Rapides County

Rapides Parish (Rapides County), Louisiana — key demographics

Population

• 130,023 (2020 Census)
• ~129,000 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimate), essentially flat since 2010

Age

• Median age: ~38 years (2019–2023 ACS)
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~51.5%
• Male: ~48.5% (2019–2023 ACS)

Race/ethnicity (2019–2023 ACS; Hispanic can be any race)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~59%
• Black or African American: ~33%
• Hispanic/Latino: ~5%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Asian: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%

Households and housing (2019–2023 ACS)

• Households: ~49,000
• Persons per household: ~2.5
• Family households: ~66% of households
• Married-couple households: ~44% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~30%
• Owner-occupied housing: ~65% of occupied units

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census and 2019–2023 American Community Survey (5-year estimates)

Rapides Parish (Rapides County), LA snapshot

• Population and density: ≈130,000 residents over ≈1,320 sq mi (~98 people/sq mi).
• Estimated email users (adults 18+): ≈92,000 (about 92% of ≈100,000 adults).
• By age (email users): 18–29 ≈19k; 30–49 ≈30k; 50–64 ≈24k; 65+ ≈19k. Seniors have the largest adoption gap versus younger adults.
• Gender split (email users): women ≈48k; men ≈44k; usage rates are effectively equal by gender.

Digital access and connectivity

• Households: ≈49,000.
• Computer access: ≈90% of households have a computer.
• Home broadband subscription: ≈83% (≈41k households); no home internet ≈17% (≈8k).
• Smartphone‑only internet: ≈13% of households (≈6k), indicating mobile‑centric access for a notable minority.
• Connectivity is strongest in the Alexandria–Pineville urban corridor (fiber/cable widely available); rural wards show lower subscription rates and higher mobile‑only reliance.

Trends and takeaways

• Broadband adoption and smartphone‑only access have inched up since 2018, sustaining high email reach overall while the 65+ segment remains the key growth opportunity.

Method: Local ACS population/household and internet-subscription figures combined with recent Pew email adoption rates by age/gender to derive parish‑level estimates.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Rapides County (Rapides Parish), Louisiana

Overall adoption and user estimates

• Population and base: ~129,000 residents; ~98,000 adults (18+); ~49,000 households.
• Adult smartphone users: approximately 83,000–86,000 adults (about 85–88% of adults), reflecting slightly lower adoption than Louisiana’s statewide adult rate (roughly 88–90%) due to lower incomes and more rural settlement patterns.
• Household cellular data subscriptions: about 72–75% of households have a cellular data plan (ACS 2019–2023 5-year pattern), a few points below Louisiana overall (~75–78%).
• Mobile-only internet households (cellular data plan without a fixed subscription): roughly 19–22% of households in Rapides versus about 15–17% statewide. This indicates greater reliance on mobile as the primary home internet.
• Households with no internet subscription: about 18–21% in Rapides vs ~16–18% statewide.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns)

• Age:
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone adoption (>95%); high mobile data usage and multi-line family plans.
  • 35–64: high adoption (~90%+), but more likely than younger adults to bundle with fixed broadband.
  • 65+: adoption materially lower (~60–70% in Rapides vs ~65–75% statewide), with a higher share of basic phones and lower mobile data use; seniors in Rapides are more likely to be mobile-only when they drop fixed service for cost reasons.
• Income:
  • Low-income households are markedly more mobile-dependent: roughly one in three low-income households rely primarily on a cellular plan for home internet versus about one in four statewide. Prepaid plans and discounted MVNOs have higher penetration locally.
• Race and ethnicity:
  • Black households in Rapides show higher smartphone dependence and a higher likelihood of being mobile-only than White households, mirroring state patterns but with a larger gap locally because fixed broadband adoption lags more in the parish.
• Education:
  • Households without a college degree are substantially more likely to be mobile-only; the gap between mobile-only and fixed-plus-mobile is wider in Rapides than the state average.

Network performance and coverage (digital infrastructure)

• 5G availability:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) provide 5G in the Alexandria–Pineville urban core and along major corridors (I‑49, US‑165, US‑71). Mid-band 5G (e.g., T‑Mobile n41, Verizon/AT&T C‑band) is concentrated in and around Alexandria, tapering at the parish edges.
• Coverage gaps:
  • Service thins in the southern and western parts of the parish, especially in and around forested tracts near Kisatchie National Forest and low-density areas, where users more often fall back to low-band 5G/4G or experience partial dead zones indoors.
• Speeds and latency (typical user experience):
  • Median mobile download speeds in populated areas of Rapides typically fall in the 50–70 Mbps range, below Louisiana’s statewide median (about 80–100 Mbps). Uploads are commonly 8–12 Mbps locally vs 12–15 Mbps statewide; median latency is modestly higher (about 30–40 ms vs 25–35 ms statewide).
  • Congestion peaks are more pronounced around school commute hours and weekend retail clusters in Alexandria, pointing to limited sector capacity on a subset of sites.
• Tower and backhaul footprint:
  • Macrosites are clustered in Alexandria–Pineville with linear deployments along highways; site density drops quickly outside town. Backhaul is a mix of fiber-fed macros in the core and microwave-fed sites on the fringes. Expansion of fiber backhaul has lagged the state’s fastest-growing metros, constraining mid-band 5G performance outside the core.
• Fixed‑wireless home internet (FWA):
  • T‑Mobile and Verizon FWA are available across much of the urbanized area and selected exurban zones; take‑up has grown quickly since 2022. This is contributing to mobile network load but also serving as a substitute for cable/DSL in areas with limited fixed options.

How Rapides differs from Louisiana overall

• More mobile dependence: A higher share of households rely on cellular data as their primary or only home internet, and a slightly larger share report no internet subscription.
• Slower median mobile speeds: Typical download speeds are a step down from statewide medians because mid‑band 5G coverage is less pervasive outside Alexandria and sector density is lower.
• Bigger urban–rural gap: Performance and reliability drop off more sharply outside the Alexandria–Pineville core than in many Louisiana parishes with denser fiber and tower grids.
• Demographics amplify mobile-only use: Lower incomes and an older age profile raise price sensitivity and push more households into prepaid and mobile‑only arrangements compared with statewide patterns.
• Post‑ACP stress: The wind‑down of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024 has had a visible local effect, with a measurable shift from fixed broadband to mobile‑only or FWA solutions in cost‑pressured households, more so than the state average.

Actionable insights

• Capacity and backhaul in fringe sectors should be prioritized to narrow the parish’s speed gap with the state and alleviate peak-time congestion.
• Targeted affordability programs and device support for seniors could materially raise smartphone adoption and reduce digital isolation in 65+ households.
• Public–private efforts that extend fiber backhaul to existing rural towers would improve low‑band 5G performance and make mid‑band upgrades viable beyond the urban core.
• Maintaining and expanding FWA while safeguarding mobile capacity (e.g., QoS, sector splits, additional spectrum carriers) can help balance growing home‑internet substitution without degrading handset experience.

Note on sources and methodology

• Household internet and cellular-plan shares reflect patterns from the latest American Community Survey 2019–2023 5‑year estimates and NTIA/FCC reporting, translated to local counts using current population and household bases.
• Performance characterizations align with carrier 5G deployment footprints and independent speed-test aggregates observed in 2023–2024 for Louisiana and comparable mid‑size urban counties.

Social media snapshot: Rapides Parish (county-equivalent), Louisiana

How this was built

• Population and demographics: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 2023) for Rapides Parish
• Platform adoption: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (U.S. adults)
• Local figures below model national adoption rates onto Rapides’ adult population and demographics to provide a reliable parish-level view

Headline user stats

• Adult social media penetration: 83% of adults use at least one social platform
• Estimated adult social users: ≈83,000 (based on ~100,000 adults in a ~130,000 total population)
• Gender mix of residents (and thus social users): ~51% female, ~49% male

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

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 50%
• TikTok: 33%
• Pinterest: 35%
• Snapchat: 27%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 22%
• WhatsApp: 24%

Age-group usage patterns (share of adults using any social platform)

• 18–29: ~90% use social; platform mix leans Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube
• 30–49: ~82%; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram dominate; TikTok meaningful
• 50–64: ~73%; Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram/TikTok secondary
• 65+: ~45%; Facebook and YouTube are primary entry points

Gender breakdown by platform (tendencies)

• Facebook: slight female tilt; broad reach across all ages
• Instagram and TikTok: balanced, slight female tilt
• Pinterest: heavily female-skewed
• Snapchat: female-skewed, younger users
• X (Twitter) and Reddit: male-skewed
• LinkedIn: slight male tilt; concentrated among working-age professionals

Local behavioral trends and takeaways

• Facebook is the community hub: high engagement with local news, schools, churches, civic groups, and Marketplace activity
• Video-first consumption: YouTube is universal across ages; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) reaches under-35s efficiently
• Community groups > brand pages: Neighborhood and interest groups on Facebook often outperform standalone pages for reach and discussion
• Messaging matters: Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are key for private sharing and word-of-mouth diffusion
• Trust in local sources: Broadcasters, city/parish agencies, and school districts see strong engagement on Facebook and YouTube for announcements, weather, and events
• Practical cadence: Consistent posting with locally relevant visuals, event info, and short-form video performs best; cross-posting video (YouTube + Facebook + Instagram Reels) maximizes coverage

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2023, Rapides Parish, LA
• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (U.S. adults)