Norton County

Norton County, Kansas — key demographics

Population size

• 5,459 (2020 Census)

Age structure (ACS 2019–2023)

• Median age: ~43
• Under 18: ~21%
• 18–64: ~59%
• 65 and over: ~20%

Gender (ACS 2019–2023)

• Male: ~58%
• Female: ~42% Note: The presence of a state correctional facility in the county elevates the male share and affects age/race distributions.

Race and ethnicity (2020 Census unless noted)

• White alone: ~87%
• Black or African American alone: ~7%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~1%
• Asian alone: <1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~6%

Household characteristics (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~2,250
• Average household size: ~2.2
• Family households: ~61%
  • Married-couple families: ~49%
• Nonfamily households: ~39%
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• Housing units: ~2,600
• Tenure: ~72% owner-occupied, ~28% renter-occupied

Insights

• Small, declining population since 2010; older age structure.
• Predominantly White with a modest Hispanic population.
• High owner-occupancy and small average household size.
• Demographic measures are notably influenced by the correctional facility.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates.

• Population: ~5,450 (2023 est.); density ≈6.2 people/sq mi across ~878 sq mi.
• Estimated email users: ~4,000 adults (≈92% of ~4,300 residents age 18+), with ~75% using email daily.

Age distribution of email users

• 18–29: 13% (~520)
• 30–49: 25% (~1,000)
• 50–64: 25% (~1,000)
• 65+: 37% (~1,480)

Gender split

• Essentially even: males 51% (2,050), females 49% (1,950).

Digital access and connectivity

• ~75% of households subscribe to home broadband; fixed 25/3 Mbps service covers >90% of addresses. Gigabit fiber is available in and around the City of Norton; DSL and fixed wireless serve outlying areas.
• ~85% of adults own a smartphone; ~18% are smartphone‑only internet users, supporting email access even without home broadband.
• Public Wi‑Fi from the Norton Public Library, schools, and civic sites supplements access; cellular coverage is predominantly LTE with some 5G along primary corridors.

Insights

• Email penetration is near‑universal among residents under 50 and strong among seniors, reflecting national patterns with a rural tilt.
• Lower household density and longer last‑mile runs keep subscription rates below urban Kansas, but mobile access and localized fiber build‑outs sustain high email usage.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Norton County, Kansas

Scope and baseline

• Population baseline: 5,361 (2020 Decennial Census). Rural county; county seat: Norton.
• Estimates below apply standard national adoption rates by age to Norton County’s rural age mix using Census/ACS and Pew Research benchmarks current through 2023–2024. Figures are rounded to reflect modeling precision.

User estimates (people using mobile phones in the county)

• Total mobile phone users (any cellphone): ~4,450 residents
  • Derived from near-universal adult cellphone ownership in the U.S. (≈98% ages 18–64; ≈92% ages 65+) and high teen adoption (≈97% ages 13–17), applied to Norton’s population structure.
• Total smartphone users: ~4,030 residents
  • Age 13–17: ~306 users
  • Age 18–34: ~926 users
  • Age 35–64: ~1,815 users
  • Age 65+: ~980 users

Demographic breakdown and patterns vs Kansas statewide

• Age structure
  • Norton County skews older than the state, with a larger 65+ share and a smaller 18–44 cohort. This pulls down overall smartphone penetration several points vs Kansas, because seniors adopt smartphones at lower rates than younger adults.
  • Practical impact: higher prevalence of basic/voice-centric use among older adults; more mixed device portfolios (some feature phones remain) than state urban counties.
• Income and education
  • Median household income is significantly below the Kansas median, and the share of households under $35,000 is higher than the state average (typical of Northwest Kansas ACS patterns). Lower income correlates with:
    • Greater reliance on prepaid and value carriers/plans
    • Higher incidence of handset financing constraints and longer device replacement cycles
    • More use of mobile hotspots as primary or fallback home internet where fixed options are limited
• Household internet subscription mix
  • Rural northwest Kansas counties show a higher share of households using cellular data plans for home internet and a higher share with no fixed broadband subscription compared with the Kansas average. Norton follows this pattern, indicating mobile networks shoulder more of the “last-mile” burden than in metro counties.
• Labor and lifestyle factors
  • Agriculture, outdoor work, and dispersed job sites increase the premium on wide-area coverage and voice/SMS reliability. That differs from state metro corridors where capacity and 5G mid-band speeds dominate user priorities.

Digital infrastructure highlights (what’s on the ground)

• Carrier presence
  • National carriers: AT&T (including FirstNet), Verizon, T-Mobile
  • Regional carrier: Nex-Tech Wireless (Hays-based; prominent in central and northwest Kansas)
  • UScellular has historically maintained rural coverage footprints and roaming in adjacent Great Plains markets
• Network coverage and technology
  • 4G LTE coverage is broadly available along US-36 (east–west) and US-283 (north–south) and around Norton; sparsely populated areas between towns can have weaker signal and capacity dips, especially indoors and in low-lying terrain.
  • 5G availability is present but largely low-band in nature; mid-band 5G capacity is more limited than in Kansas’s urban corridors (e.g., I-70/I-35 metros). Result: reliability is strong, but median 5G speeds and uplink capacity trail state averages.
  • Public safety: AT&T FirstNet coverage is established; volunteer EMS/fire depend on carrier macro sites along highway corridors, emphasizing coverage continuity over peak throughput.
• Backhaul and middle-mile
  • Fiber backhaul is anchored by regional providers (notably Nex-Tech) with presence in Norton and along major routes. Town centers, schools, and anchor institutions are typically fiber-fed; many outlying towers rely on fiber-fed backhaul from these trunks.
• Fixed alternatives and substitution
  • Where DSL or cable footprints are thin and some addresses lack fiber, households more often substitute with mobile hotspots or fixed wireless, accentuating the role of cellular networks for home connectivity compared with the state overall.

How Norton County differs most from Kansas statewide

• Adoption level: Overall smartphone penetration is lower than the statewide rate due to an older age mix and lower incomes, even though younger residents mirror statewide smartphone use.
• Plan and device mix: Higher share of prepaid/value plans and longer device lifecycles than state urban averages.
• Network emphasis: Coverage and reliability (especially along farm/ranch and highway areas) matter more than peak 5G speeds; mid-band 5G density lags metros, so real-world speeds typically underperform state medians.
• Mobile as home internet: Greater reliance on cellular data as a primary or fallback home connection than the Kansas average, driven by patchier fixed-broadband availability outside town centers.
• Carrier market share: Regional (Nex-Tech Wireless) and coverage-strong carriers (Verizon, AT&T/FirstNet, UScellular) have relatively stronger positioning than in urbanized Kansas, while T-Mobile’s mid-band-centric advantage is less pronounced in the most rural tracts.

Method notes (for interpretation)

• Population and age structure are based on the 2020 Census and typical ACS profiles for Norton County; adoption rates by age use current Pew Research national figures applied to the local age mix to produce county-level estimates. Because carrier-reported coverage and FCC maps are availability—not performance—indicators, infrastructure points emphasize technology mix and deployment patterns rather than speculative speed figures.

Norton County, KS — social media snapshot (2024)

Population baseline

• Total population: ~5,400–5,600 (2020 Census to 2023 estimates)
• Norton Correctional Facility: roughly 700–900 male inmates included in the total but not part of the active social media audience
• Civilian, non-institutional population: ~4,600–4,900
• Online access: ~78–82% of households have broadband; smartphone adoption high among adults

Active social media users (13+)

• Estimated 2,600–3,000 residents use social media at least monthly (13+ civilian, accounting for broadband adoption)

User mix by age (share of active users; counts scale with the 2.6–3.0k total)

• 13–17: 8% (youth-heavy on Snapchat/TikTok/YouTube)
• 18–24: 9%
• 25–34: 16%
• 35–44: 17%
• 45–54: 17%
• 55–64: 15%
• 65+: 18% (Facebook and YouTube lead)

Gender breakdown (active users)

• Approximately 52% female, 48% male after excluding the incarcerated population (county’s overall male share is higher than typical due to the prison, but active social users skew slightly female)

Most-used platforms in Norton County (estimated share of 13+ using monthly)

• YouTube: 75–80%
• Facebook: 70–75% (dominant for 30+, community info, and groups)
• Instagram: 35–40% (strongest in 18–34)
• TikTok: 30–35% (fast growth, 13–29 core)
• Snapchat: 25–30% (teens/young adults; heavy daily use)
• Pinterest: 28–32% (over-indexes among women 25–54, home/food/crafts)
• X (Twitter): 10–15% (news/sports niche)
• LinkedIn: 12–18% (professionals, small-business owners)
• Messenger: 50–60% use monthly; WhatsApp: 10–15% (lower Midwest adoption)
• Nextdoor: under 10% (limited neighborhood coverage in rural areas)

Behavioral trends and local patterns

• Facebook is the community hub: Groups, school and county pages, churches, volunteer orgs, and Marketplace drive the most engagement and reach for local announcements and commerce.
• Video-first consumption: Short vertical video (15–60 seconds) on Facebook Reels, Instagram, and TikTok outperforms static posts; clips of local sports, events, and behind-the-scenes at small businesses perform best.
• Event-driven spikes: County fair, school athletics, holiday parades, and harvest season produce noticeable engagement surges; posting around these windows boosts reach.
• Trust and word-of-mouth: Shares and tags from known local individuals and organizations outperform paid reach alone; community contests and giveaways generate high participation.
• Messaging as customer service: Facebook Messenger and SMS are primary contact channels; prompt replies and posted hours/phone numbers materially affect conversion.
• Posting windows: Engagement peaks before work (6–8 a.m.) and evenings (7–9 p.m. CT), with strong Sunday evening performance; weekday midday is weaker outside breaking news.
• Older users are active lurkers: 55+ check Facebook frequently but post less; clear calls to action (call, message, visit) help convert views into foot traffic.
• Marketplace matters: Local buying/selling is vibrant; product photos, prices, and pickup details materially increase responses.
• Platform selection by goal:
  • Awareness 30+: Facebook + YouTube
  • Youth reach: TikTok + Snapchat + Instagram
  • Consideration and search: Facebook reviews + Google Business Profile; Pinterest for DIY/home categories
  • Hiring/professional: Facebook groups + LinkedIn

Method notes

• Figures are best-available local estimates derived by applying 2020 Census/2023 population baselines, removal of the incarcerated population, regional broadband adoption, and 2024 Pew Research platform usage by age to Norton County’s rural age mix. Percentages reflect monthly use among residents 13+ and are intended for practical planning.