Sac County

Key demographics for Sac County, Iowa

Population

• Total population: 9,814 (2020 Census)
• 2010–2020 change: −5.2%

Age

• Median age: ~47.5 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Under 18: ~21%
• 18–64: ~55%
• 65 and over: ~24%

Gender

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50%

Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census unless noted)

• White alone: ~94%
• Black or African American alone: ~0.5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.2%
• Asian alone: ~0.3%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~4%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~90%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Total households: ~4,300–4,400
• Average household size: ~2.2
• Family households: ~57%
• Married-couple households: ~47%
• Households with children under 18: ~23%
• Nonfamily households: ~43% (one-person households ~37–38%)
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~78%

• Scope: Sac County, Iowa (pop. ≈9,800; density ≈17 residents per sq. mile across ~576 sq. miles).
• Estimated email users: ≈7,100 residents (≈72% of total population; ≈85–90% of connected adults).

Age distribution of email users (estimates):

• 18–34: ≈1,600 users (high adoption ~95%).
• 35–54: ≈2,000 users (adoption ~93%).
• 55–64: ≈1,200 users (adoption ~88%).
• 65+: ≈1,900 users (adoption ~72%).
• Teens 13–17: ≈420 users (adoption ~85%). Overall, seniors account for roughly 27% of residents but about 26–28% of email users, reflecting a persistent age gap.

Gender split (users): ≈51% female, 49% male, mirroring the county’s slight female majority.

Digital access and trends:

• ≈79% of households subscribe to home broadband; ≈87% have a computer or smartphone.
• ≈12% are mobile-only internet households; ≈8–10% have no home internet, concentrated among seniors and remote farms.
• Wired broadband is strongest in towns (Sac City, Lake View, Odebolt, Wall Lake); outlying areas rely more on fixed wireless and legacy DSL, influencing lower email adoption among older and rural residents.
• Gradual fiber build-outs and improved fixed wireless coverage are narrowing gaps, particularly around town centers and along major corridors.

Mobile phone usage in Sac County, Iowa — summary with county-specific estimates, demographic patterns, and infrastructure context, emphasizing differences from the Iowa state average.

Headline user estimates (2024)

• Population and households: Approximately 9,800 residents and about 4,400 households.
• Adult smartphone users: 6,600 adult users (estimate). Method: rural adult smartphone ownership (86% per recent national rural benchmarks) applied to an adult population of ~7,650.
• Households with a smartphone: ~3,700 (≈84% of households; rural ACS-style subscription rate applied locally).
• Smartphone-only internet households (no wired home broadband): ~880 (≈20% of households; higher than Iowa overall by several points, reflecting rural access and price constraints).
• Wireless-only voice (no landline): Majority of adults, consistent with national trends; Sac County slightly below the urban Iowa share due to age mix but still dominant.

Demographic breakdown and adoption patterns

• Age:
  • 65+ share is higher than the state average (roughly one-quarter of the county). Estimated smartphone adoption among seniors is ~70%, which is 5–10 points lower than Iowa’s overall senior rate. This drives down the countywide average.
  • 18–34 cohort is smaller than the state share; adoption is near-universal (>95%) but the smaller cohort size limits the county’s overall penetration.
• Income and plan type:
  • Median household income trails the Iowa median. Budget constraints translate to higher prepaid and MVNO usage (Straight Talk, TracFone, Visible, etc.) than the state average and more careful data management (hotspotting and shared plans).
• Education and work:
  • Lower bachelor’s-attainment than the state average correlates with higher smartphone reliance for internet access and job search, and somewhat less multi-device (laptop/tablet) ownership per household.
• Race/ethnicity and language:
  • Predominantly White, with a small but growing Hispanic population tied to regional employment hubs. Smartphone adoption in these households is high, and smartphone-only internet reliance is above the county average due to affordability and rental housing patterns.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Networks and coverage:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) plus a regional operator (e.g., UScellular) serve the area. Outdoor LTE coverage is broadly available across towns and primary corridors; 5G low-band covers most populated areas.
  • Mid-band 5G capacity (T-Mobile 2.5 GHz; AT&T/Verizon C-band) is present in and around towns and along US-20 but is patchier across farmland. This yields more variable speeds than seen in urban Iowa.
• Sites and backhaul:
  • A modest macro-tower footprint (roughly a dozen registered tall structures plus additional shorter sites) with clustering near Sac City, Lake View, Odebolt, Schaller, Early, Wall Lake, and along US-20. Metal building construction and tree lines can impede indoor coverage on the fringes.
  • Backhaul quality has improved with ongoing rural fiber builds by local providers and co-ops, which supports denser small-cell or sector upgrades where demand justifies it.
• Alternatives to mobile:
  • Fixed wireless (including CBRS) fills gaps outside fiber/cable footprints; fiber has expanded in several towns and along some rural routes, but wired availability remains less uniform than in Iowa’s metros. This underpins the higher smartphone-only and hotspot reliance in the county.
• Seasonal and event loads:
  • Lake View/Black Hawk Lake recreation and county events create weekend and seasonal capacity spikes, producing more noticeable slowdowns than typical in urban counties.

How Sac County differs from Iowa overall

• Slightly lower adult smartphone penetration (by ~2–4 percentage points) driven by an older age profile and a smaller young-adult share.
• Higher smartphone-only home internet reliance (by ~3–6 points), reflecting patchier wired broadband availability and greater sensitivity to monthly costs.
• Greater use of prepaid/MVNO plans and longer device replacement cycles (more 3–4-year phone lifespans) than the state’s urban counties.
• 5G capacity is more dependent on low-band spectrum; mid-band 5G is less continuous than in Des Moines–Cedar Rapids–Iowa City corridors, so average speeds and indoor performance are more variable.
• Machine-to-machine lines (farm equipment telemetry, remote sensors) represent a larger share of total SIMs than the state average, given the county’s agricultural base.
• Mobility patterns emphasize coverage along US-20 and connectors to Storm Lake, Carroll, and Ida Grove; performance is tuned to corridor coverage rather than dense neighborhood capacity.

Usage behaviors and service mix

• Data usage: Heavy use of messaging, social/video, hotspotting for homework and work-from-home when wired options are limited. Peak-time slowdowns are more pronounced on fringe sectors.
• Plan selection: Families often pool on shared unlimited or light-unlimited plans; single-line prepaid is common among cost-sensitive and senior users.
• Device mix: Android share is higher than in Iowa metros; BYOD to MVNOs is common. Wearables and tablets are less prevalent than state averages.
• Emergency connectivity: WEA alerts and ATSC 3.0 are supplemented by county emergency messaging; cellular remains the de facto alert path, so carriers prioritize coverage continuity on primary roads and in towns.

Outlook (12–24 months)

• Continued rural fiber buildouts and tower sector upgrades should lift backhaul and mid-band 5G capacity in and around towns, narrowing the speed and reliability gap with state averages.
• Smartphone-only households may decline modestly as fiber reaches more addresses, but price sensitivity will sustain above-average mobile reliance relative to the state.
• Precision agriculture and remote monitoring will expand the share of M2M connections further, keeping overall SIM counts elevated relative to population.

Social media usage in Sac County, Iowa (2025) — modeled, county-specific estimates based on Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. platform adoption, U.S. Census/ACS demographics, and rural-urban usage patterns.

Headline numbers

• Adult population (18+): ~7,700
• Social media penetration: ~70% of adults
• Estimated adult social media users: ~5,400
• Gender among users: ~52% female, 48% male

Most-used platforms (share of adult population using each at least monthly; overlapping)

• YouTube: 70% (5,400 adults)
• Facebook: 66% (5,100)
• Instagram: 28% (2,150)
• Pinterest: 24% (1,850; majority female)
• TikTok: 18% (1,400; skew younger, female-leaning)
• Snapchat: 15% (1,150; concentrated under 30)
• LinkedIn: 13% (1,000; concentrated 30–49, male-leaning)
• X (Twitter): 11% (850; male-leaning, news/sports)
• Reddit: 9% (700; male-leaning, younger)
• Nextdoor: 6% (460; homeowners, 35+)

Age profile and adoption

• 18–29: ~95% use social; makes up ~18% of local social users
• 30–49: ~85% use social; ~36% of users
• 50–64: ~70% use social; ~27% of users
• 65+: ~55% use social; ~19% of users

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community backbone: school sports, churches, county fair, city/county updates, buy–sell–trade groups, Marketplace, and event RSVPs see the highest engagement.
• Video is dominant: YouTube for how‑to, farming/mechanics, local sports streams; Facebook Reels/shorts for local happenings; TikTok mainly entertainment for under‑35.
• Messaging habits: Facebook Messenger across all ages; Snapchat for teens/young adults; WhatsApp niche (family ties, international).
• Shopping/discovery: Facebook Pages/Groups and Marketplace drive local retail and services; Instagram helps boutiques, cafes, and salons via stories/reels; Pinterest influences home, crafts, weddings.
• Timing: Peak activity 6–8 a.m., noon, and 7:30–10 p.m.; weekday evenings outperform weekends for information posts; weekends better for events and sports.
• Content cues: Weather, agriculture, high‑school athletics, hunting/fishing, and local roadwork generate reliable spikes. Clear photos, short videos, and “what/when/where” copy outperform links. Boosted Facebook posts remain the most efficient paid reach locally.

Notes on interpretation

• Figures are best-available county estimates derived from Iowa/rural U.S. adoption patterns adjusted for Sac County’s older age mix. Use as planning benchmarks for audience sizing and channel prioritization. Sources: Pew Research Center (2024), U.S. Census/ACS (latest), DataReportal (2024).