Riley County

Riley County, Kansas — key demographics

Population size

• 73,203 (2020 Census)
• 70,900 (July 1, 2023 estimate; roughly −3% since 2020)

Age

• Median age: ~24 years
• Under 18: ~18.9%
• 18–24: ~33.3%
• 25–44: ~27.0%
• 45–64: ~11.5%
• 65+: ~9.3%

Gender

• Male: ~54%
• Female: ~46%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White alone: ~79%
• Black or African American alone: ~7.6%
• Asian alone: ~4.9%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0.9%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.3%
• Two or more races: ~7.3%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~10.4%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~69–70%

Households

• Households: ~26.6k
• Average household size: ~2.36 persons
• Family households: ~53%; nonfamily: ~47%
• With children under 18: ~25%
• One-person households: ~29%

Notable insights

• Extremely young age profile and above-average male share driven by Kansas State University and the Fort Riley military installation.
• Household structure skews toward nonfamily/renter households relative to national norms.

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

• Scope: Riley County, KS (population about 71,000; density about 116 people per sq. mile; most residents in the Manhattan urban area).
• Estimated email users: about 53,000 adults. Method: apply U.S. adult email adoption (~92%, Pew Research) to the county’s adult population (about 58,000, ACS).
• Age distribution of email adoption (Pew benchmarks applied locally):
  • 18–29: ~99%
  • 30–49: ~96%
  • 50–64: ~91%
  • 65+: ~85% Given Riley County’s unusually young profile (median age mid-20s due to Kansas State University), 18–29 accounts for the largest share of email users.
• Gender split: near parity; email adoption is ~92–93% for both men and women, yielding roughly 26–27k users of each gender.
• Digital access trends (ACS, FCC/industry patterns for college towns):
  • About 95% of households have a computer/smartphone.
  • About 90% of households subscribe to broadband; roughly 10% lack home internet but have strong access via campus, libraries, and public Wi‑Fi.
  • Cable/fiber coverage is extensive in Manhattan; rural fringes rely more on fixed‑wireless/DSL. Insights: Email is effectively universal among younger adults locally; high device ownership and broadband subscription rates sustain heavy email usage, with connectivity strongest in and around Manhattan.

Mobile phone usage in Riley County, Kansas — summary and contrasts with statewide patterns

Headline estimates

• Population base: 73,700 residents (2020 Census baseline; Riley County remains in the low-70,000s through 2024–2025).
• Adult smartphone ownership: about 93% of adults, above the Kansas average (≈89–90%).
• Total smartphone users: roughly 60,000–62,000 residents aged 13+ use a smartphone in Riley County (≈84% of total residents when including children under 13).
• Smartphone-dependent internet users: around one in four adults (≈24%) rely mostly on a smartphone for home internet access, notably higher than the statewide baseline (≈16–18%), reflecting the county’s unusually young, renter-heavy population.

Demographic breakdown and what’s different from Kansas overall

• Age structure drives higher adoption:
  • 18–24: ~29% of county population (vs a much smaller share statewide). Smartphone ownership among this group is effectively universal (≈97%), producing a large, heavy mobile-data cohort centered on Kansas State University (K-State).
  • 25–34: ~21% of the population, with very high smartphone ownership (≈95–97%).
  • 35–64: ~24%, with high ownership (≈90%+).
  • 65+: ~10%, smaller than the statewide 65+ share; smartphone ownership here is lower (≈75%+), but the smaller size of this group lifts the county’s overall adoption rate above Kansas’s.
• Housing tenure and income patterns:
  • A substantially higher renter share than Kansas overall (driven by students and young workers) correlates with higher mobile-only or mobile-mostly internet reliance and greater use of prepaid plans.
• Race and ethnicity:
  • A more diverse mix than many Kansas counties (notably higher Asian and international student presence alongside White, Black, and Hispanic populations), which aligns with high smartphone uptake and heavy app-based communication and payments. Smartphone dependence for home internet is typically higher among Black and Hispanic users, which, combined with the student profile, elevates county smartphone dependence above the Kansas average.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G footprint:
  • Manhattan and adjacent communities (Aggieville, campus areas, major retail corridors, K-18 and US-24 corridors) have comprehensive 5G from all three national carriers. Mid-band 5G (e.g., C-band and 2.5 GHz) is deployed in the urban core, delivering routinely higher throughputs than the Kansas rural average.
  • Rural and Flint Hills terrain: Valleys and low-density prairie north and west of Manhattan exhibit patchier mid-band 5G and more frequent LTE fallback than the Kansas urban corridor average. This urban–rural divide is sharper inside the county than the statewide picture because Riley concentrates users in a single university city with sparsely populated surroundings.
• Capacity hot spots:
  • K-State campus, Aggieville, and Bill Snyder Family Stadium drive peak loads; carriers augment capacity during major events. These locations show above-state-average median speeds and lower latency when not in event surges.
• Backhaul and research network presence:
  • K-State’s connection to the state research network (KANREN) and multiple local fiber routes provide strong backhaul options in and around Manhattan. This supports denser small-cell and macro upgrades than typically seen in similarly sized Kansas counties.
• Public safety and resilience:
  • FirstNet coverage and multi-carrier LTE/5G provide robust urban coverage for EMS, fire, and law enforcement in Manhattan, with performance dipping in outlying Flint Hills areas where tower spacing is wide.

Usage patterns and market characteristics

• Higher app intensity than state norms:
  • Students and young professionals drive above-average usage of mobility, delivery, and social video apps, pushing sustained upstream usage higher than typical for Kansas counties with older populations.
• Mobile-only households and cord-cutting:
  • Wireless-only and mobile-mostly internet usage are measurably higher than Kansas averages due to the county’s youth, renters, and frequent moving cycles aligned with academic calendars.
• Device mix:
  • Newer handset penetration is above the Kansas average in the 18–34 cohort, enabling broader use of 5G features and Wi‑Fi 6/6E offload on campus and in multifamily housing.

Key contrasts with Kansas overall

• Adoption: Riley County’s adult smartphone adoption (93%) exceeds the statewide average (89–90%) because it has one of the youngest age profiles in Kansas.
• Dependence: A larger share of residents rely primarily on smartphones for internet access (≈24% vs ≈16–18% statewide), reflecting higher renter rates and student-driven usage.
• Coverage quality: Near-universal 5G population coverage in the Manhattan urban area, with mid-band capacity that outperforms state averages; more pronounced performance gaps in the county’s rural Flint Hills terrain.
• Event-driven demand: Stronger and more frequent capacity spikes tied to university and athletics schedules than typical Kansas counties, prompting targeted carrier capacity measures.

Bottom line Riley County is a high-adoption, high-usage mobile market by Kansas standards. Manhattan’s dense student and young-professional base drives near-universal smartphone use among adults, elevated smartphone dependence for home internet, and robust 5G build-outs and backhaul. Outside the urban core, the Flint Hills’ topography and sparse population still create coverage and capacity gaps, making the intra-county urban–rural contrast more pronounced than the statewide average.

Social media in Riley County, Kansas — snapshot and trends

County profile (definitive)

• Population: 71,959 (2020 Census, U.S. Census Bureau)
• Age structure: One of the youngest U.S. counties, dominated by 18–24-year-olds due to Kansas State University. Roughly one-third of residents are 18–24; over half are 18–34; about one in six are under 18.
• Gender: Slight male majority (approximately 53% male, 47% female).

Estimated platform reach in Riley County (residents 13+) Note: County-level platform usage is not directly published. Percentages below are modeled by applying Pew Research Center’s 2023 adoption rates by age to Riley County’s young-skewed age mix (with teen rates from Pew’s 2022 teen study). They indicate likely local reach, not official counts.

• YouTube: ~88%
• Facebook: ~67%
• Instagram: ~59%
• TikTok: ~47%
• Snapchat: ~41%
• X (Twitter): ~32%
• Pinterest: ~32%
• LinkedIn: ~29%
• Reddit: ~26%

Behavioral trends to expect in Riley County

• Youth-centric usage: Very high activity among 18–24 drives above-average Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube usage; Facebook remains strong via older adults, parents, community groups, and military-connected households.
• Mobile-first, late-night peaks: Engagement often spikes evenings/late nights and around campus schedules (semester starts, game days, graduation, Aggieville events).
• Stories and short video: Instagram/Snapchat Stories and TikTok short-form lead discovery for events, dining/nightlife, student orgs, and local deals; authenticity and peer-created content outperform polished ads.
• Community groups and service info: Facebook Groups and Pages are key for housing, yard sales, local services, childcare, and neighborhood updates; event RSVPs often originate here.
• Sports and campus content: YouTube and Instagram see strong traction for K‑State athletics highlights, recaps, and behind-the-scenes content; Reddit/X surface real-time chatter and game-day threads.
• Micro-geo relevance: Creative targeted around campus, Aggieville, and student housing corridors yields above-average CTR; student discounts and limited-time offers perform best.
• Gender nuances: Males over-index on YouTube/Reddit/X; females over-index on Instagram/TikTok/Pinterest. Visual, short-form content is broadly effective across genders in the 18–34 set.

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Decennial Census (population). ACS indicates Riley is among the nation’s youngest counties by median age.
• Pew Research Center: Social Media Use in 2023 (adult platform adoption by age); Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022 (teen adoption).
• Method: Weighted Riley County’s estimated 13+ age mix (large 18–29 share, smaller 50+ share) against Pew’s age-specific adoption rates to derive local reach estimates.