ uptake.
• Snapchat: 20–30% (U.S. ~30%). Concentrated in teens/20s.
• Pinterest: 25–35% (U.S. ~35%). Strong female skew; popular for crafts, home, food.
• LinkedIn: 15–25% (U.S. ~33%). Lower in rural, non-metro labor markets.
• X (Twitter): 12–20% (U.S. ~22%). Smaller, news/politics niche.
• Reddit: 10–18% (U.S. ~22%). Male-skewed, younger niche.

Age-group patterns (adults)

• 18–29: Near-universal social use. Platform mix: YouTube 95%+, Instagram ~78%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~70%.
• 30–49: Heavy daily use. Facebook ~78%, YouTube ~90%, Instagram ~48%, TikTok ~40%.
• 50–64: Moderate-to-high use. Facebook ~69%, YouTube ~83%, Instagram ~29%, TikTok ~24%, Pinterest ~34%.
• 65+: About half use social. Facebook ~62% is the anchor; YouTube ~49%; other platforms low.

Gender breakdown

• Overall users are roughly evenly split by gender locally, with:
  • Female-skewed platforms: Pinterest (women ~50% vs men ~20% nationally), Facebook (women higher daily use).
  • Male-skewed platforms: Reddit (men ~29% vs women ~13%), X (men ~25% vs women ~19%), YouTube (men slightly higher).
• Net effect in Mason County: Facebook/Pinterest lift female share of active users slightly above 50%; Reddit/X lift male share within those niches.

Behavioral trends observed in rural Midwestern counties like Mason (applicable locally)

• Facebook Groups as the community hub: local news, school sports, events, buy/sell/trade, and urgent alerts (weather, road, civic).
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for DIY, farming/land management, home repair, hunting/fishing, product research; short-form (Reels/TikTok) rising for entertainment and local promos.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default for businesses and community contacts; Snapchat prevalent among high school/college-age users; WhatsApp use modest.
• Local information diet: High reliance on Facebook Pages/Groups and word-of-mouth for government notices, school updates, fairs, festivals, and small-business promotions; radio and local outlets amplified via social shares.
• Content formats that perform: Short videos (<60s), photo carousels, before/after projects, sports highlights, timely updates (closures, openings), and giveaways; links to off-platform sites see lower engagement without compelling hooks.
• Timing: Engagement typically peaks evenings (7–9 pm) and weekends; lunchtime (11:30 am–1 pm) is a secondary window.
• Ad performance: Facebook/Instagram geo-targeted ads (10–25 mi radius) and boosted posts for events or sales deliver efficient reach; creative with local faces/landmarks and clear offers outperforms generic brand creative.
• Cross-posting: Facebook + Instagram cover most adults <50; add TikTok for 18–34 reach and YouTube for evergreen search/discovery; Pinterest valuable for commerce tied to crafts/home/food.

Notes on certainty

• Platform percentages shown in parentheses reflect the latest national usage benchmarks; local ranges adjust for Mason County’s older, rural profile. County-specific measurement can vary event-to-event and seasonally, but the relative platform ranking and skews above are stable and decision-ready.