Saint Landry County

Geography note: In Louisiana, “counties” are called parishes. The county-equivalent for Saint Landry is St. Landry Parish, LA.

Population size

• 2020 Census: 82,540
• 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimate: ~82,100

Age

• Median age: ~37.9 years
• Under 18: ~24.7%
• 18–64: ~58.8%
• 65 and over: ~16.5%

Gender

• Female: ~52.2%
• Male: ~47.8%

Racial/ethnic composition (Hispanic is of any race; “White” below is non-Hispanic)

• White: ~52%
• Black or African American: ~44%
• Hispanic/Latino: ~2.5–3%
• Two or more races: ~1–2%
• Asian: ~0.3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%

Households

• Total households: ~31,500–31,700
• Average household size: ~2.58–2.60
• Family households: ~66%
• Married-couple families: ~38–40%
• Households with children under 18: ~29–31%
• Householder living alone: ~26–28%

Insights

• Stable-to-slightly declining population since 2020.
• Age structure skews slightly older than the U.S. overall with about one in six residents 65+.
• Racial composition is roughly split between White and Black populations, with a small but growing Hispanic share.
• Household sizes are modest and a majority are family households, typical of rural Louisiana.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census (DHC) and 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Figures rounded; totals may not sum due to rounding.

Saint Landry Parish (aka Saint Landry County), LA — email usage snapshot (best-available estimates based on 2020 Census, ACS 2018–2022, and Pew Research 2023–2024):

• Estimated email users: ~52,000 adults. Method: ~62,000 adults 18+ × ~84% email adoption.
• Age distribution (email adoption rates): 18–29 ~95%; 30–49 ~93%; 50–64 ~88%; 65+ ~75%. Given the parish’s relatively older age mix, most email users are 30–64.
• Gender split among users: ~52% female, ~48% male, mirroring the parish’s sex distribution.
• Digital access and connectivity:
  • Households with a computer: ~85%.
  • Households with an internet subscription: ~77%; with broadband (cable/DSL/fiber/cellular): ~72%; without any internet: ~23%.
  • Mobile-only internet households: ~12–15% (contributes to heavy email use via smartphones).
  • Population density: ~88 people per square mile (sparse rural settlement increases last‑mile costs and lowers wired options outside towns like Opelousas and Eunice).
• Trends and implications:
  • High smartphone reliance sustains email access despite patchy wired broadband.
  • Older adults’ lower adoption drives most of the remaining non‑user gap.
  • Public Wi‑Fi and school/library access remain important for households without subscriptions.

Mobile phone usage in Saint Landry County, LA (St. Landry Parish) — summary and local-vs-state contrasts

Scope note: Figures are rounded, based primarily on U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2018–2022 (S2801) and federal coverage filings as of 2023. “Parish” is Louisiana’s county equivalent.

Headline picture

• Population and households: ~82,500 residents; ~30,500 households
• St. Landry relies more on mobile connectivity and less on wireline broadband than Louisiana overall, with a materially higher share of mobile‑only internet households

User estimates (household-level adoption)

• Households with a smartphone: ≈ 87% (≈ 26,500 households) vs Louisiana ≈ 91%
• Households with a cellular data plan: ≈ 76% (≈ 23,200) vs Louisiana ≈ 82%
• Households with wireline broadband (cable/fiber/DSL): ≈ 60% (≈ 18,300) vs Louisiana ≈ 70%
• Households with broadband of any type (wireline, cellular, satellite): ≈ 80% (≈ 24,400) vs Louisiana ≈ 86%
• Households with no internet subscription: ≈ 20% (≈ 6,100) vs Louisiana ≈ 14%
• Mobile‑only internet households (cellular data plan but no wireline): roughly 18–22% (≈ 5,500–6,700) vs Louisiana ≈ 12–15%

User estimates (people)

• Estimated adult smartphone users: about 50,000–55,000 residents, assuming ~80–85% adult adoption on an adult population of ~62,000

Demographic breakdown and what it means for mobile use

• Income and poverty: Median household income ≈ $39,000 (state ≈ $55,000); poverty ≈ 25% (state ≈ 19%). Lower incomes correlate with higher smartphone‑only reliance and lower desktop/laptop ownership
• Race/ethnicity: ≈ 54% White, 41% Black, ~3% Hispanic/Latino, ~2% other/multiracial. Nationally observed patterns suggest Black and lower‑income households are more likely to be mobile‑only, which contributes to St. Landry’s above‑state mobile reliance
• Settlement pattern: Majority rural outside Opelousas, Eunice, Sunset/Grand Coteau, Port Barre, and Krotz Springs, which raises deployment costs for wireline and favors cellular adoption

Digital infrastructure points (how access differs from state-level)

• Coverage
  • 4G LTE: Near‑ubiquitous in populated areas from AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile
  • 5G: Mid‑band coverage in and around Opelousas, Eunice, Sunset/Grand Coteau, Port Barre, and along I‑49/US‑190; patchier in outlying rural areas than the state’s urban parishes
• Performance
  • In‑town mid‑band 5G typical downloads around 100–300 Mbps; rural LTE commonly 5–25 Mbps with higher latency and peak‑time slowdowns
• Backhaul and last‑mile
  • Fiber backbones track I‑49, US‑190, and rail corridors; fiber‑to‑the‑home remains limited compared with Louisiana’s metros, which restrains small‑cell densification and keeps mobile capacity uneven outside towns
• Alternatives
  • Fixed wireless (including CBRS) and satellite adoption are above the state average in dispersed rural tracts, filling wireline gaps
• Public-safety and enterprise
  • FirstNet follows AT&T’s LTE/5G footprint on major corridors and around municipal centers; coverage between towns is serviceable but less dense than in urban parishes

Trends that diverge from Louisiana overall

• Higher mobile‑only reliance: A larger share of households depends on cellular data as their sole connection, driven by lower income and sparser wireline buildout
• Lower device diversity: Desktop/laptop ownership and wireline subscriptions trail state averages, pushing more activities (school, telehealth, job search) onto smartphones
• Plan mix: Prepaid and budget plans have a larger share than statewide, reflecting cost sensitivity; multi‑line postpaid penetration is comparatively lower
• Capacity variability: More pronounced rural capacity and latency gaps than the state average, particularly off the I‑49 and US‑190 corridors

Implications and actionable insights

• Digital service design for the parish should assume a mobile‑first audience, emphasize low‑bandwidth modes, SMS outreach, and offline‑capable apps
• Closing the gap will require targeted wireline fiber extensions along secondary roads and additional 5G sites between towns, coupled with affordability programs and hotspot/device support for students and jobseekers

Note: “Saint Landry County” is officially St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.

Snapshot (audience size and access)

• Population: ~82,000; adults: ~63,000
• Estimated adult social-media users: ~46,000 (about 72–75% of adults)
• Device mix: heavier mobile use than desktop; short‑form video and messaging dominate engagement

Most‑used platforms (share of adults who use each platform at least occasionally; local estimates)

• Facebook: 70%
• YouTube: 78%
• Instagram: 38%
• TikTok: 29%
• Snapchat: 24%
• Pinterest: 30% (notably higher among women)
• WhatsApp: 20%
• X (Twitter): 16%
• Reddit: 14%
• LinkedIn: 14%
• Nextdoor: 7%

Age‑group usage (share of each age group using the platform; local estimates aligned to Pew age patterns)

• Ages 18–29: YouTube ~93%, Instagram ~78%, Snapchat ~70%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~55%
• Ages 30–49: YouTube ~90%, Facebook ~77%, Instagram ~55%, TikTok ~43%, Snapchat ~35%, Pinterest ~40%
• Ages 50–64: YouTube ~83%, Facebook ~73%, Instagram ~32%, TikTok ~21%, Pinterest ~36%
• Ages 65+: YouTube ~61%, Facebook ~50%, Instagram ~15%, TikTok ~9%, Pinterest ~20%

Gender breakdown

• Overall social‑media user base skews slightly female (about 54% women, 46% men), reflecting both population mix and marginally higher usage among women
• Platform skews:
  • Higher among women: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (Pinterest roughly twice as popular with women as men)
  • Higher among men: YouTube (slight), Reddit, X

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community backbone: heavy use of Groups for churches, schools, youth sports, civic info; Marketplace drives local buying/selling
• Video‑first discovery: TikTok and Instagram Reels are primary for entertainment, local food/retail discovery, and event promotion among under‑45s
• Messaging > public posting for younger users: Snapchat and Instagram DMs for daily communication; Facebook Messenger for cross‑generational contact
• Local news and alerts: Facebook Pages and Groups remain the primary channel for weather, road conditions, school updates, and local politics for 40+
• Shopping and small business: Facebook + Instagram for promotional posts, stories, and live sales; short videos outperform static images
• Time‑of‑day engagement: peaks before work (early morning) and evenings; weekend mid‑day spikes around events and sports

Notes on method

• Figures are best‑available local estimates combining 2024 Pew Research U.S. platform usage rates with St. Landry’s age/gender profile and rural broadband patterns (ACS/FCC). Percentages are per‑platform usage among adults and do not sum to 100%.