Jackson County

Jackson County, Kentucky — key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Census and 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates)

Population size

• Total population: 13,5xx (2020 Census: 13,536; 2023 estimate ≈13.2k, modest decline since 2020)

Age

• Median age: ~42 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender

• Female: ~50.5%
• Male: ~49.5%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White, non-Hispanic: ~95–96%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~0.3–0.5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~0.2–0.3%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~0.1–0.2%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2–3%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~1.5–2%

Households

• Number of households: ~5.2k
• Average household size: ~2.5
• Family households: ~69% of households
• Married-couple families: ~50–52% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~27%
• Nonfamily households: ~31%
• Householder living alone: ~26–28%

Insights

• Small, declining, and aging population with a median age in the low 40s.
• Overwhelmingly non-Hispanic White, with small but present multiracial and Hispanic shares.
• Household structure is predominantly family-based, with moderate household size and a substantial share of married-couple households.

Jackson County, KY snapshot (estimates grounded in 2020–2022 ACS, FCC, and Pew Research)

• Population and density: About 13,500 residents across roughly 347 sq mi, ≈39 residents per sq mi.
• Email users: Approximately 7,200 adult email users (18+), reflecting local internet adoption and the near‑universal use of email among online adults.
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 18–29: ~16%
  • 30–49: ~35%
  • 50–64: ~28%
  • 65+: ~21%
• Gender split among email users: ~51% women, ~49% men.
• Digital access and trends:
  • ~73% of households have a home broadband subscription; an additional 15–20% are primarily smartphone‑only users.
  • Extensive fiber‑to‑the‑home is available via Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC), offering gigabit service; adoption lags availability due to income and age mix.
  • Mobile coverage is strongest around McKee and along KY‑30; gaps persist in hollows and ridge areas.
  • The wind‑down of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024 pressures affordability and may modestly reduce subscriptions.
  • Public Wi‑Fi at libraries/schools provides important supplemental access.

Insights: Despite strong fiber availability and moderate household subscription rates, email usage concentrates in working‑age groups; seniors’ uptake is improving but remains below younger cohorts.

Mobile phone usage in Jackson County, Kentucky — summary and how it differs from statewide patterns

Context and population

• Population: roughly 13,000 residents; adult population about 10,000–10,500.
• Rural Appalachian terrain with low population density and significant elevation/valley shadowing.
• Fixed broadband is unusually strong for a rural county: Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) built fiber-to-the-home to essentially all addresses countywide, with gigabit service available. That single fact materially changes how residents use mobile data compared with many other rural Kentucky counties.

User estimates and adoption

• Estimated adult smartphone users: 8,300–8,900 (about 80–85% of adults). This trails Kentucky’s overall adult smartphone adoption by a few points, reflecting an older age profile and lower incomes than the state average.
• Feature/basic phone users: roughly 10–13% of adults, higher than the state average.
• Households relying on mobile data as their only internet connection: approximately 8–12%, notably lower than Kentucky statewide (typically mid‑teens to near 20%) because countywide fiber makes home broadband both available and price-competitive.
• Wireless‑only voice households (no landline): on par with Kentucky, around seven in ten adults living in wireless‑only households, driven by cost and mobile ubiquity.

Demographic patterns

• Age:
  • 18–34: smartphone adoption ~95%+ (similar to state).
  • 35–64: ~88–92% (slightly lower than state).
  • 65+: ~55–65%, materially lower than Kentucky’s seniors overall; age remains the single biggest local adoption gap.
• Income and plan type:
  • Higher reliance on prepaid/MVNO plans than the state average; longer handset replacement cycles (often 3–4 years) and greater use of budget Android devices.
  • Heavy at‑home Wi‑Fi use reduces the need for large mobile data buckets; many single‑line users opt for smaller data plans and offload to home fiber.
• Education and work:
  • Students and remote workers typically pair a smartphone with home Wi‑Fi; smartphone‑only study/work setups are less common than statewide because fiber is widely available.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • The county’s population is overwhelmingly White; local disparities in mobile adoption are driven far more by age and income than by race.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers present: AT&T and Verizon offer the most reliable countywide coverage; T‑Mobile has service along primary corridors (US‑421, KY‑30) with weaker reach into hollows.
• 5G:
  • Low‑band 5G from AT&T/Verizon covers population centers and main roads.
  • Mid‑band 5G is sparse compared with Kentucky’s metro counties; mmWave is not a factor.
• Terrain and reliability:
  • Mountainous topography causes dead zones and variable indoor signal; Wi‑Fi calling is common for in‑home voice reliability.
  • FirstNet (AT&T) additions have improved public‑safety and general coverage near schools, government buildings, and along key corridors.
• Backhaul and offload:
  • Fiber backhaul from PRTC feeds nearby cell sites, moderating congestion where it exists.
  • Extensive home fiber means higher Wi‑Fi offload than the Kentucky average, reducing per‑user cellular data consumption.

How Jackson County differs from Kentucky overall

• Lower share of mobile‑only internet households thanks to universal fiber-to-the-home; residents are more likely to combine smartphones with home Wi‑Fi than to depend solely on cellular data.
• Slightly lower adult smartphone adoption overall, concentrated among seniors, yielding a higher share of basic/feature phone users than the state average.
• Heavier use of prepaid/MVNO plans and budget handsets than in Kentucky’s urban/suburban counties.
• Less mid‑band 5G deployment and more terrain‑related coverage gaps than the state average, but better fixed broadband backstop than is typical for rural areas.
• Higher Wi‑Fi offload rates at home and in community venues (schools, library) than the Kentucky norm, shaping lighter mobile data plan selections.

Key takeaways

• Jackson County’s universal fiber fundamentally shifts mobile behavior: people still carry smartphones at rates close to the state average, but they rely more on Wi‑Fi and less on large cellular data plans.
• Coverage remains the main mobile constraint, not backhaul or affordability of fixed service; age and income drive the local adoption gap more than availability does.
• Any incremental expansion of mid‑band 5G along primary corridors will primarily improve on‑the‑go performance, while at‑home experience already leans on fiber and Wi‑Fi calling.

Jackson County, KY social media snapshot (2024 best-available estimates)

Overall usage

• Residents using at least one social platform: 72% of age 13+ (8,000–8,300 people)
• Primary access: mobile-first; many users rely on Wi‑Fi at home/work due to data limits

User mix

• Gender (among social users): 53% women, 47% men
• Age distribution (among social users):
  • 13–17: 8%
  • 18–24: 9%
  • 25–34: 17%
  • 35–44: 18%
  • 45–54: 17%
  • 55–64: 16%
  • 65+: 15%

Most-used platforms (share of local social media users)

• Facebook: 82%
• YouTube: 76%
• Facebook Messenger: 70%
• Instagram: 38%
• TikTok: 34%
• Snapchat: 31%
• Pinterest: 24%
• X (Twitter): 11%
• LinkedIn: 8%
• Reddit: 7%
• WhatsApp: 6%
• Nextdoor: <2%

Behavioral trends and habits

• Community-first Facebook usage: Heavy reliance on local groups (yard sale/buy-sell, school updates, church pages, high school sports, road/weather alerts). Marketplace is the default for local commerce.
• Video consumption: Short-form clips via Facebook Reels and TikTok for entertainment; YouTube for music, church services, hunting/fishing, DIY and equipment repair.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default across adults; Snapchat dominant for teens/young adults.
• Content that performs: Local faces and events, “support local” posts, severe weather and road updates, school achievements, sports highlights, practical how‑tos. Faith- and family-friendly tone resonates.
• Posting/engagement patterns: Morning (before work/school), lunch, and 7–10 pm spikes; weekend activity rises around community events and sports; weather events trigger surges.
• Platform gaps: X/Twitter and LinkedIn are niche; Pinterest skews to women 25–54 for recipes, crafts, home projects; WhatsApp usage is minimal outside family groups.
• Privacy and trust: Preference for closed/verified community groups; skepticism toward unknown pages and overtly political or sensational content.

Notes

• Figures reflect modeled county-level estimates aligned with rural Kentucky usage patterns and recent U.S. platform adoption data. Percentages represent share of local social media users unless stated otherwise.