Williamson County

Williamson County, Illinois — key demographics (latest U.S. Census Bureau data)

Population size

• Total population (2023 estimate): ~66,900

Age

• Median age (ACS 2019–2023): ~41 years
• Under 18: ~20–21%
• 65 and over: ~20–21%

Gender

• Female: ~51%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2019–2023)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~87–89%
• Black or African American: ~5–6%
• Asian: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3–0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~4–5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2.5–3%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Number of households: ~28,000–28,500
• Average household size: ~2.28
• Family households: ~62–65% of households
• Married-couple families: ~45–47% of households
• Homeownership rate: ~72%
• Median household income (in 2023 dollars, ACS 2019–2023 inflation-adjusted): ~$57–58k
• Poverty rate: ~15%

Insights

• Older-than-U.S.-average age profile with about one in five residents age 65+.
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White, with small but present Black and multiracial populations; Hispanic share is low.
• Smaller household size and higher homeownership than the U.S. average; median household income below the national median; poverty modestly above the national rate.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Population Estimates; American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (including QuickFacts).

Williamson County, IL snapshot (2024):

• Population ≈67,000; density ≈150 residents per square mile, concentrated in the Marion–Herrin–Carterville corridor.
• Estimated email users: ≈54,000 residents.

Email users by age (share of users):

• 13–17: ~6%
• 18–29: ~20%
• 30–49: ~32%
• 50–64: ~27%
• 65+: ~15%

Gender split among users:

• ~51% female, ~49% male (mirrors county demographics).

Digital access and connectivity:

• Household broadband subscription: ~80–83%, with computer/device access near ~90%.
• Smartphone-only internet households: ~12–15%, indicating a meaningful mobile-first segment.
• Wired broadband (100+ Mbps) is available to most addresses in and around Marion, Herrin, and Carterville; rural fringes show patchier coverage but improving with recent fiber expansions.
• 4G LTE is ubiquitous along major corridors (I‑57/I‑24) with growing 5G availability in population centers.

Insights:

• Email penetration is effectively universal among working-age adults; seniors are highly engaged but remain the largest growth/assistance cohort.
• The urban cluster’s density supports higher-speed options, while mobile-dependent households underscore the need for mobile-optimized communications.

Estimates modeled from 2020 Census/ACS, Pew email adoption, and 2023–2024 FCC broadband data.

Mobile phone usage in Williamson County, Illinois — 2024 snapshot

Overall user estimates

• Resident count and mobile users: Williamson County’s population is roughly 66–67k. Based on American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 device/adoption patterns and national smartphone uptake, about 50–55k residents use a mobile phone, and 45–50k are smartphone users.
• Household smartphone penetration: Approximately 85–88% of households have at least one smartphone (ACS S2801-based county-level pattern), compared with roughly 91–94% statewide in Illinois. The county trails the state by about 3–6 percentage points.
• Smartphone-dependent internet: An estimated 12–16% of households are “smartphone-only” for home internet (no fixed subscription), versus roughly 9–12% statewide. Reliance on cellular data for primary home internet is meaningfully higher in the county than in Illinois overall.

Demographic breakdown (differences vs state)

• Age:
  • 65+ residents are a larger share of the county than the Illinois average, which depresses overall smartphone adoption and especially mobile-only banking, telehealth, and government-service usage compared with the state.
  • Under-35 adults show smartphone ownership near saturation, but are more likely than their statewide peers to be smartphone-only for internet access due to cost and fixed-broadband availability.
• Income and housing:
  • Lower median household income than the Illinois average correlates with higher use of prepaid/mobile-only plans and data-capped offerings.
  • Renters and lower-income households in the county are more smartphone-dependent than their Illinois counterparts, with a gap of roughly 2–5 percentage points.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • The county’s population is less diverse than the state average. Digital usage disparities present in statewide figures (notably for Black and Hispanic households) exist locally but are muted in aggregate county totals because of smaller group sizes. Where present, smartphone-only reliance among these groups tracks or slightly exceeds the state pattern.
• Education/employment:
  • A higher share of blue-collar and service employment versus the statewide mix corresponds to heavier daytime mobile usage around work sites and along transport corridors rather than in fixed locations, accentuating the value of mid-band 5G capacity in and between Marion, Herrin, and Carterville.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Networks and coverage:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile) operate in the county; UScellular also has a footprint in Southern Illinois. 5G is widely available in population centers (Marion–Herrin–Carterville), with outdoor population coverage typically above 90% in town but considerably lower across the county’s full geography.
  • 5G mid-band deployments (e.g., T‑Mobile n41; Verizon/AT&T C‑band n77) are concentrated along I‑57, IL‑13, and in/around Marion and Herrin. Outside these corridors, service often falls back to LTE, and speeds/latency vary more than the Illinois metro average.
• Speeds and reliability:
  • In-town 5G median downloads commonly run 100–250 Mbps with sub‑50 ms latency on modern devices; rural LTE areas more often see 10–40 Mbps and higher latency. This urban–rural spread is larger than the statewide average due to sparser site density and fewer fiber-fed towers outside the main corridors.
  • Signal and capacity are notably weaker near low-density areas and portions of public lands/water (e.g., around Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge), a pattern that diverges from the more uniformly dense coverage seen in Chicagoland and larger Illinois metros.
• Backhaul and build-out:
  • Fiber backhaul is present along major roads and in commercial districts, but a smaller share of rural cell sites have high-capacity fiber backhaul than the statewide norm, limiting peak 5G performance away from towns.
  • New spectrum use (C‑band/3.45 GHz) has improved capacity in Marion/Herrin since 2023, but countywide geographic 5G coverage still lags Illinois’ metro counties.
• Emergency and anchor institutions:
  • Hospitals, schools, and public safety facilities in Marion/Herrin have strong multi-carrier coverage; volunteer fire/EMS territories outside town limits report more frequent signal variability, a larger gap than typically observed in Illinois suburbs.

How Williamson County differs from Illinois overall

• Slightly lower household smartphone penetration and overall device adoption, driven primarily by older age structure and income mix.
• Meaningfully higher smartphone-only internet reliance, reflecting both affordability constraints and patchier fixed-broadband alternatives in outlying areas.
• Greater performance variability: strong mid-band 5G in towns and along I‑57/IL‑13, but quicker reversion to LTE and lower median speeds outside those corridors than is typical statewide.
• Higher relative presence of UScellular alongside the national carriers and more pronounced dependence on mobile networks for day-to-day connectivity in non-urban parts of the county.

Sources and methodology

• Estimates synthesized from U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2019–2023, S2801 “Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions”), FCC Broadband Data Collection/Mobile Coverage datasets (2023–2024), NTIA Indicators of Broadband Need, and aggregated third-party speed-test panels. Figures are county-calibrated where available and benchmarked against Illinois statewide results, with ranges provided where margins of error or carrier reporting variability are material.

Social media usage in Williamson County, Illinois (2025 snapshot)

How many people use social media

• Population: ~67,000 residents; ~52,000 adults (18+)
• Adults using at least one social platform: ~72% of adults ≈ 37,000 users

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults; county-scale counts in parentheses)

• YouTube: 83% (~43,000)
• Facebook: 68% (~35,000)
• Instagram: 47% (~24,000)
• Pinterest: 35% (~18,000)
• TikTok: 33% (~17,000)
• LinkedIn: 30% (~16,000)
• WhatsApp: 29% (~15,000)
• Snapchat: 27% (~14,000)
• X (Twitter): 22% (~11,000)
• Reddit: 22% (~11,000) Note: People use multiple platforms; counts are not mutually exclusive.

Age-group profile and behavior

• 18–29: Near-universal social use; heavy on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; short-form video and local sports/food content perform best; high daily frequency.
• 30–49: Multi-platform (Facebook + YouTube core; Instagram rising); engages with local schools, youth sports, home services; uses Marketplace for resale and deals.
• 50–64: High Facebook and YouTube usage; follows local news, civic info, health and finance content; shares community and church events.
• 65+: Majority on Facebook and YouTube; prefers local news, public safety updates, community groups; lower but growing short‑form video consumption.

Gender breakdown

• County adult population splits roughly 51% female, 49% male; the social media user base mirrors this.
• Platform skews: Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on Reddit and X; Instagram and YouTube are broadly balanced.

Observed behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: Groups and Pages for city updates, schools, churches, nonprofits; Marketplace drives local buying/selling of vehicles, tools, furniture.
• Video dominates: YouTube for tutorials, home improvement, outdoor recreation; TikTok/Instagram Reels for eateries, events, and “what’s happening this weekend.”
• Trust and proximity matter: Local businesses, first responders, and school accounts earn high engagement; user-generated photos and event recaps outperform polished ads.
• Timing: Peak engagement evenings (6–9 pm) on weekdays; strong weekend morning activity for events and Marketplace.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default for local coordination; WhatsApp is present but secondary.
• Advertising: Facebook/Instagram are the most cost-effective for geo-targeted reach; short-form video creative lifts CTR; “new in town,” seasonal events, and limited-time offers outperform evergreen posts.

Sources and method

• County population and age structure: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS, latest available).
• Platform adoption rates: Pew Research Center’s most recent U.S. adult social media usage data.
• County figures are county-scaled estimates applying Pew platform usage rates to the Williamson County adult population to provide consistent, decision-ready numbers.