Story County

Story County, Iowa — Key Demographics

Population

• Total population: 98,537 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: ~100,700 (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2023)

Age

• Median age: ~27 years
• Under 18: ~17–18%
• 18–24: ~30%
• 25–44: ~25%
• 45–64: ~16%
• 65+: ~11–12%

Gender

• Male: ~52%
• Female: ~48%

Race and ethnicity (shares are ACS estimates; “Hispanic” is an ethnicity and overlaps races)

• White alone: ~80–81%
• Asian alone: ~10–11%
• Black or African American alone: ~3–4%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and some other race (combined): ~1–2%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~5%

Households

• Households: ~37,500–38,500
• Average household size: ~2.3–2.4
• Family households: ~53%
• Nonfamily households: ~47% (one-person households ~30%+)
• Households with children under 18: ~24%

Insights

• Very young age profile driven by Iowa State University (large 18–24 segment).
• Higher racial/ethnic diversity than Iowa overall, especially a larger Asian population linked to the university.
• Elevated share of nonfamily and one-person households consistent with a student-heavy housing market.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates; Vintage 2023 Population Estimates.

Story County, IA snapshot (2024 est.)

• Population ~101,000 across ~573 sq mi (≈175 people/sq mi). Most residents live in and around Ames (Iowa State University), creating a dense connectivity core relative to rural townships.

Email usage

• Estimated users: ~86,000 (≈85% of residents), driven by near-universal internet use among adults and the large 18–24 student cohort.

Age distribution of email users (share of users)

• 18–24: ~32%
• 25–44: ~28%
• 45–64: ~24%
• 65+: ~16% Email adoption is effectively universal among 18–64 and high but slightly lower among 65+.

Gender split of email users

• ~51% male, ~49% female, mirroring the county’s demographic balance.

Digital access and trends

• ≈92% of households have a broadband subscription; ≈96% have a computer (ACS Computer & Internet Use).
• Home internet non‑subscription likely ~6–8%, concentrated in rural areas; mobile access mitigates gaps.
• Fiber and gigabit coverage expanded 2021–2024 in Ames and along major corridors, raising speeds and reliability; rural areas increasingly served by fixed wireless and new fiber laterals.
• High campus/Wi‑Fi density in Ames supports mobile‑first email behavior; rural households rely more on fixed connections.

Insight: The county’s young, university-heavy population and strong broadband penetration yield above‑average email engagement, with remaining access gaps primarily geographic, not demographic.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Story County, Iowa

Context and population

• Population: approximately 100,000 residents, anchored by Ames and Iowa State University (ISU).
• ISU enrollment: about 30,000 students in recent fall terms, meaning roughly 3 in 10 county residents are college-age. This skews the county younger than the Iowa average and materially affects device ownership, plan type, and data consumption patterns.

User estimates and adoption

• Smartphone penetration: roughly mid-90s percent of households in Story County have a smartphone (ACS 2018–2022), versus low-90s percent statewide. College-town demographics push adoption higher than the state average.
• Estimated users: about 90,000 residents use a mobile phone in Story County when applying county-level smartphone and cellular-plan ownership rates to the population total, higher on a per-capita basis than the state average.
• Mobile-only internet households: approximately one-quarter of Story County households rely primarily on cellular data (no fixed home broadband), several points higher than the Iowa average (roughly one-fifth). This is consistent with student housing and renter-heavy neighborhoods opting for mobile-first connectivity.
• Multi-line and high-data plans: a higher share of users in Story County maintain unlimited or high-cap data plans versus the state, driven by streaming, campus LMS use, and app-centric student workflows.

Demographic breakdown (how usage differs from Iowa overall)

• Age: a substantially larger 18–24 cohort than the statewide profile. This group exhibits near-universal smartphone use, heavier app usage, and higher monthly data consumption than older cohorts.
• Housing tenure: more renters and shared housing near campus support greater reliance on mobile plans and hotspots instead of fixed broadband, diverging from Iowa’s more owner-occupied and fixed-broadband–oriented profile.
• Income/student status: student-heavy tracts show a mix of prepaid and budget postpaid plans with frequent device turnover (annual upgrade cycles), while non-student households resemble statewide postpaid patterns. Overall, prepaid share is higher than the Iowa average in campus-adjacent areas.
• Device mix: a higher iOS share than the state average is typical in university markets, with strong BYOD usage for coursework, two-factor authentication, and campus apps.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• 5G coverage: all three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide 5G service in Ames and along the I-35 corridor. Mid-band 5G is prevalent in and around Ames, enabling materially higher median speeds than many rural Iowa counties.
• Capacity and density: more cell sites and small cells are concentrated in Ames and on/near the ISU campus than in typical Iowa county seats, reflecting high device density and event-driven demand (athletics, conferences).
• Backhaul and fiber: campus and city backbone connectivity is robust, supporting strong mobile backhaul and generally lower congestion in the urban core compared to rural townships in the county.
• Rural edges: outside Ames and primary corridors, LTE remains common with spotty mid-band 5G. Coverage and capacity step down in agricultural areas, but overall availability is still better than in many sparsely populated Iowa counties.

Trends and differences from the Iowa state-level profile

• Higher adoption: Story County’s smartphone and cellular-plan household rates exceed statewide averages by several percentage points.
• More mobile-only households: the county’s share of households relying primarily on cellular data is notably higher than the Iowa average due to student housing dynamics.
• Heavier data usage: median mobile data consumption per line is higher, reflecting younger demographics and campus-driven use cases.
• Better 5G experience in the core: Ames exhibits stronger mid-band 5G availability and higher typical speeds than the statewide median; the gap narrows in rural parts of the county.
• Faster device replacement: shorter device refresh cycles and higher flagship penetration in student-heavy zones compared to the state overall.

Key takeaways

• Story County’s mobile market behaves more like a university metro than a typical Iowa county: near-ubiquitous smartphone use, elevated mobile-only connectivity, and denser 5G deployment in the urban core.
• State-level Iowa patterns (older age mix, higher home-ownership, and greater reliance on fixed broadband) understate the mobile intensity observed in and around Ames.

Story County, IA — social media usage (2025 snapshot)

Headline user stats

• Population: ~100,600 residents; large university presence skews young
• Estimated residents 13+ who use at least one major social platform: ~73,000 (modeled)
• Gender (county): ~52% male, ~48% female; social media users are near‑parity overall (≈51% male, 49% female)

Age structure and user mix

• County age mix (approx.): 13–17 ~6%, 18–24 ~30%, 25–34 ~18%, 35–49 ~14%, 50–64 ~17%, 65+ ~15%
• Share of social media users by age (estimated): 13–17 ~7%, 18–24 ~38%, 25–34 ~20%, 35–49 ~14%, 50–64 ~12%, 65+ ~9%

Most‑used platforms in Story County (estimated reach of residents 13+)

• YouTube ~88%
• Instagram ~62%
• Facebook ~58%
• Snapchat ~55%
• TikTok ~50%
• LinkedIn ~28%
• Pinterest ~28%
• Reddit ~22%
• X (Twitter) ~22%
• WhatsApp ~18%
• Discord ~20%
• Nextdoor ~10% Notes on skews: Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok skew younger; Facebook/Nextdoor skew older; LinkedIn skews toward students and professionals; Reddit, X, YouTube skew more male; Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram skew more female.

Behavioral trends

• Student‑driven usage: High daily time on Snapchat and Instagram for peer communication; TikTok and YouTube for discovery/entertainment. Private DMs and Stories outperform public posts for engagement.
• Video‑first: Short‑form vertical video (Reels/TikTok/Shorts) is the default; authentic, low‑production campus‑life content performs best.
• Timing: Engagement peaks evenings (8 pm–midnight) and midday (11 am–2 pm). University calendar (semester starts, game days, finals) drives pronounced spikes.
• Community channels: Facebook Groups and local pages for events, buy/sell/trade, and civic updates; Nextdoor concentrated among homeowners in Ames/suburbs.
• Career networks: Above‑average LinkedIn use for internships, campus recruiting, and early‑career roles; students respond to clear calls‑to‑action (apply/register).
• Response patterns: Students favor time‑sensitive promos, food/entertainment deals, giveaways, and athletics; older residents engage with local news, road/weather alerts, and public services. Location tags, campus hashtags, and student‑creator partnerships reliably lift reach.

Method note

• Figures are 2025 modeled estimates for Story County by weighting the county’s age/sex profile (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023) against platform adoption by age and gender from recent Pew Research Center studies (2023–2024). Rounding applied.