Martin County

Martin County, Kentucky — key demographics

Population size

• 11,287 (2020 Census)
• 10,996 (2023 estimate; −2.6% since 2020)

Age

• Median age: 41.7 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: 23.1%
• 65 and over: 17.4%

Gender

• Male: 50.1%
• Female: 49.9%

Race and ethnicity

• White alone: 97.9%
• Black or African American alone: 0.2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: 0.3%
• Asian alone: 0.2%
• Two or more races: 1.4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 1.0%

Households and housing

• Households: ~4,000 (approx. 4,000–4,100; ACS 2018–2022)
• Persons per household: 2.55
• Family households: ~69% of households
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~79%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; Vintage 2023 population estimates)

Martin County, KY — Email usage snapshot (estimates)

• Population and density: 11,200 residents across ~230 sq mi (49 people/sq mi).
• Estimated email users: 8,300 residents age 13+ (74% of total population).
  • Adults (18+): 8,600; adult email users: ~7,770 (90% of adults).
• Age distribution of email users (share of users; count rounded):
  • 13–17: 7% (560)
  • 18–34: 26% (2,130)
  • 35–64: 51% (4,210)
  • 65+: 17% (1,430)
• Gender split among users: roughly mirrors population, ~51% female, ~49% male.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Household broadband subscription estimated ~70–75%; smartphone‑only internet reliance ~25–30%, reflecting rural appalachian patterns.
  • Fixed broadband is strongest in and near Inez and along main corridors; coverage thins in hollows and dispersed areas, driving higher mobile dependence.
  • Public institutions (schools, libraries, government buildings) play an outsize role in access for students and low‑income households.
  • LTE/5G coverage is present on primary roadways; fiber exists in limited pockets via regional rural telcos; satellite fills remaining gaps. Insights: Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults, with meaningful drop‑off among seniors tied to home‑broadband gaps. Low population density raises last‑mile costs, sustaining a mobile‑first usage pattern.

Mobile phone usage in Martin County, Kentucky (2025 snapshot)

Population base

• Residents: ≈11,000; households: ≈4,300; adults (18+): ≈8,400.

User estimates and penetration

• Adult smartphone ownership: estimated 80–84% (≈6,700–7,100 adult users). This is a few points below Kentucky overall (≈84–87%).
• Households relying on cellular data as their only internet (“cellular‑only”): estimated 28–33% (≈1,200–1,450 households), materially higher than the Kentucky average (≈20–22%). This reflects terrain constraints, lower incomes, and patchy fixed broadband.
• Any internet subscription (home fixed or cellular): ≈72–76% of households in Martin County versus ≈82–85% statewide. The gap widened after the 2024 lapse of Affordable Connectivity Program funding, with a measurable shift from fixed broadband to mobile-only access.

Demographic breakdown of mobile use

• Age
  • 18–34: smartphone ownership ≈93–96%; heavy app/social/video use; common hotspotting for school/work.
  • 35–64: ≈85–90%; strong dependence for banking, commerce, and navigation; higher use of Wi‑Fi calling due to indoor coverage variability.
  • 65+: ≈58–68%; growing telehealth and messaging adoption but lower video and mobile payments; device replacement cycles longer than state average.
• Income and education
  • Low‑income households (prevalent in the county) show markedly higher cellular‑only reliance—often 40–50% within this segment—versus roughly 25–30% at the state level.
  • Prepaid plans are notably more common than in Kentucky overall, and shared family plans are frequently optimized for hotspot data.
• Work and households
  • Remote work share remains low (<10%), so phones are primarily personal and household connectivity tools. Mobile hotspot use for homework and telehealth exceeds the state average.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers and networks
  • AT&T (including FirstNet), Verizon, and T‑Mobile serve the county; regional carrier Appalachian Wireless is a meaningful presence and competitive on price and rural coverage.
  • 4G LTE: broad coverage in population centers (Inez, Warfield, Lovely) and along primary corridors, with dead zones in hollows and ridge areas typical of Appalachian topography.
  • 5G: low‑band 5G covers main corridors and towns; mid‑band 5G capacity is limited outside those areas. As a result, LTE remains the workhorse technology more than in the state’s metro counties.
• Capacity and performance
  • Evening congestion is common in cellular‑only clusters; uplink speeds are a constraint for live video and telehealth in some pockets.
  • Indoor coverage challenges persist in metal‑roof or masonry structures; Wi‑Fi calling is an important mitigation.
• Backhaul and fiber
  • Fiber backhaul is improving via regional providers (e.g., Foothills Communications and neighboring builds), but tower density and microwave backhaul still shape capacity in outlying areas.
  • Public Wi‑Fi at schools, libraries, and community centers remains a significant supplement for large downloads and updates.

How Martin County differs from Kentucky overall

• Higher cellular‑only reliance: roughly 6–12 percentage points above the state share, with greater hotspot dependence for homework and telehealth.
• More prepaid and regional‑carrier usage, reflecting price sensitivity and rural coverage needs.
• Slower, spottier 5G depth: low‑band 5G is present, but mid‑band capacity is less prevalent than the statewide picture; LTE shoulders a larger share of traffic.
• Wider fixed‑broadband gap: household fixed‑internet subscription rates trail the state by roughly 6–10 points, reinforcing mobile substitution.
• Older users lag more: the 65+ cohort’s smartphone adoption is several points below the Kentucky average, widening the intra‑county digital divide.
• Longer device lifecycles and heavier reliance on budget Android devices than in Kentucky’s urban counties, influencing app performance and update cadence.

Key takeaways

• Around 7,000 adults in Martin County use smartphones, but a higher‑than‑average share of households rely on mobile connectivity as their primary or sole internet.
• Terrain and infrastructure constraints keep LTE central and limit mid‑band 5G benefits outside town centers, creating evening congestion pockets.
• Policy and affordability shifts have an outsized effect locally; targeted fiber backhaul, additional macro/small‑cell sites on key corridors, and subsidized device/plan programs would yield larger marginal gains in Martin County than in Kentucky’s metro areas.

Martin County, Kentucky social media snapshot (best-available small-area estimates; 2025)

Population context

• Total population: 11,287 (2020 Census). Residents age 13+ ≈ 9,250.

How many people use social media

• Any social platform (including YouTube): ≈ 7,900 residents 13+ (≈85% of 13+; ≈70% of total population).
• Core social networking (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Pinterest; excludes YouTube): ≈ 6,850 residents 13+ (≈74% of 13+).

Age mix of users (share of core social networking users)

• 13–17: ~11%
• 18–29: ~18%
• 30–49: ~35%
• 50–64: ~24%
• 65+: ~12%

Gender breakdown of users

• Women ~52%, men ~48% (women slightly more active on Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest; men skew higher on YouTube/Reddit and sports content).

Most-used platforms among residents 13+ (overlap expected; rounded reach)

• YouTube: ~82%
• Facebook: ~68% (Facebook Groups usage is notably high)
• Instagram: ~42%
• TikTok: ~36%
• Snapchat: ~33%
• Pinterest: ~30% (female skew)
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• LinkedIn: ~15% (low in small rural labor markets)

Behavioral trends on the ground

• Facebook is the community hub: school, church, youth sports, county alerts, obituaries, fundraisers. Groups and Marketplace drive the most interactions and shares.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for how-to, music, sermons, local sports; TikTok/Instagram Reels for short-form entertainment among teens and younger adults.
• Messaging-centered coordination: Facebook Messenger is the default for families, teams, and small businesses; Snapchat is routine among teens.
• Local-first content performs best: posts featuring recognizable people/places, weather/school closures, and utility/outage updates earn outsized engagement versus national topics.
• Mobile-dominant access: most usage is on smartphones; evening and early-morning peaks (≈6–8 a.m., 7–10 p.m.); weekend mid-day spikes for Marketplace and events.
• Commerce and services: heavy reliance on Facebook Marketplace for buying/selling; service providers use Pages and local Groups for lead-gen; limited LinkedIn/X use beyond job-seeking, sports, and weather.
• Demographic nuances: women 25–54 are the backbone of Group and Marketplace activity; men 25–54 over-index on YouTube how-to/sports; teens split time between Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube with minimal Facebook posting.

Notes on method and reliability

• Figures are modeled from U.S. Census population for Martin County (2020) and Pew Research Center platform adoption (2023–2024), adjusted for rural U.S./Appalachian usage patterns and the county’s age mix. County-level social media datasets are not published; treat values as best-available local estimates grounded in national benchmarks.