Shawnee County

Shawnee County, Kansas — key demographics (latest available Census/ACS)

Population size

• Total population: ~178,600 (2023)

Age

• Median age: ~39.6 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 65 and over: ~18%

Gender

• Female: ~51.1%
• Male: ~48.9%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White alone: ~77%
• Black or African American alone: ~11%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~1.5%
• Asian alone: ~1.7–1.8%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.3%
• Two or more races: ~8–9%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~14%
• Non-Hispanic White: ~67%

Households

• Total households: ~74,300
• Average household size: ~2.36
• Family households: ~59% of households
• Married-couple families: ~43% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~28%
• One-person households: ~33% (about 12% age 65+ living alone)
• Homeownership rate: ~65% owner-occupied; ~35% renter-occupied

Insights

• Population is stable with a modestly older age profile than the U.S. average.
• Majority non-Hispanic White with growing racial/ethnic diversity.
• Household sizes are modest and about one-third are single-person households.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey (1-year) and Population Estimates Program. Values rounded.

• Scope: Shawnee County, Kansas (2020 Census population 178,909; land area 544 sq mi; density ≈329 people/sq mi).

• Estimated email users: ~140,000 residents (roughly 85% of the total population), including ~130,000 adults. Assumes email use ≈90–95% among adults, consistent with national adoption among internet users.

• Age distribution of users (share of users):

  • 18–34: ~30% (email adoption ≈95–98%)
  • 35–54: ~34% (≈95–97%)
  • 55–64: ~15% (≈90–93%)
  • 65+: ~21% (≈80–86%)

• Gender split: ~51% female, ~49% male among users, mirroring county demographics.

• Digital access and devices (ACS-based, 2018–2022):

  • Households with a computer: ~94–95%
  • Households with a broadband subscription: ~88–90%
  • Households without any internet: ~10–12%
  • Mobile-only internet households: roughly low-teens percentage, concentrated in lower-income tracts.

• Connectivity and density insights:

  • Topeka (urban core) concentrates most population and fixed broadband infrastructure; fiber/cable coverage is strongest in the city, with comparatively thinner fixed options on rural fringes.
  • Rising broadband speeds and subscription rates support high email reliance for government, healthcare (MyChart/portal alerts), and employment communications across the county.

Mobile phone usage in Shawnee County, KS — key figures and how they differ from statewide patterns

Headline user estimates (2023–2024)

• Population and households: ~178,000 residents; ~74,000 households (ACS 2023 1-year).
• Adult mobile users: ~130,000 adults use a mobile phone (≈95% of adults).
• Adult smartphone users: ~120,000 adults use a smartphone (≈88% of adults).
• Mobile-only internet households: ~8,000–9,000 households rely on a cellular data plan as their only home internet connection (≈11–13% of households).
• No home internet: ~6,000–7,000 households report no internet subscription (≈8–10%).

Device and subscription profile (ACS S2801, 2023, county vs. Kansas)

• Households with a smartphone:
  • Shawnee County: roughly 89–91% (≈66,000–67,000 households)
  • Kansas: roughly 90–92%
  • Insight: Shawnee is essentially on par with the state for smartphone access at the household level.
• Household broadband of any type (wired, fixed wireless, or cellular):
  • Shawnee County: roughly 86–88%
  • Kansas: roughly 88–90%
  • Insight: Slightly lower overall broadband subscription in Shawnee than the state average.
• Cellular data plan in the household (smartphone/tablet mobile broadband):
  • Shawnee County: roughly 80–83%
  • Kansas: roughly 77–80%
  • Insight: Shawnee leans more heavily on mobile data subscriptions than the state overall.
• Cellular-only home internet (households with a cellular plan and no wired/fixed alternative):
  • Shawnee County: roughly 11–13%
  • Kansas: roughly 8–11%
  • Insight: Mobile-only reliance is meaningfully higher in Shawnee than the statewide average.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Income: Lower-income households in Shawnee are notably more likely to be mobile-only for home internet than higher-income households, and this mobile-only reliance runs higher than the state average by a few percentage points.
• Tenure: Renters in Shawnee are substantially more likely than owner-occupiers to rely on mobile-only internet, reflecting cost and installation barriers in multi-dwelling and older housing stock.
• Age: Adults 65+ in Shawnee trail the county average for smartphone adoption, leading to a higher share of basic-phone users and non-subscribers than prime-age adults; the 65+ gap is slightly wider than the Kansas average.
• Race/ethnicity: Black and Hispanic households in Shawnee show smartphone access rates comparable to the county average but a higher propensity to be mobile-only for home internet, exceeding the state-level mobile-only incidence for these groups.

Digital infrastructure and market context

• 5G footprint: All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide 5G across the Topeka urban area and along primary corridors (I-70, US‑75). Mid-band 5G (T-Mobile n41; AT&T/Verizon C-band n77) is widely available in and around Topeka, with LTE fallback at rural edges of the county.
• Public safety: AT&T FirstNet Band 14 coverage is established across the county, supporting state-government and local public safety operations in the capital region.
• Backhaul and middle mile: Topeka is a hub for regional fiber (e.g., Kansas Fiber Network and major carrier long-haul routes), giving mobile networks strong backhaul capacity and facilitating 5G upgrades.
• Fixed alternatives influencing mobile use: Cable (Cox) and selective fiber deployments cover much of urban Shawnee, but gaps in affordable wired options and legacy copper in certain areas correlate with higher mobile-only home internet adoption than the Kansas average.

Trends that differ from the Kansas statewide picture

• Greater mobile dependence: Shawnee shows a higher share of households with cellular data plans and a higher rate of mobile-only home internet use than the state average, indicating that mobile networks play a larger role in everyday connectivity locally.
• Slightly lower wired broadband uptake: Despite good urban infrastructure, Shawnee’s wired subscription rate trails the statewide average, reflecting pockets of affordability constraints and housing stock challenges in parts of Topeka.
• Concentrated capacity demand: As the state capital, downtown Topeka and adjacent employment/healthcare districts generate weekday daytime surges in mobile traffic; this pattern is more pronounced than in many Kansas counties and has driven visible mid-band 5G densification.
• Digital equity gap: The combination of higher renter share and lower-income neighborhoods produces a county mobile-only profile that is above the Kansas average, even though headline smartphone access rates are similar.

What this means for stakeholders

• Networks: Continued mid-band 5G capacity and backhaul upgrades in Topeka are well-aligned with actual demand; coverage hardening at the county fringes will close remaining LTE-only pockets.
• Public sector and community groups: Expanding low-cost wired options and device/plan affordability programs in renter-heavy tracts can reduce the county’s above-average mobile-only dependence.
• Businesses and service providers: Mobile-first service design (SMS, responsive web, app experiences that work well on cellular) will reach a larger share of Shawnee County residents than in the average Kansas county.

Shawnee County, KS social media profile (2024, modeled local estimates)

Population baseline

• Total population: ~179,000 (2020 Census). Adults (18+): ~141,000
• Gender: ~51% female, ~49% male

Overall usage

• Adults using at least one major social platform: 83% of 18+ (117,000)

Most-used platforms (share of adult residents; approx users in parentheses)

• YouTube: 82% (~116k)
• Facebook: 67% (~95k)
• Instagram: 46% (~65k)
• Pinterest: 34% (~48k)
• TikTok: 33% (~47k)
• LinkedIn: 29% (~41k)
• Snapchat: 28% (~40k)
• X (Twitter): 22% (~31k)
• WhatsApp: 23% (~32k)
• Reddit: 18% (~25k)
• Nextdoor: 14% (~20k)

Age-group patterns (share within each age group using the platform)

• 18–29: YouTube 93%, Instagram 78%, Facebook 67%, TikTok 62%, Snapchat 65%
• 30–49: YouTube 87%, Facebook 75%, Instagram 49%, TikTok 39%, Snapchat 24%
• 50–64: YouTube 70%, Facebook 73%, Instagram 29%, TikTok 24%
• 65+: YouTube 49%, Facebook 58%, Instagram 13%, TikTok 10%

Gender breakdown by platform (skews among local users)

• More female: Pinterest (75% female), TikTok (57% female), Snapchat (55% female), Facebook (54% female), Nextdoor (~60% female)
• More male: Reddit (68% male), X/Twitter (62% male), LinkedIn (~57% male), YouTube (slight male skew)
• Instagram: near balanced, slight female skew (~52% female)

Behavioral trends in Shawnee County

• Community and civic use is strong: Facebook Groups and Pages anchor local news, school updates, events, yard sales, and storm/road alerts. Nextdoor usage clusters in established neighborhoods
• Video-first consumption: YouTube is the default for how-to, local gov and school board clips, and sports highlights; TikTok/Reels dominate short-form discovery and entertainment
• Younger cohorts message-first: Snapchat and Instagram DMs are primary for 18–29; Facebook Messenger is common across 30+
• Commerce and recommendations: Facebook Marketplace and local buy/sell/trade groups are highly active; Pinterest drives project planning, home, recipes, and seasonal ideas
• Professional networking: LinkedIn use centers on state government, education, healthcare, and professional services; engagement peaks around work hours
• Engagement timing: Evenings (7–10 pm) and weekends show the highest cross-platform activity; weather incidents and local elections drive short spikes across Facebook and YouTube
• Cross-posting is routine: Creators and organizations mirror content between Instagram and Facebook; short clips are repurposed to Reels and TikTok

Notes on method and sources

• Figures are 2024 modeled local estimates that weight Pew Research Center’s most recent U.S. platform adoption rates by Shawnee County’s age/sex structure (U.S. Census Bureau/ACS), then rounded to the nearest percentage point and thousand users.