Hancock County

Key demographics for Hancock County, Kentucky (latest U.S. Census Bureau data; primarily 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates and 2023 population estimates):

• Population: ~9,200
• Age:
  • Median age: ~40.5 years
  • Under 18: ~24%
  • 65 and over: ~18%
• Sex:
  • Male: ~50%
  • Female: ~50%
• Race and ethnicity (shares of total population):
  • White (alone): ~93%
  • Black or African American (alone): ~2%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native (alone): ~0–1%
  • Asian (alone): ~0–1%
  • Two or more races: ~4%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~3%
• Households:
  • Total households: ~3,500
  • Average household size: ~2.6
  • Family households: ~70% of households
  • Households with children under 18: ~30%
  • Tenure: ~80% owner-occupied, ~20% renter-occupied

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

Hancock County, KY email usage snapshot

• Population and density: ≈9,100 residents; ≈188 sq mi of land; ≈48 people per sq mi (rural, dispersed).
• Estimated email users: ≈6,700 residents use email (≈74% of all residents; ≈91% of adults).
• Age distribution of email users: 13–17: 6%; 18–34: 26%; 35–54: 36%; 55+: 32%.
• Gender split among users: Female 51%; Male 49% (usage is effectively universal across genders).
• Digital access and behavior:
  • Home internet subscription: ≈80% of households, with adoption rising gradually; remaining households often rely on mobile data or shared access.
  • Smartphone-only users: ≈15–20% of adults are mobile-only, making phone the primary email device for many.
  • Access pattern: Adults check email daily for work, school, and commerce; seniors’ usage is high but skews toward lower frequency.
  • Infrastructure: Rural density and distance from exchanges limit last‑mile options outside town centers; cable/DSL remain common, with growing but localized fiber availability; cellular coverage supports mobile access along primary corridors.
• Implications: High adult email penetration enables reliable outreach, but campaign performance improves with mobile‑optimized messages and offline complements in the most remote areas where fixed broadband choices are limited.

Hancock County, KY — Mobile phone usage snapshot (latest available estimates from ACS 2019–2023 5‑year data, FCC mobile coverage filings through 2024, and statewide benchmarks)

Key takeaways

• Mobile dependence is higher than Kentucky overall: a larger share of households rely on cellular data as their primary or only internet connection, and performance gaps between towns and rural areas are more pronounced than the state average.
• Co‑op fiber buildout is rapidly changing the mix in 2023–2025, reducing cellular‑only reliance in and around Hawesville and Lewisport faster than the statewide pace.

User estimates

• Population baseline: roughly 9,100 residents; about 3,500 households.
• Adult mobile users (smartphone or basic phone): about 6,400 residents use a mobile phone.
• Adult smartphone users: about 5,900 residents.
• Households with at least one smartphone: about 3,100 households (≈89%).
• Cellular‑only internet households (use a cellular data plan with no wired service): roughly 700–800 households (≈20–23%), several points higher than the Kentucky average (≈15–17%).

Demographic breakdown (how usage differs from Kentucky)

• Age: Seniors (65+) make up a slightly larger share than urban Kentucky. Smartphone adoption among seniors trails younger adults by ~15–20 percentage points, pulling the county’s overall smartphone penetration a bit below the statewide average despite strong adoption among working‑age adults.
• Income and plan mix: Industrial employers in Hawesville/Lewisport support above‑average device quality and multi‑line households in town, but outlying rural areas show higher use of prepaid and single‑line plans and higher cellular‑only home internet reliance than the state overall.
• Household composition: Family households with school‑age children report near‑universal smartphone access and higher data usage; single‑elderly households are overrepresented among those with limited data plans or voice/text‑only devices.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier coverage: AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile report near‑universal outdoor 4G LTE coverage along US‑60, Hawesville, and Lewisport. 5G low‑band is broadly available; mid‑band 5G (e.g., T‑Mobile n41, Verizon/AT&T C‑band) is concentrated in and around the towns and along the river corridor.
• Performance profile:
  • Town centers (Hawesville, Lewisport): mid‑band 5G commonly delivers 100–300 Mbps with 25–50 ms latency; strong in‑vehicle reliability along US‑60.
  • Rural zones: LTE is dominant with typical 5–40 Mbps; signal attenuation and sector loading are the main constraints. River bottoms and wooded/sparsely populated areas show more frequent drops to low‑band 5G/LTE and reduced throughput compared with the statewide norm.
• Backhaul and fixed broadband:
  • Kenergy/Conexon Connect’s fiber project has been passing addresses across Hancock County since 2023, materially improving home broadband availability faster than most regions of Kentucky.
  • Cable (Spectrum) is present in town; legacy DSL is limited or being retired outside town centers. The fiber build is reducing cellular‑only household reliance in served areas through Wi‑Fi offload.
• Public safety and enterprise:
  • FirstNet (AT&T) presence supports emergency coverage; industrial sites often augment with on‑premise Wi‑Fi or private CBRS due to metal‑building attenuation.

How Hancock County differs from Kentucky overall

• Higher cellular‑only household share by roughly 5–7 percentage points.
• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration driven by a higher proportion of seniors; parity among working‑age adults.
• Lower wired‑broadband availability outside towns, producing a wider urban‑rural performance gap than the statewide average.
• Faster near‑term improvement in fixed connectivity due to the co‑op fiber build, which is accelerating a shift from mobile‑only to hybrid (fiber + mobile) usage patterns in town and along primary corridors.

Implications

• Mobile networks shoulder a larger share of home internet demand in rural Hancock than statewide; capacity upgrades on rural sectors and along commuter corridors deliver outsized benefits locally.
• As fiber passes more homes, expect a measurable decline in cellular‑only households and increased in‑home Wi‑Fi offload, with mobile usage stabilizing in towns but remaining comparatively high in unserved rural pockets.
• Targeted infill sites or small cells near river bottoms and along KY‑69/secondary roads would narrow the county’s performance gap with state averages.

Hancock County, KY — social media usage snapshot (modeled 2025 estimates) Methodology: Estimates apply Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. social platform adoption benchmarks (with rural-county adjustments) to Hancock County’s ACS 2023 demographics. Figures represent likely adult adoption unless noted; teens use separate Pew teen benchmarks.

County/population baseline

• Total population: ~9,200
• Adults (18+): ~7,200
• Teens (13–17): ~600

Overall reach

• Adults using any social media: 70% (5,000 adults; ~55% of total population)
• Teens using any social media: 95% (570 teens)
• Combined social users: ~5,600 (about 61% of county residents)

Most-used platforms (adults, 18+)

• YouTube: 78% of adults (5.6k)
• Facebook: 72% (5.2k)
• Instagram: 38% (2.7k)
• Pinterest: 30% (2.2k)
• TikTok: 28% (2.0k)
• Snapchat: 22% (1.6k)
• LinkedIn: 18% (1.3k)
• X (Twitter): 16% (1.2k)
• Reddit: 16% (1.2k)
• WhatsApp: 14% (1.0k) Note: Platform totals exceed “any social” because people use multiple platforms.

Teens (13–17) — most used

• YouTube ~95%, TikTok ~63%, Snapchat ~60%, Instagram ~59%, Facebook ~30% (lower but present for group/sports updates)

Age-group patterns (adults)

• 18–29: Very high YouTube (90%); Instagram (70%), Snapchat (60%), TikTok (55%), Facebook (~60%)
• 30–49: Facebook (80%) and YouTube (85%) dominate; Instagram (48%), TikTok (32%), Pinterest (~40%)
• 50–64: Facebook (75%), YouTube (70%), Pinterest (30%); Instagram (28%), TikTok (~16%)
• 65+: Facebook (60%), YouTube (55%), Pinterest (~20%); others low

Gender breakdown (adults; adoption rates)

• Women: Facebook (78%), Instagram (44%), Pinterest (45%), TikTok (30%)
• Men: YouTube (82%), Facebook (66%), Reddit (22%), X/Twitter (20%) Implication: Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, X.

Behavioral trends in Hancock County

• Facebook is the community hub: Heavy use of Groups for schools, churches, youth sports, civic alerts, and buy/sell (Marketplace). Local event posts and fundraisers get strong engagement.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for how‑to, farming/DIY, outdoors; short-form (Reels/TikTok) growing among 18–34 for entertainment and local food/retail discovery.
• Messaging matters: Facebook Messenger is the default for customer inquiries and peer-to-peer contact; Snapchat is the teen/college-age backchannel.
• Commerce and classifieds: Facebook Marketplace is a primary local channel for used goods, vehicles, tools, and farm equipment; trust leans toward known local sellers.
• Content that performs: High school sports highlights, local festival coverage, seasonal hunting/fishing, church/community service, and “shop local” promos outperform generic brand content.
• Timing: Engagement skews evenings (5–9 p.m.) and weekends; mobile-first usage is dominant given rural commute and work patterns.
• Regional spillover: Audience and content frequently cross into nearby Owensboro/Daviess County (KY) and Perry County (IN), so geo-targeting a 15–25 mile radius improves reach.

Sources and notes

• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (adoption by platform, age, and rural vs urban differentials)
• Pew Research Center, Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023
• U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 (population structure) Figures are modeled to county scale; small-county variability and multi-platform overlap are inherent.