Hopkins County

Hopkins County, Kentucky — key demographics

Population

• 45,423 (2020 Census)
• ~45,000 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year average estimate), indicating slight decline since 2010

Age

• Median age: ~41 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender

• Female: ~51%
• Male: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (mutually exclusive, ACS 2019–2023)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~86%
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American: ~7–8%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~2–3%
• Non-Hispanic Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Non-Hispanic Asian: ~0.5%
• Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%
• Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~18,000–18,500
• Persons per household: ~2.4
• Family households: ~70% of households
• Married-couple households: ~50% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~27%
• One-person households: ~27%
• Homeownership rate: ~72%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP05, S0101, B03002, DP02, DP04)

Hopkins County, KY snapshot (estimates based on 2023 ACS and Pew benchmarks):

• Population 45,000 across ~542 sq mi (83 people/sq mi), centered on Madisonville; largely rural which raises last‑mile broadband costs.
• Email users: ~35,000 residents use email monthly (≈76–80% of population).
• Age distribution of email users: 16–17% under 18, 24% ages 18–34, 30% ages 35–54, 13% ages 55–64, 16% ages 65+. Adoption is near‑universal among 18–54, strong but lower among teens and seniors.
• Gender split: female ~51%, male ~49% of email users; usage parity with minor age‑linked differences (slightly lower among older men).
• Access and device trends: roughly 78–83% of households maintain an internet subscription; 15–20% of adults are smartphone‑only for home internet, making mobile the primary email channel for many low‑income and younger users. 4G/5G coverage is strong along major corridors and in Madisonville; fixed broadband/fiber is expanding but remains patchier in outlying areas, where speeds and reliability lag.
• Insights: Email remains a near‑universal utility for working‑age adults, with growth driven by mobile access. The remaining gap is concentrated among seniors, rural households without reliable fixed service, and lower‑income residents reliant on smartphone‑only plans.

Mobile phone usage in Hopkins County, Kentucky — summary with county-specific estimates, demographics, and infrastructure, highlighting how it differs from statewide patterns

Headline takeaways

• Hopkins County is a mid-sized, largely rural county centered on Madisonville (the commercial hub), with mobile usage patterns that skew more “coverage-first and cost-sensitive” than Kentucky overall.
• County residents are more likely than the statewide average to rely on smartphones as their primary or only internet connection, and to encounter performance variability outside the I‑69/US‑41 corridor.
• 5G is present in and around Madisonville, but day-to-day experience in outlying areas still hinges on LTE and low‑band 5G, with speeds and indoor service quality lagging the Kentucky urban average.

User estimates

• Total population: 45,423 (2020 Census).
• Adults (18+): approximately 35,000.
• Estimated smartphone users (adults + teens): about 32,000–33,000 active users countywide.
  • Basis: adult smartphone adoption typical of rural/micropolitan areas, adjusted to roughly the low‑to‑mid 80s percent; very high adoption among teens.
• Estimated households using “smartphone-only” home internet: roughly 2,500–3,000 households.
  • Basis: county’s rural/working‑class profile and lower fixed‑broadband uptake versus Kentucky metro areas.

Demographic breakdown that shapes usage

• Rural/micropolitan mix: A single micropolitan center (Madisonville) surrounded by lower‑density communities. This split drives a two‑tier mobile experience: robust in town and along major corridors, noticeably weaker in the most rural pockets.
• Age: Older than the state average, with a larger share of residents 65+. Older adults maintain higher rates of voice/text‑first use and basic plans than state urban areas, though 5G capable phones are now common even among seniors.
• Income and affordability: Median household income trails the Kentucky average, increasing price sensitivity. This shows up as:
  • Greater prepaid and MVNO plan penetration than in Kentucky’s large metros.
  • Higher likelihood of data‑capped plans and hotspotting to serve household internet needs.
• Work profile: Manufacturing, logistics, health, education, and energy-related employment create weekday peaks concentrated near industrial sites, schools, and medical facilities in and around Madisonville.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage footprint
  • 4G LTE: Effectively countywide outdoors from national carriers, but with notable weak/spotty pockets in low‑lying and wooded areas away from I‑69/US‑41 and KY‑70/85 corridors. Indoor coverage can be inconsistent in older buildings outside Madisonville.
  • 5G: Broad low‑band 5G from the national carriers in and around Madisonville and along primary corridors; mid‑band 5G capacity strongest in the Madisonville area and tapering with distance from town.
• Capacity and speeds
  • In‑town (Madisonville, primary corridors): Typical real‑world downlink performance ranges from mid‑tens to low‑hundreds of Mbps on 5G/LTE, with better consistency near commercial clusters and schools.
  • Outlying areas: Performance drops to single‑digit to a few‑tens of Mbps, with greater variability and occasional fallback to LTE-only or even 3G refarmed spectrum-equivalents in fringe spots.
  • This urban–rural spread is wider than Kentucky’s statewide median experience because a larger share of Hopkins County’s population lives in coverage‑challenged terrain relative to Louisville/Lexington/NKY metros.
• Network build and resilience
  • All three national mobile networks operate macro sites in the county; co-location on shared towers is common. AT&T’s FirstNet coverage supports public safety; emergency backhaul diversity is present on main corridors but thinner off‑corridor.
  • Backhaul: Fiber runs along I‑69/US‑41 and into Madisonville support higher‑capacity 5G nodes; off‑corridor sites increasingly use upgraded microwave or limited fiber laterals, constraining capacity compared with state urban cores.
• Device and plan mix (practical effects)
  • Higher share of Android devices and prepaid/MVNO plans than Kentucky’s urban counties, reflecting price sensitivity.
  • Greater smartphone‑only reliance leads to heavy use of hotspotting and data‑efficient apps, with evening congestion more pronounced on value networks/MVNOs.

How Hopkins County differs from Kentucky overall

• Higher smartphone‑only reliance: A larger slice of households depend on mobile data for home internet than the statewide average, due to cost and patchy fixed broadband options in rural areas.
• Wider performance gap between town and countryside: The county shows a sharper urban–rural mobile speed and reliability gradient than the state average.
• Plan economics: Prepaid and MVNO uptake is higher than in the state’s major metros, influencing peak‑time performance and customer experience.
• Coverage priorities: Investment and strongest 5G capacity cluster tightly around Madisonville and the I‑69 corridor, whereas Kentucky’s large metros see broader mid‑band 5G saturation and indoor reliability.

Implications

• For residents: In‑town users can expect solid 5G/LTE experience; rural users should evaluate carrier maps carefully, consider Wi‑Fi calling and signal boosters, and prioritize low‑band coverage when choosing a provider.
• For public agencies and providers: Off‑corridor sites would benefit most from mid‑band 5G overlays and additional fiber backhaul; targeted fill‑in cells in known shadow zones would reduce the county’s above‑state average variability.
• For businesses: Service quality is generally sufficient for mobile point‑of‑sale and field apps in Madisonville and along I‑69; mission‑critical rural operations should provision multi‑carrier failover or fixed‑wireless alternatives.

Hopkins County, KY social media snapshot (2024)

Population and access

• Adult population (18+): ~35,200
• Uses at least one social platform (incl. YouTube): 79% of adults ≈ 27,900
• Daily social use: ~63% of adults ≈ 22,200
• Household broadband subscription: low-80s percent; smartphone access is widespread, consistent with rural U.S. norms

Age profile of social users (share of each age band using any platform)

• 18–29: 92% use; ≈ 4,900 users
• 30–49: 88% use; ≈ 9,900 users
• 50–64: 80% use; ≈ 7,600 users
• 65+: 60% use; ≈ 5,500 users

Gender breakdown

• Social media users: ~53% women (≈ 14,800), ~47% men (≈ 13,100)
• Platform tilt among local users:
  • Facebook: ~56% women
  • Instagram: ~58% women
  • TikTok: ~60% women
  • Pinterest: ~75–80% women
  • YouTube: ~55% men
  • Reddit and X (Twitter): majority men

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use each)

• YouTube: 77%
• Facebook: 63%
• Instagram: 34%
• Pinterest: 31%
• TikTok: 27%
• Snapchat: 21%
• X (Twitter): 15%
• LinkedIn: 13%
• Reddit: 11%
• Nextdoor: 6%

Teen snapshot (13–17, ≈ 2,600–2,800 youths)

• Very high YouTube use (90%+), strong TikTok (65–70%), Instagram and Snapchat (~60% each); Facebook minimal among teens

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups for buy/sell/trade, local news, school sports, churches, and civic alerts; Events and Messenger drive attendance and direct inquiries
• Video-first consumption: YouTube tutorials, church services, local sports highlights; short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) is the fastest-growing format across 18–34 and spreading to 35–49
• Local-first content outperforms: posts that feature familiar faces, youth activities, faith/community service, and hyperlocal updates get above-average engagement
• Shopping and services discovery: boutiques, salons, home services, auto, and outdoor/recreation see strong reach via Facebook/Instagram; Pinterest drives ideas and intent for home, crafts, and recipes among women 25–54
• Messaging over public posting for younger users: teens and early 20s rely on Snapchat and Instagram DMs; TikTok is entertainment-first with occasional conversion via local hashtags and creator collaborations
• News and emergencies: Facebook Pages/Groups and YouTube streams from local entities see spikes during storms, outages, and school/sports announcements
• Professional/recruiting: LinkedIn is niche but useful for healthcare, manufacturing, and energy roles; best performance comes from geo-targeted campaigns into the broader Western Kentucky labor shed

Method note and sources

• Figures are 2024 estimates for Hopkins County derived by weighting Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use benchmarks by the county’s age and rural profile, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS demographics. Where county-level platform data are unavailable, state/rural adjustments are applied to national rates to provide the most accurate local view possible.