Peoria County

Peoria County, Illinois — key demographics

Population size

• 178,600 (Census Bureau 2023 population estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~38.7 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 18–64: ~61%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~51%
• Male: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (ACS “race alone” plus Hispanic ethnicity)

• White alone: ~73%
• Black or African American alone: ~19%
• Asian alone: ~4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.3%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.05%
• Some other race alone: ~0.6%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~5–6%

Households

• Total households: ~75,000
• Average household size: ~2.35
• Family households: ~58% of households
• Married-couple families: ~44% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~28%
• One-person households: ~31%
• 65+ living alone: ~11%
• Housing tenure: ~64% owner-occupied, ~36% renter-occupied

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (2023); American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Figures rounded for clarity.

Peoria County, IL email landscape (2025 snapshot)

• Estimated email users: ≈140,000 residents. Basis: population ≈178,000; adults ~78% of population with ~92% email adoption, plus high teen usage.
• Age distribution of email users (approx.): 18–29: 19%; 30–49: 30%; 50–64: 24%; 65+: 19%; under 18: 8%.
• Gender split among users: ~51% women, 49% men (mirrors county demographics; email adoption is effectively equal by gender).
• Digital access and usage:
  • Households with a computer: ≈92%.
  • Households with a broadband internet subscription: ≈88% (ACS S2801).
  • Email is near-universal among adults; usage is strongest on smartphones and is routine across work, school, and services.
• Connectivity and density facts:
  • Population density ≈290 people per square mile across roughly 619 square miles of land.
  • The urban core (City of Peoria and nearby suburbs) has robust cable and growing fiber coverage with multiple fixed providers; rural edges rely more on DSL/fixed wireless.
  • 5G mobile coverage blankets the metro, supporting high mobile email engagement.

Insights: Email penetration is mature and stable across working-age adults, with only a modest drop among 65+. Broadband availability at ~9 in 10 households sustains high, daily email use countywide.

Mobile phone usage in Peoria County, Illinois — 2024 snapshot

Headline user estimates

• Adult mobile users: About 133,000 adults in Peoria County use a mobile phone (≈95% of the ≈140,000 adult population).
• Adult smartphone users: About 126,000 adults use a smartphone (≈90% of adults), in line with national norms but marginally below Illinois’ large-metro skew.
• Households with a cellular data plan: ≈55,000 of ≈75,000 households maintain a cellular data plan for internet access (≈73–75%).
• Mobile-only home internet: ≈12,000 households rely primarily on cellular data/mobile hotspots for home internet (≈16%), a higher share than the Illinois statewide average.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns)

• Age
  • 18–34: Near-universal smartphone adoption (≈95–97%). This cohort makes up roughly a quarter of the population and drives the highest daily mobile data use (video/social/gaming).
  • 35–64: High adoption (≈92–96%). This is the largest cohort by size and anchors postpaid, multi-line family plans and work-related mobility.
  • 65+: Adoption notably lower (≈70–80%), but rising steadily as health, banking, and government services go mobile. This age mix slightly drags countywide adoption below the Chicago metro average.
• Income
  • Below-median income households (more prevalent in Peoria County than statewide) are disproportionately mobile-first/mobile-only. Prepaid penetration and use of budget Android devices are several points higher than the state average, and mobile-only home internet reliance is meaningfully higher (≈16% vs. low-teens statewide).
• Race/ethnicity
  • Black and Hispanic households in Peoria County exhibit higher mobile-only reliance than White, non-Hispanic households, consistent with national patterns. Given Peoria County’s higher share of Black residents than the Illinois average outside Chicago, this contributes to the county’s above-average mobile-only rate.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage and technology
  • 4G LTE: Near-universal population coverage across the urbanized corridor (Peoria, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, Bartonville, Chillicothe) and primary highways (I‑74, IL‑6, US‑24).
  • 5G: Broad mid-band 5G coverage across the metro area from all three nationals; 5G availability thins toward rural fringes where 4G LTE remains the fallback. mmWave is limited to targeted dense spots and is far less prevalent than in downtown Chicago.
• Capacity and speeds
  • Mid-band 5G has materially lifted peak and median speeds in the city since 2022, but county medians trail the Illinois statewide median driven by Chicago’s dense small-cell grids. Performance is strongest along I‑74 and commercial corridors; capacity dips are more common at the urban-rural edge and in low-density townships.
• Backhaul and fiber availability
  • The city core benefits from multiple wireline options (cable via Xfinity; fiber via i3 Broadband and Metronet), which offload traffic from mobile during peak hours. Rural and exurban areas have patchier fiber/modern cable, increasing mobile network load and mobile-only dependence.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA)
  • 5G/LTE home internet from national carriers is widely marketed in the metro area and selectively available in nearby rural blocks, filling gaps where fiber/cable are absent or expensive. FWA take-up in the county is above the state average outside the Chicago metro.

How Peoria County differs from Illinois overall

• Higher mobile-only reliance: A larger share of households relies primarily on cellular for home internet than the Illinois average, driven by lower median incomes and uneven wireline infrastructure outside the city.
• Slightly lower effective smartphone penetration: Overall adult smartphone usage is very high, but it sits a hair below the state average because Illinois is weighted by high-income, high-adoption Chicago suburbs.
• Capacity, not coverage, is the constraint: LTE/5G coverage is broad, but median speeds and capacity during peak hours trail statewide urban leaders due to fewer small cells and less dense spectrum reuse than in Chicago.
• Faster 5G availability than many downstate peers, but uneven rural benefits: The Peoria metro saw early mid-band 5G upgrades that boosted city speeds; rural townships still lean on LTE and fixed wireless, widening the urban-rural performance divide within the county.

Key takeaways

• Roughly 7 in 10 households maintain a cellular data plan; about 1 in 6 are mobile-only for home internet, a notably higher share than the Illinois average.
• About 9 in 10 adults carry a smartphone; seniors are the main adoption gap, while younger adults drive heavy mobile data consumption.
• Mobile networks in Peoria are broadly modernized with mid-band 5G across the metro, but capacity and rural backhaul limit countywide performance relative to state leaders.
• The county’s income mix and uneven non-mobile infrastructure push more residents to treat cellular as their primary on-ramp to the internet, a trend that is stronger here than at the state level.

Social media in Peoria County, IL — concise snapshot (2025)

User stats

• Overall penetration: Expect usage to mirror U.S. adults (≈8 in 10 use at least one social platform).
• Activity cadence: Facebook and Instagram are checked multiple times daily among under-40s; Facebook and YouTube dominate habitual use among 40+.

Most-used platforms (share of U.S. adults who use; local mix in Peoria County tracks this order)

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• TikTok: 33%
• Pinterest: 35%
• Snapchat: 30%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 22%
• WhatsApp: 21%

Age-group patterns (how this plays out locally)

• 18–29: Heavy Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok; Facebook is secondary. Strong campus-driven activity (Bradley University) for Stories, DMs, and short video.
• 30–49: Facebook and Instagram anchor daily use; YouTube for how‑to, product research, and local content; TikTok growing for entertainment and local recommendations.
• 50–64: Facebook Groups and Marketplace are primary; YouTube for news recaps and DIY; Pinterest for projects and recipes.
• 65+: Facebook for family/community updates; YouTube for long-form and livestreams (local churches, civic meetings).

Gender breakdown (directional)

• Women: Over-index on Facebook, Instagram, and especially Pinterest (shopping, home, food). Strong participation in local Facebook Groups (schools, neighborhoods, events).
• Men: Over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X (sports, local news, niche hobbies/tech). LinkedIn usage concentrated among engineering, healthcare, and logistics.

Behavioral trends in Peoria County

• Facebook Groups and Marketplace are central for neighborhood news, school updates, church/community events, buy/sell, and service referrals.
• Short-form video (Instagram Reels, TikTok) drives discovery for dining, festivals, and local businesses; user-generated reviews outperform polished ads.
• YouTube functions as a “second search engine” for how‑to and local interest; livestreams and long-form updates see consistent engagement.
• LinkedIn is meaningful in healthcare, manufacturing/engineering, and public-sector hiring; posts with clear credentials and outcomes perform best.
• Peak attention clusters around early morning commute, lunch hours, and 7–9 pm CT; weekend afternoons skew toward events and family activities.

Notes

• Percentages reflect Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. adult platform usage; local adoption in Peoria County aligns closely with these rankings.
• Use these shares to weight channel mix: prioritize Facebook and YouTube for broad reach; add Instagram and TikTok for under‑40 reach; deploy Pinterest for female‑skewed intent, Snapchat for 18–29, and LinkedIn for professional targeting.