Saint Charles County

Note: In Louisiana, counties are called parishes. Figures below refer to St. Charles Parish, LA.

Population

• 52,549 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~38 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~14%

Gender

• Female: ~50.5%
• Male: ~49.5%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~62%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~28%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~6%
• Asian: ~2%
• Two or more races/Other: ~2%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~18,700
• Average household size: ~2.7
• Family households: ~72%
• Households with children <18: ~30%
• Homeownership rate: ~80–85%
• Median household income: ~$75k–$80k
• Persons below poverty level: ~10–12%

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

Scope: St. Charles Parish (Saint Charles), Louisiana

• Estimated email users: ~37,100 adult users (≈94% of ~39,500 adults in a population of ~52,600).
• Age distribution of email users (adoption rate; users):
  • 18–29: 96%; ~6,450 users
  • 30–49: 98%; ~12,770 users
  • 50–64: 93%; ~10,290 users
  • 65+: 88%; ~7,650 users
• Gender split among users: 51% women (18,950), 49% men (~18,200).
• Digital access and usage:
  • Households with a computer: 91% (17,560 of ~19,300 households).
  • Home broadband subscription: 84% (16,210 households).
  • Smartphone‑primary home internet: 18% of households (3,470).
  • Telework share: ~5–7% of workers; email is core for schools, parish services, and industry employers.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Population density: ~190 residents per square mile (land area ~279 sq mi).
  • Fixed broadband (cable/fiber) coverage is strongest along the Mississippi River corridor (Destrehan–Luling–Boutte); outlying wetland areas see fewer wired options and greater reliance on mobile data.
  • 4G/5G coverage is robust along I‑10/I‑310/US‑90 corridors, with weaker performance in marsh areas.

Figures are current best estimates derived from ACS/FCC/Pew-based adoption patterns and local demographics.

Note: Saint Charles is a parish (county‑equivalent) in Louisiana. The summary below covers St. Charles Parish.

Executive snapshot

• Population baseline: 52,549 residents (2020 Census).
• Estimated mobile phone users: 45,000–50,000 residents use a mobile phone regularly; an estimated 38,000–44,000 are smartphone users. These figures reflect typical suburban adoption patterns in the New Orleans metro—very high adult and teen smartphone take‑up and multiple lines per household—applied to the parish’s population.

How St. Charles Parish differs from statewide trends

• Higher adoption and device intensity: With higher household incomes and more suburban/industrial employment than Louisiana as a whole, the parish skews toward postpaid family plans, multiple lines per household, and broader use of wearables and tablets. Prepaid share is lower than statewide.
• Better 5G availability and performance: Proximity to the New Orleans core and the Mississippi River industrial corridor yields denser sites and earlier mid‑band 5G rollout than many rural Louisiana parishes. Residents see more consistent 5G along major arteries (I‑10, I‑310, US‑90, LA‑18/48) than the state average outside metros.
• Lower reliance on cellular‑only home internet: Fixed broadband (cable and fiber) is widely available on the east and west banks, so the parish’s share of households relying solely on cellular data for home internet is lower than the Louisiana average.
• Greater resiliency focus: After Hurricane Ida (2021), local towers and backhaul were hardened with additional generators and rapid‑deploy assets; first‑responder (FirstNet) usage is more visible than in many parishes, improving public‑safety connectivity.

Demographic patterns in usage

• Age:
  • Teens and working‑age adults: Very high smartphone and app reliance for school, shift scheduling, navigation, and messaging; heavy use of video/social platforms.
  • Older adults: Adoption has risen post‑Ida due to telehealth, parish alerts, and banking apps; still below younger cohorts but higher than many rural parishes.
• Income and education:
  • Above‑state‑median household incomes in St. Charles support higher rates of postpaid plans, newer handsets, and multi‑device bundles (phones + tablets/watches).
  • Home broadband plus mobile is the norm; “mobile‑only” households are less common than statewide.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Usage rates across White, Black, and Hispanic residents are broadly similar for voice/text; Hispanic and multilingual households show higher use of WhatsApp/Telegram and Wi‑Fi calling to stay in touch with out‑of‑area family.
• Work patterns:
  • The parish’s petrochemical, logistics, and construction base drives intensive mobile usage for shift alerts, site access/authentication, push‑to‑talk, and rugged devices—more pronounced than the state average.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier presence:
  • Nationwide MNOs (AT&T/FirstNet, Verizon, T‑Mobile) operate parish‑wide with overlapping LTE and 5G NR; regional MVNOs piggyback on these networks.
  • Mid‑band 5G is established along I‑10/I‑310/US‑90 and in population centers (Destrehan, Luling, St. Rose, Boutte), with low‑band 5G/LTE extending into lower‑density areas.
• Backhaul and fiber:
  • Robust fiber along the river corridor and interstate rights‑of‑way supports dense macro and small‑cell deployments. AT&T and Cox provide substantial backhaul; fiber‑to‑the‑home is present in many neighborhoods, reducing pressure to use cellular as the primary home connection.
• Coverage gaps and mitigation:
  • Natural features (wetlands, levees, Bonnet Carré Spillway edges) create pockets of weaker signal on both banks; carriers use infill sites, small cells, and COWs/COLTs during storms and large events to stabilize coverage.
• Resilience:
  • Post‑Ida hardening added more permanent generators, faster refueling contracts, and priority restoration for sites serving hospitals, EOCs, and industrial plants; FirstNet has a notable footprint with prioritized access for public safety.

Behavioral and traffic trends

• Mobile traffic spikes around shift changes, school start/finish, and during weather events; parish alert systems and school communications are mobile‑first.
• Fixed‑wireless home internet (T‑Mobile, Verizon) has gained users in fringe areas or where legacy DSL underperforms, but penetration remains below the Louisiana average due to stronger cable/fiber options in the parish.
• Contactless payments, two‑factor authentication, and telehealth sessions via mobile are higher‑than‑state‑average in adoption, reflecting income and employer requirements.

Quantified estimates (localized, with state contrast)

• Active mobile users: 45k–50k in St. Charles Parish (roughly 85–95% of residents using a mobile device), vs a lower effective user share in many rural Louisiana parishes.
• Smartphone users: 38k–44k, reflecting near‑universal adoption among adults and teens; seniors trail but are closing the gap post‑2021.
• Cellular‑only home internet households: materially below the statewide share due to stronger cable/fiber availability in parish population centers.

Key takeaways

• St. Charles Parish exhibits metro‑adjacent, industrial‑corridor mobile patterns: denser infrastructure, earlier 5G, higher device count per household, and stronger resilience measures than Louisiana’s rural average.
• Reliance on mobile for work coordination, emergency comms, and school systems is notably higher than the state average, while reliance on cellular as the only home internet is lower.
• Continued investments in backhaul and site hardening post‑Ida have narrowed outage durations and improved peak‑event reliability relative to pre‑2021 performance.

Social media usage snapshot: St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

Scope note: Parish-level social media datasets are not officially published. Percentages below use the latest Pew Research Center U.S. adult usage rates (2023) as the best available baseline; suburban Louisiana parishes like St. Charles typically mirror these patterns. Population context: St. Charles Parish totals roughly 52k residents with a near-even gender split (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).

Most-used platforms (share of adults)

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• Pinterest: 35%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• TikTok: 33%
• Snapchat: 27%
• X (Twitter): 23%
• WhatsApp: 21%
• Reddit: 20%
• Nextdoor: ~19% Source: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use (2023). Applied as local estimates for adults.

Age-group usage patterns (adults; strongest platforms)

• 18–29: YouTube ~95%; Instagram ~76%; Snapchat ~75%; TikTok ~62%; Facebook ~70%
• 30–49: YouTube ~92%; Facebook ~77%; Instagram ~49%; TikTok ~39%; Snapchat ~40%
• 50–64: YouTube ~83%; Facebook ~73%; Instagram ~29%; TikTok ~21%
• 65+: Facebook ~50%; YouTube ~60%; Instagram ~15% Source: Pew Research Center, 2023.

Gender breakdown

• Population: approximately 50% female, 50% male (ACS 2023).
• Platform skews (Pew 2023):
  • Women over-index on Facebook and Instagram; strong over-index on Pinterest.
  • Men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn.
  • Snapchat and TikTok are closer to gender-neutral among younger adults.

Behavioral trends observed in similar suburban Louisiana parishes

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of parish and school district pages, buy/sell/trade groups, youth sports, churches, and event promotion. Facebook Messenger is the default local DM channel.
• Public safety and weather: Residents rely on Facebook and YouTube for hurricane season updates, road closures, and live briefings from parish EOC, sheriff, and school officials.
• Short-form video growth: TikTok and Instagram Reels drive discovery for local food, festivals, fishing/boating, and small businesses; cross-posting Reels to Facebook boosts reach among 30+ audiences.
• Small-business marketing: Consistent posting on Facebook/Instagram with offers, daily specials, and UGC performs best; video-first creative outperforms static images.
• Neighborhood chatter: Nextdoor usage is moderate for HOA, utilities, and contractor recommendations; older homeowners engage more.
• Messaging ecosystems: Group chats on Messenger/WhatsApp coordinate family, church, and youth activities; WhatsApp use is higher among multilingual and international families.
• Engagement cadence: Peaks around early morning, lunch, and early evening; severe-weather and school-related posts create sharp, event-driven spikes. Mobile consumption dominates.

How to read these numbers locally

• Treat the platform percentages as the expected share of parish adults reachable on each platform.
• For youth-heavy campaigns (schools, sports, entry-level hiring), emphasize Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; for households and civic/info campaigns, emphasize Facebook and YouTube; for professional recruiting, layer LinkedIn and Facebook. Sources: Pew Research Center (Social Media Use in 2023); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023.