Beauregard County

To ensure accuracy: do you want 2020 Census (fixed counts) or the latest American Community Survey estimates (e.g., 2019–2023 ACS 5-year)? Also, confirm you mean Beauregard Parish, Louisiana (Louisiana uses parishes, not counties).

Note: Louisiana uses “parishes”; this refers to Beauregard Parish.

• Estimated email users: 24,000–28,000 residents (about 65–75% of the ~37,000 population). Basis: roughly 70–80% with internet access and the vast majority of internet users using email.
• Age patterns (share using email, est.):
  • Teens (13–17): 70–85% (school accounts common)
  • 18–34: 95%+
  • 35–64: ~90–95%
  • 65+: ~70–85% and rising as smartphone use grows
• Gender split: Near parity; men and women use email at similar rates.
• Digital access trends:
  • Many households have broadband; a noticeable minority are smartphone‑only users.
  • Fiber buildouts funded by state/federal programs (e.g., ConnectLA/BEAD, 2024–2027) are expanding coverage; adoption is trending upward.
  • Public libraries and schools act as important Wi‑Fi hubs for residents without reliable home service.
• Local density/connectivity context:
  • Rural parish with low population density (~32 people per sq. mile) and small population centers (e.g., DeRidder).
  • Best fixed broadband availability is in/near towns and along major corridors; outlying wooded/agricultural areas have more gaps, pushing greater reliance on mobile networks and satellite.

Quick note: Beauregard is a parish (Beauregard Parish), not a county.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana

Baseline context

• Population and households: roughly 36–38k residents, about 14–15k households, largely rural with the largest concentration in/around DeRidder. Age structure skews slightly older than the state overall, with a sizable working-age and family population and a smaller but growing Hispanic community.

User estimates

• Adult smartphone users: about 22–25k adults (based on ~27–29k adults and rural smartphone adoption around 80–85%).
• Teen users: ~1.8–2.2k smartphone users ages 13–17 (near-universal adoption among teens in most locales).
• Total smartphone users (all ages): on the order of 24–27k.
• Wireless-only (no landline) households: likely 70–80% of households (about 10–12k), a bit higher than urban Louisiana due to limited incentive to keep landlines.
• Smartphone-dependent for home internet: estimated 18–25% of households rely mainly on mobile data/hotspots for home internet, higher than the state average because fixed broadband options are thinner outside town centers.
• Prepaid and MVNO use: above the state average, driven by income sensitivity and retail channel mix (Cricket, Metro, Straight Talk/Tracfone are prominent).

Demographic patterns affecting usage

• Age:
  • 18–34: near-saturation smartphone ownership; high app/social/video usage; hotspot use common for renters and military-adjacent households.
  • 35–64: very high penetration; heavier use of hotspotting for work-from-home or homework where fixed broadband is weak.
  • 65+: lower adoption than state urban parishes but rising; larger share on basic or older Android devices and value plans.
• Income/education: Lower median household income than major Louisiana metros correlates with longer device upgrade cycles, higher prepaid share, and more smartphone-only internet access.
• Race/ethnicity: Parish is more White and less Black/Hispanic than Louisiana overall. Smartphone adoption is high across groups, but reliance on mobile as primary internet access is relatively elevated among lower-income households across demographics.

Digital infrastructure and market conditions

• Coverage:
  • 4G LTE is strong along US‑171/US‑190 and town centers; service degrades in low-density timber tracts and far-flung roads.
  • 5G availability is primarily low-band “coverage” 5G; mid-band/capacity 5G is patchy compared with larger Louisiana metros (Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge).
• Carrier dynamics:
  • AT&T generally reliable due to rural buildouts and FirstNet commitments; good along highways and in DeRidder.
  • T‑Mobile’s low-band spectrum improved reach; speeds vary with distance from sites.
  • Verizon performance can be very good near sites but more variable in forested areas without recent upgrades.
• Backhaul and towers:
  • Tower density is modest; long inter-site distances limit capacity. New colocation on water towers and highway corridors helps, but large rural pockets still have weak signal or congestion at peak times.
  • Fiber backhaul is concentrated along primary corridors; electric co-op and state-funded builds are extending fiber, indirectly improving mobile backhaul where carriers interconnect.
• Resilience:
  • Storm risk (e.g., hurricanes) and power outages have historically created service gaps; more generators and microwave links have improved uptime, but rural nodes remain more vulnerable than urban Louisiana.

How Beauregard differs from Louisiana overall

• Higher mobile-only reliance: A larger share of households depend on mobile data and hotspots as primary internet, versus more fixed-broadband options in urban/suburban parishes.
• More prepaid/MVNO usage: Price sensitivity and retail availability push prepaid penetration above the statewide mix seen in metros.
• Slower effective 5G transition: Coverage 5G is present, but fewer mid-band sites mean smaller real-world speed gains than in cities; device upgrades also lag slightly.
• Greater carrier divergence by location: Performance differences between AT&T/T‑Mobile/Verizon are more pronounced outside town centers than in metro Louisiana where networks are denser.
• ACP sunset impact is sharper: The wind-down of the Affordable Connectivity Program hit rural, lower-income and mobile-dependent households harder, increasing plan downgrades and hotspot reliance.
• Event-driven congestion: School events, storms, and evacuation traffic create noticeable, temporary slowdowns due to fewer nearby sectors/cells than in urban areas.

Notes on estimation

• Figures are synthesized from national/rural adoption benchmarks, Louisiana rural patterns, and parish demographics; use them as planning ranges. For refined numbers, pair 2022–2023 ACS parish demographics with FCC mobile coverage maps, OpenCelliD tower data, Ookla/RootMetrics for speed/performance, and Louisiana GUMBO/BEAD grant maps plus co-op announcements for backhaul/fiber status.

Note: Beauregard is a parish (county-equivalent) in Louisiana.

Snapshot

• Population: ~37,000; adults (18+): ~27,000–28,000.
• Adults using at least one social platform: ~80% (about 22,000–23,000).
• Home broadband/smartphone access drives usage; adoption skews slightly higher among families with school‑age kids and working‑age adults.

Most-used platforms among adults (estimated share of local adults)

• YouTube: ~80–85%
• Facebook: ~65–72%
• Instagram: ~40–48%
• TikTok: ~28–33%
• Pinterest: ~30–35% (disproportionately women)
• Snapchat: ~22–27% (younger users)
• X/Twitter: ~15–20%
• WhatsApp: ~10–15% (lower than national average in non-immigrant, rural areas)
• Reddit/LinkedIn: ~12–20% each (niche)

Age-group patterns

• 18–29: YouTube ~90%+; Instagram ~75–80%; Snapchat ~60–70%; TikTok ~60%+; Facebook ~50–60%. Heavy daily use, short‑form video first; messaging via Snapchat/IG.
• 30–49: YouTube ~90%; Facebook ~70%+; Instagram ~45–55%; TikTok ~35–45%. Uses FB for community/parenting/schools; Reels/TikTok for entertainment and local businesses.
• 50–64: Facebook ~70%+; YouTube ~80%+; Instagram/Pinterest ~25–35%; TikTok ~20–25%. FB is the main news/community hub; YouTube for DIY, church, hunting/fishing.
• 65+: Facebook ~60%+; YouTube ~55–65%; others <20%. Primarily follows local government, churches, health, and weather.

Gender breakdown (tendencies)

• Women: More active on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok; lead engagement in yard‑sale/parent groups and local events.
• Men: Higher on YouTube, Reddit, X/Twitter; strong in sports, outdoors, automotive, and local government/incident threads.

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the parish “town square”: school sports, church updates, buy/sell/trade, storm/wildfire alerts, outage info, and local government/sheriff updates. Groups and Marketplace drive the most interactions.
• Short‑form video rises: Instagram Reels and TikTok used for local food spots, salons, contractors, and event discovery; creators cross‑post to Facebook Reels for older audiences.
• YouTube is utility-focused: how‑to/DIY, homesteading, small‑engine repair, outdoor content, church services, and local performance videos.
• Messaging > posting among teens/young adults: Snapchat/IG DMs for daily communication; many are “lurkers” on FB.
• Peak engagement: evenings (7–10 pm), lunch hour, weekends; sharp spikes during severe weather, school news, and local emergencies.
• Trust flows through known locals: high responsiveness to posts from schools, churches, coaches, and first responders; rumor correction often occurs via admins/mods in larger FB groups.

Method note: Percentages are estimates by applying Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. social media usage rates to a rural Louisiana parish profile (Census/ACS population mix). Local adoption may vary by connectivity, education, and recent events.