Kearny County

Kearny County, Kansas — key demographics (latest available from U.S. Census Bureau: ACS 2019–2023 5-year and Population Estimates)

Population size

• Total population (2023 est.): ~3,7xx (down slightly from the 2020 Census)
• 2020 Census baseline: ~4,0xx

Age

• Median age: ~34 years
• Under 18: ~30%
• 18 to 64: ~57%
• 65 and over: ~13%

Gender

• Male: ~52%
• Female: ~48%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~48–50%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~44–46%
• Black or African American alone: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~1%
• Asian alone: <1%
• Two or more races and other: ~2–4%

Households

• Number of households: ~1,300–1,400
• Average household size: ~2.9 persons
• Family households: ~75% of households

Insights

• The county has a relatively young age profile and a high share of Hispanic/Latino residents compared with Kansas overall.
• Household sizes are larger than the statewide average, reflecting more families with children.

Source notes: Figures reflect ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP05, S0101, S1101) and Census Population Estimates Program for total population trends. Small-county estimates carry larger margins of error.

Kearny County, Kansas email usage (estimates based on 2020 Census population and recent Pew/ACS adoption rates):

• Population and density: 3,983 residents over ~871 sq mi (4.6 people/sq mi), indicating very low-density, rural connectivity patterns.
• Estimated email users: ~3,000 residents use email (≈92% of adults; ≈75% of total population).
• Gender split among users: ≈52% male, 48% female, mirroring county demographics.
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 18–29: ~19%
  • 30–49: ~38%
  • 50–64: ~26%
  • 65+: ~17% Email adoption is near-universal under 50, high in 50–64, and ~70–80% among 65+.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Household broadband subscription: ~82–85% (typical for rural KS counties), with remaining households relying on mobile data or lacking home internet.
  • Smartphone ownership among adults: ~80–85%; mobile-only internet users: ~15–20%, driven by cost and rural last-mile gaps.
  • Public/communal access (schools, libraries, workplaces) remains important for lower-income and farm/seasonal workers.
  • Email remains the default for work, government services, healthcare portals, and school communications; SMS/app messaging complements but does not replace email.

Insight: Sparse population and town-centered infrastructure produce strong mobile-first behavior, but broadband penetration is sufficient to keep email nearly ubiquitous among working-age adults.

Mobile phone usage in Kearny County, Kansas — 2024 snapshot

Executive summary

• Kearny County is a small, sparsely populated, majority-rural county whose residents rely on mobile networks more heavily than the Kansas average, especially outside Lakin and Deerfield.
• Modeled 2024 estimates indicate roughly 3.2–3.5 thousand active mobile users in a county of about 4 thousand people, with a higher share of “wireless-only” households than the state.
• Coverage is broadly available on all three national networks; performance varies sharply between town centers (good LTE/5G) and farm/range areas (low-band LTE/5G with occasional dead zones), pushing many households to treat mobile as their primary internet connection.

User estimates

• Population base: 3,983 (2020 Census). County population has been flat-to-slightly declining since 2020; the 2024 working base used here is approximately 3,800–3,900 residents.
• Active mobile users (unique people with a mobile line): 3,200–3,500.
  • Basis: adult and teen adoption consistent with rural Midwest patterns (roughly 85–92% among adults 18+, ~95% among teens 13–17), adjusted for Kearny’s younger age structure and higher Hispanic share.
• Smartphone users: 2,900–3,200 (roughly 75–82% of total population, inclusive of children).
• Mobile lines (SIMs) in service: 4,100–4,600 (about 1.1–1.2 lines per person, reflecting work phones, tablets, hotspots, and multi-line family plans).
• Wireless-only households (no landline voice): 900–1,050, or about 68–78% of households.
• Mobile-only or mobile-primary internet households: 20–28% countywide; 35–45% outside town centers (higher than the state average), driven by limited fixed-broadband choices in outlying areas.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone adoption; heavy use of social/video apps; higher uptake of 5G-capable devices and hotspots.
  • 35–64: high adoption, frequent use of mobile for work coordination in agriculture, logistics, and energy; hotspot use common where fixed broadband is weak.
  • 65+: meaningful gap versus younger cohorts; adoption improves annually but remains below state average in the most rural tracts; voice/SMS and telehealth are key use cases.
• Ethnicity/language
  • Hispanic/Latino residents make up a substantially larger share of the population than the Kansas average. This correlates with:
    • Greater mobile-first behavior in lower-income and multi-generational households.
    • Higher use of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Spanish-language streaming/messaging.
    • Above-average prepaid and MVNO plan share.
• Income and plan mix
  • Prepaid and budget MVNO plans account for an above-state-average share of lines (estimated 35–45% in Kearny vs. roughly 25–30% statewide), reflecting price sensitivity and seasonal work patterns.
  • Family plans and shared hotspots are common cost-control strategies.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Mobile networks
  • Carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all provide county coverage. 4G LTE is widespread; low-band 5G covers most populated corridors; mid-band 5G is strongest in and near Lakin/Deerfield and along US‑50/400.
  • Rural performance: signal strength drops on section roads and in low-lying fields away from highways; low-band 5G/LTE offers broad reach but modest speeds; line-of-sight obstructions and tower spacing cause occasional dead zones near county edges.
  • Practical implication: residents outside town centers frequently rely on external antennas/hotspots or carrier switching to maintain usable service.
• Fixed broadband context that drives mobile reliance
  • Towns (Lakin, Deerfield): fiber or cable is present in core blocks via regional providers; fixed service is typically reliable and faster than mobile.
  • Outside towns: options narrow to DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite; performance and availability vary by section, leading to higher use of mobile hotspots as primary or backup internet.
• Public safety and resilience
  • Sparse tower grid increases vulnerability to single-site outages during storms; households often keep multi-carrier SIMs or prepaid backups for redundancy.

How Kearny differs from the Kansas state-level picture

• Higher reliance on mobile as primary internet, especially beyond town limits, due to patchier fixed-broadband footprint than the state average.
• Greater prepaid/MVNO share and multi-line family plans, reflecting local income mix and seasonal employment patterns.
• App usage tilts more toward messaging/social platforms used by bilingual communities; mobile-first habits are more prevalent than statewide.
• Coverage variability is more pronounced: strong service on main corridors and in towns, but faster falloff with distance than typical in suburban or metro Kansas.
• Wireless-only voice and wireless-primary internet rates are higher than the state average, consistent with rural substitution trends.

Notes on estimation

• Figures are synthesized from the 2020 Census population baseline, current rural mobile adoption trends in the Midwest, and known relationships between rurality, household income, and broadband alternatives. Ranges reflect year-to-year population changes, carrier build-outs, and normal uncertainty at small-county scale.

Social media usage in Kearny County, KS (modeled from the latest Pew Research Center social media adoption rates, rural-urban splits, and Kansas/rural demographics; figures are best-available local estimates for adults 18+)

Overall usage

• Adults using any social platform: 73%
• Primary access: smartphone-first; Facebook and YouTube are the default entry points for most users

Most-used platforms (share of adults)

• YouTube: 80%
• Facebook: 70%
• Instagram: 40%
• TikTok: 30%
• Pinterest: 33%
• Snapchat: 25%
• X (Twitter): 19%
• Reddit: 15%
• LinkedIn: 18%
• WhatsApp: 16% (notably higher among Spanish-speaking/Hispanic residents)

Age-group adoption (share of adults in each group who use at least one platform; top platforms in parentheses)

• 18–29: 95% (YouTube ~95, Instagram ~78, Snapchat ~65, TikTok ~62, Facebook ~67)
• 30–49: 85% (YouTube ~90, Facebook ~78, Instagram ~52, TikTok ~38, Pinterest ~40)
• 50–64: 73% (YouTube ~75, Facebook ~73, Pinterest ~33, Instagram ~30, TikTok ~20)
• 65+: 45% (YouTube ~55, Facebook ~45; others much lower)

Gender breakdown and skews

• Overall usage split is roughly even between men and women
• Platform skews among local users mirror national patterns:
  • More female: Pinterest (~75% female), Facebook (slight female tilt), Instagram (slight female tilt), TikTok (slight female tilt), Snapchat (female-leaning)
  • More male: YouTube (modest male tilt), Reddit (male-leaning), X (male-leaning)
• Women in the county over-index on Facebook Groups and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and sports/market news content

Behavioral trends observed in rural western Kansas communities like Kearny County

• Community-first Facebook usage: heavy reliance on Local/County pages, school and church groups, youth sports, county fair, and buy–sell–trade via Marketplace
• Video dominates attention: YouTube for how-tos, ag equipment repair, commodity markets, severe-weather tracking; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) grows among 18–34 for entertainment and local business discovery
• Messaging-centric communication: Facebook Messenger is default; WhatsApp usage is meaningful within Hispanic households for family and bilingual info-sharing
• Commerce and services: Marketplace and local service discovery (contractors, auto, ag services) outperform brand pages; click-to-message and click-to-call ads convert better than links to websites
• Posting cadence: strongest engagement evenings (7–10 p.m.) and weekends; early morning (6–8 a.m.) bumps during planting/harvest cycles and school seasons
• Content that performs: local faces, youth activities, weather/road updates, high school sports, bilingual posts; polished corporate content underperforms authentic, community-centered updates
• Access realities: mobile-first consumption and patchy broadband in outlying areas favor short, lightweight video and static posts; long livestreams perform best when scheduled and saved for later

Notes on interpretation

• Figures reflect adult usage and are localized estimates derived from current Pew national platform rates adjusted for rural adoption patterns typical of western Kansas; teen usage is higher than adult rates, particularly for YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.