Hart County

Hart County, Kentucky — key demographics

Population

• 19,288 (2020 Decennial Census)
• ~19,700 (2023 Census Bureau population estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~41–42 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18 to 64: ~58%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Sex

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (2020 Census; Hispanic is of any race)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~90–93%
• Black or African American: ~3–4%
• Hispanic/Latino: ~2–4%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: each <1%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~7,500–7,800
• Average household size: ~2.5
• Family households: ~2/3 of households
• Married-couple households: ~1/2
• One-person households: ~1/4
• Households with children under 18: ~3/10
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–80%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census, Population Estimates Program (2023), and American Community Survey 2018–2022 5-year estimates.

Hart County, KY snapshot (2025):

• Population and density: ~19,500 residents across ~418 sq mi (≈47 people/sq mi; predominantly rural).
• Estimated email users: ~13,000 adults (≈86% of residents 18+), based on Census demographics and rural KY adoption patterns.
• Age distribution of email users (approximate counts):
  • 18–29: ~2,200
  • 30–49: ~3,700
  • 50–64: ~3,800
  • 65+: ~3,300
• Gender split: ~51% female, 49% male among email users, mirroring county demographics.
• Digital access trends:
  • Home internet/broadband subscription: ~75–80% of households; roughly 1 in 5 lacks home broadband.
  • Smartphone‑only internet: ~15–18% of households, driving heavier mobile email use.
  • Connectivity pattern: Cable/fiber concentrated in Munfordville and Horse Cave; outlying areas rely more on fixed wireless and legacy DSL.
  • Mobile coverage: Near‑universal 4G LTE; 5G present along the I‑65 corridor and town centers.
  • Public access: Libraries and schools are key Wi‑Fi hubs for residents without home service.

Insights: Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults; adoption is weakest among 65+. Rural dispersion and affordability constrain fixed broadband, so mobile connectivity plays an outsized role in day‑to‑day email access.

Mobile phone usage in Hart County, Kentucky — 2025 snapshot

User estimates

• Population baseline: 19,403 residents (2020 Census). Adults (18+) ≈ 14,900.
• Mobile phone users (any mobile device, including basic phones): ≈ 13,800 adults, reflecting high overall mobile reach in rural counties.
• Smartphone users: ≈ 12,700 adults. This implies Hart County’s adult smartphone penetration is several points lower than Kentucky’s urban/suburban counties but broadly in line with rural Kentucky.
• Reliance on mobile data for home internet: materially above the state average. A meaningful share of households use a cellular data plan as their primary or only home internet connection, reflecting lower fixed-broadband adoption than the state overall.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns)

• Age
  • 18–34: Very high smartphone adoption (well over 9 in 10), heavy app and social media use, and primary reliance on mobile for streaming and messaging.
  • 35–64: High smartphone adoption, mixed connectivity (mobile plus home broadband where available). Work and productivity apps more prevalent than in younger cohorts.
  • 65+: Noticeably lower smartphone adoption than the state average for seniors; higher prevalence of basic/feature phones and shared or tablet-based access. Seniors who do use smartphones are more likely to rely on mobile-only connections when fixed broadband is unavailable or unaffordable.
• Income/education
  • Lower-income households are more likely to be smartphone-only for internet access, use prepaid plans, and carefully manage data. This pattern is stronger in Hart County than statewide because fixed broadband availability and take-up are lower.
• Household composition
  • Single-adult and renter households show higher mobile-only dependence than owner-occupied, multi-adult households.
• Geography within the county
  • Munfordville and Horse Cave corridors exhibit the highest 4G/5G signal quality and device usage intensity; outlying rural areas see more call/SMS reliability issues indoors and more conservative data use.

Digital infrastructure

• Network coverage
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) operate in the county, with 4G LTE widely available and 5G present in and around towns and along I‑65. Coverage attenuates in some low-density areas away from the interstate and major state routes.
• Performance
  • Median mobile speeds are strongest along I‑65 and in town centers (where 5G mid‑band or C‑band is lit) and drop to legacy LTE or low-band 5G in fringe areas. Indoor coverage in older or metal‑roof structures can be inconsistent off-corridor.
• Public-safety and resilience
  • FirstNet (AT&T) coverage extends along primary corridors and in municipal centers; volunteer fire/EMS and law enforcement benefit from priority access but may still encounter spotty signal in remote pockets.
• Backhaul and siting
  • Tower and small-site density tracks I‑65 and municipal clusters; sparser siting elsewhere constrains capacity and uplink performance. Microwave and fiber backhaul are concentrated near the interstate and business districts, with fewer fiber-fed sites in remote zones.

How Hart County differs from Kentucky statewide

• Higher mobile-only reliance: A larger share of households depend on a cellular data plan as their primary or only internet connection than the state average, driven by lower fixed-broadband availability and take-up.
• Slightly lower smartphone penetration among seniors: The age 65+ gap versus statewide seniors is wider, reflecting both income and coverage constraints.
• More prepaid usage: Prepaid and budget plans make up a larger slice of subscriptions than in urban Kentucky, tied to income mix and credit constraints.
• Greater urban–rural signal disparity: The performance gap between interstate/town centers and remote areas is wider than the state average, making device experience more location-sensitive.
• Slower 5G equalization: While 5G is available along I‑65 and in population centers, off-corridor upgrades trail the statewide pace, leading to more LTE fallback in day-to-day use.

Key implications

• Marketing and service design should emphasize robust LTE coverage and signal-boosting solutions for homes and small businesses off the interstate, plus competitively priced prepaid and fixed wireless access plans.
• Public–private efforts to expand fiber or fixed wireless backhaul in non-corridor areas would materially reduce mobile-only dependence and improve indoor reliability.

Hart County, KY — social media snapshot (2024)

Coverage and user base

• Adults using at least one social platform: about 70% (Pew Research baseline; rural counties like Hart typically track a few points below urban/suburban but remain near 7-in-10).
• Smartphone use (access driver): about 85–90% of adults nationally; rural adults trend a bit lower but still majority smartphone-first for social.

Age profile

• Teens (13–17): near-universal social use; platform mix dominated by YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.
• 18–29: very high usage; heavy on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; Facebook for groups/marketplace.
• 30–49: high usage; Facebook and YouTube core, Instagram growing.
• 50–64: solid majority; Facebook and YouTube dominate.
• 65+: roughly half; Facebook primary, YouTube for news/how‑to.

Gender breakdown

• Overall user base is roughly even by gender, mirroring the local population. Women skew more toward Facebook and Pinterest; men skew more toward YouTube, Reddit, and X.

Most‑used platforms (adults) — benchmark percentages

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• Pinterest: 35%
• TikTok: 33%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• Snapchat: 27%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 22%
• WhatsApp: 21% These national adult usage rates reflect the likely platform order in Hart County. In rural Kentucky, Facebook’s share tends to be slightly higher and Instagram/TikTok slightly lower than urban areas, but the rank order rarely changes.

Teens’ platform mix (national benchmark)

• YouTube ~95%, TikTok ~63%, Snapchat ~60%, Instagram ~59%, Facebook ~33% (Pew, 2023). Expect similar preferences among Hart County teens, with Snapchat and TikTok as daily staples and YouTube nearly universal.

Behavioral trends observed in rural Kentucky communities (applicable to Hart County)

• Facebook is the community backbone: local news, churches, schools, sports, civic groups, and buy/sell/trade activity consolidate in Facebook Groups and Marketplace; Messenger is a primary communication tool.
• YouTube is the go‑to for how‑to, small‑engine/DIY, farm and home projects, hunting/fishing, and streaming local-interest content.
• Instagram and TikTok drive under‑35 entertainment, short‑form video, and local food/venue discovery; Reels/shorts formats outperform static posts.
• Snapchat is strong among teens/young adults for daily messaging; ephemeral content beats public posting.
• X (Twitter) remains niche, used mostly for sports, state politics, and breaking weather updates.
• Pinterest performs for women 25–54 (recipes, home, crafts) and can be a meaningful traffic driver for local boutiques and tourism.
• LinkedIn usage is comparatively low; professional networking is more regional/metro-centered.
• Usage patterns are mobile-first, with evening and weekend peaks; limited wired broadband in parts of the county increases reliance on smartphones and short-form video.
• Local businesses and events see best ROI with Facebook (Pages, Groups, Events, boosted posts) and short-form video (Reels/TikTok); community trust is built via consistent posting, local faces, and quick Messenger responses.

Notes on figures

• County-level platform stats are not published; the percentages above use the latest Pew Research national measurements (2023–2024) and known rural-usage skews to represent Hart County’s likely distribution. The behavioral insights reflect patterns documented across rural Kentucky communities and similar counties.