Saint Helena County

Note: In Louisiana, “counties” are called parishes. The area you’re asking about is St. Helena Parish (county-equivalent), Louisiana.

Population size

• Total population (2020 Census): 10,920
• 2010–2020 change: −2.5%

Age

• Median age: about 40 years
• Under 18: roughly 23%
• 65 and over: roughly 17%

Gender

• Female: about 49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Black or African American (alone): about 54%
• White (alone): about 43%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): about 2%
• Other races/two or more: about 1–2%

Households and housing

• Households: about 4,100–4,200
• Average household size: about 2.6 persons
• Owner-occupied housing rate: roughly 78–80%
• Median household income: low-$40,000s
• Poverty rate: mid-20% range

Key insights

• Small, rural parish with a slight population decline since 2010
• Majority Black population with low Hispanic share
• Older age structure than the U.S. average
• High owner-occupancy, modest incomes, and elevated poverty relative to national averages

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; QuickFacts for St. Helena Parish, LA.

• Geography and density: Saint Helena Parish, LA (often called Saint Helena County) spans ~409 sq mi with ~10,920 residents (2020), ~27 people per sq mi—among Louisiana’s most rural, which raises last‑mile costs and slows fiber deployment.
• Estimated email users: ~7,900 residents use email (about 72% of total population; roughly 90% of adults).
• Age distribution of email users (counts; share of users):
  • 13–17: ~610 (8%)
  • 18–34: ~2,160 (27%)
  • 35–64: ~3,650 (46%)
  • 65+: ~1,480 (19%)
• Gender split among users: 51% female (4,030) and 49% male (3,870), reflecting the parish’s near‑even sex ratio.
• Digital access and trends:
  • ~70% of households subscribe to broadband; ~86% have a computer or smartphone at home; ~13% are smartphone‑only.
  • Subscription and coverage have been rising with Louisiana’s GUMBO and forthcoming BEAD-funded builds (2023–2026), but fixed broadband gaps persist in the most sparsely populated areas, keeping reliance on mobile and satellite above state averages.
  • Schools, public libraries, and anchor institutions concentrate reliable connectivity in and around Greensburg and other town centers, with weaker fixed service on rural roads and dispersed homesteads.
• Insight: Email usage is robust among working‑age adults and seniors with healthcare/school touchpoints, but expansion of reliable fixed broadband is the main lever to lift usage among lower‑income and smartphone‑only households.

Note: Louisiana uses parishes rather than counties. The area you’re asking about is St. Helena Parish, LA.

Executive summary

• St. Helena Parish is a sparsely populated, rural parish where mobile networks are a primary on‑ramp to the internet for many households. Compared with Louisiana overall, residents rely more on smartphones and cellular data plans and less on fixed home broadband. Coverage is road‑centric, mid‑band 5G is limited, and speeds and reliability vary widely.

User estimates (mobile phone and cellular-data use)

• Adult smartphone users: A large majority of adults in the parish use smartphones. Based on Louisiana’s high statewide smartphone adoption (Pew Research Center places LA near the national average in the mid‑80% range) and the typical rural gap, a reasonable parish estimate is the low‑to‑mid‑80% share of adults, implying roughly two‑thirds to three‑quarters of all residents actively use a smartphone.
• Households with a cellular data plan: ACS “Internet Subscription” data for rural Louisiana parishes indicate that a substantial share of households maintain a cellular data plan for internet access. St. Helena’s share is typically higher than the state average, and cellular‑only (no fixed broadband) households are notably more common than statewide.
• Prepaid and budget plans: Prepaid mobile usage is measurably higher than the statewide mix, reflecting lower median income and credit constraints. This boosts SIM/line counts relative to population and increases churn.

Demographic context (drivers of usage patterns)

• Rural and lower density: St. Helena is one of Louisiana’s most rural parishes, with residents dispersed outside small population centers (e.g., around Greensburg). Distance from cable and fiber plant raises fixed-broadband costs and pushes households toward mobile data.
• Income and poverty: Median household income is lower than the Louisiana median, and the poverty rate is higher. These factors correlate with higher smartphone reliance and cellular‑only internet adoption.
• Race and age: The parish is majority Black and has an older age profile than Louisiana overall. National and state datasets show Black households are more likely to be smartphone‑dependent for internet, while older residents have lower smartphone adoption but, when connected, often use simpler, lower‑cost plans. Together, these forces increase smartphone dependence but create uneven adoption among seniors.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Network mix: LTE remains the primary coverage layer. Low‑band 5G covers main corridors, but mid‑band 5G (C‑band/n77 or 2.5 GHz) is limited or absent outside small nodes, constraining peak and indoor speeds versus Louisiana’s urban parishes.
• Tower siting: Macro sites cluster along highways and around small towns; large forested tracts and low‑lying areas create dead zones and weak indoor coverage. Residents frequently rely on external antennas, signal boosters, or Wi‑Fi calling.
• Backhaul constraints: Sparse fiber backhaul limits sector capacity and contributes to congestion at peak times. Where fiber has reached schools, clinics, and anchor institutions, Wi‑Fi is a critical supplement for community access.
• Fixed broadband baseline: Cable plant is minimal outside town centers, and fiber-to-the-home is patchy. This scarcity is the main reason cellular data plans substitute for home broadband at higher rates than statewide.
• Program dynamics: The end of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding in 2024 has increased bill pressure on low‑income households, raising the risk of service downgrades, plan cycling, or lapses. Lifeline persists but is narrower in scope. Near‑term BEAD-funded fiber builds are expected to improve fixed options; until those arrive, mobile remains primary for many.

How St. Helena differs from Louisiana overall

• Higher cellular‑only household share: A noticeably larger slice of households rely on a smartphone/hotspot as their only internet, versus much lower statewide proportions concentrated in metro areas.
• Lower fixed-broadband take‑up: Subscription to cable/fiber/DSL is materially lower than the state average due to availability and affordability.
• More prepaid usage and plan churn: Prepaid lines and short-term plans have a higher parish share than statewide.
• Sparser mid‑band 5G and lower median speeds: Louisiana’s metros benefit from C‑band/2.5 GHz rollouts; St. Helena largely does not yet, resulting in lower and more variable mobile speeds and weaker indoor performance.
• Greater reliance on anchor institutions: Libraries, schools, and municipal buildings play an outsized role in providing Wi‑Fi access compared with statewide norms.

Implications and practical takeaways

• Mobile is not merely supplemental—it is the primary internet for many households. Capacity upgrades (additional sectors, mid‑band overlays, and fiber backhaul) will yield outsized benefits.
• Fixed builds (BEAD/USDA/RDOF) will gradually reduce cellular‑only dependence, but until then, carriers’ rural 5G mid‑band deployments and targeted small cells along populated corridors can meaningfully close the performance gap.
• Maintaining reliable voice/SMS coverage on secondary roads and in forested areas remains a priority for safety and commerce; road‑centric RF optimization and fill‑in sites are impactful.
• Community access points remain essential bridges for homework, telehealth, and job search during the transition period before widespread fiber arrives.

Social media usage in Saint Helena Parish (often called “Saint Helena County”), Louisiana — concise 2024 snapshot

What we can state definitively

• Population baseline: 10,920 (U.S. Census 2020). The parish is rural and sparsely populated.
• Adults (18+): roughly 76% of residents (8,300). Teens (13–17): ~6–7% (700).

Best-available local estimates (modeled from Pew Research Center 2023–2024 platform adoption and rural-usage norms applied to the parish’s population)

• Active social media users (any platform):
  • Adults: ~5,700–6,100 (≈69–73% of adults)
  • Teens (13–17): ~650 (≈95% use at least one platform)
  • Total users: about 6,400–6,800 parish residents

Most-used platforms (adult penetration; local reach estimates shown against ~8,300 adults)

• YouTube: 82–85% → ~6,800–7,100 adults
• Facebook: 65–72% (strongest in rural areas) → ~5,400–6,000
• Instagram: 45–50% → ~3,700–4,100
• TikTok: 30–35% → ~2,500–2,900 (higher when including teens)
• Snapchat: 25–30% → ~2,100–2,500 (substantially higher among teens)
• X (Twitter): 20–23% → ~1,700–1,900
• Pinterest: ~30% overall but woman-skewed → ~2,300–2,700 (majority female)
• WhatsApp: ~20% → ~1,500–1,700 (usage pockets via family ties; not universal)
• LinkedIn: 15–20% → ~1,200–1,700 (professional/commuters)
• Nextdoor: <5% → <400 (limited neighborhood coverage in rural areas)

Age-group patterns (behavioral)

• Teens (13–17): Nearly universal YouTube; very heavy TikTok/Snapchat; Instagram strong; Facebook limited to school/church/community info.
• 18–29: Multi-platform and video-first. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat prominent; YouTube near-universal; Facebook for events, marketplaces, and local groups.
• 30–49: Facebook is the hub (school, youth sports, church, buy/sell); YouTube for how‑to, product research, music; Instagram moderate; TikTok growing.
• 50–64: Facebook dominant for news, community, faith groups; YouTube for tutorials and local content; limited Instagram/TikTok.
• 65+: Facebook for family updates/community alerts; YouTube for sermons, news clips; minimal on other platforms.

Gender breakdown (behavioral tendencies)

• Women: Over-index on Facebook Groups (schools, churches, mutual aid, buy/sell) and Pinterest; Instagram usage solid among under‑50s.
• Men: Over-index on YouTube (how‑to, auto/outdoors/sports) and X/Reddit (news, sports, politics); Facebook still widely used for local information.

Notable local behaviors and trends

• Facebook Groups function as the parish’s information backbone: sheriff and emergency updates, school announcements, church events, fundraisers, yard sales.
• Marketplace activity is high, substituting for limited local retail—posts with clear photos, pricing, and “willing to meet in Amite/Greensburg” style logistics perform best.
• Video leads discovery: YouTube for repairs, farming/outdoors, and product research; TikTok for quick tips, trends, and regional culture.
• Messaging is concentrated in Facebook Messenger and SMS; WhatsApp use exists but is situational (family networks).
• Posting times that typically see engagement: evenings (7–10 pm CT), early mornings (6–8 am), and Sunday mid‑day; weekday mid‑afternoons are softer.

Notes on methodology and certainty

• Parish-level social media counts aren’t officially published. Figures above are derived by applying Pew Research Center 2023–2024 U.S. platform penetration rates (with rural adjustments) to Saint Helena Parish’s Census-based age structure. Teen platform preferences reflect Pew’s 2022–2023 teen surveys. These provide realistic local estimates and clear directional insights.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (Saint Helena Parish, LA population and age structure)
• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use among U.S. adults (2023–2024) and Teens, Social Media and Technology (2022)