Terrebonne County

Terrebonne Parish (county-equivalent), Louisiana — key demographics

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

Population

• Total population: 109,580 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~36.8 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Age distribution: under 18: ~24%; 18–64: ~61%; 65 and over: ~15% (ACS)

Sex

• Male: ~50.5%
• Female: ~49.5% (ACS)

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023)

• White (alone): ~62.1%
• Black or African American (alone): ~19.9%
• American Indian and Alaska Native (alone): ~5.5%
• Asian (alone): ~1.7%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (alone): ~0.1%
• Some other race (alone): ~2.5%
• Two or more races: ~8.2%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~8.4% Note: Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity overlapping race categories.

Households and housing (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~40,100
• Average household size: ~2.74
• Family households: ~70% of households
  • Married-couple families: ~47% of households
• Tenure: ~70% owner-occupied, ~30% renter-occupied
• Average family size: ~3.24

Insights

• Population is stable around 110k.
• Notably higher American Indian share (~5–6%) than state and national averages.
• Household size and owner-occupancy are slightly above U.S. averages, consistent with family-oriented, owner-occupied housing patterns.

Terrebonne Parish (LA) email landscape (2025 snapshot)

• Population: ~110,000.
• Estimated email users: ~76,000 adults (18+). Including teens, roughly ~82,000 total users.
• Age distribution of email users (est. counts):
  • 18–29: ~17,800 (≈95% of age group)
  • 30–49: ~24,800 (≈94%)
  • 50–64: ~20,300 (≈88%)
  • 65+: ~13,400 (≈76%)
• Gender split among users: 51% female (38.7k) and 49% male (37.6k); usage rates are virtually identical by gender.
• Digital access trends:
  • Households with a broadband subscription: ~82% (up from ~76% in 2019).
  • Households with a computer device: ~91%.
  • Smartphone‑only internet households: ~16–18%, highest in outlying bayou communities.
  • Email use is near‑universal among connected adults; growth is driven by improved mobile coverage and expanding fiber/cable.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Residents are concentrated around Houma, with many linear bayou settlements; dispersed, low‑lying areas raise last‑mile costs and slow adoption versus urban Louisiana.
  • Cable and growing fiber availability dominate in the Houma core; state/federal grant programs are extending fiber to unserved pockets following 2021 storm impacts.

Mobile phone usage in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana — 2024 snapshot

Headline takeaways

• Smartphone adoption is very high, but reliance on smartphones as the primary or only way to get online is notably higher than Louisiana overall. Wireline broadband subscription lags the state, so mobile networks shoulder more of the everyday internet load, especially outside Houma and along the lower bayous.

User estimates and adoption

• Population and households: ~110,000 residents; ~41,000–42,000 households.
• Adult smartphone ownership: ~90% of adults use a smartphone (on par with Louisiana overall).
• Household smartphone presence (ACS-style measure): ~90% of households report having a smartphone.
• Households with a cellular data plan: ~83–85%.
• Wireline broadband (cable, fiber, or DSL) subscription: ~71–74% of households in the parish (statewide ~75–77%).
• Smartphone-only internet households (cellular data plan but no wireline at home): ~20–23% in Terrebonne vs ~16–18% statewide.
• Households with no home internet (neither wireline nor cellular): ~10–12% (slightly higher than Louisiana overall).

Demographic patterns (how Terrebonne differs from the state)

• Income
  • < $35k: smartphone-only internet ~30–35% of households (higher than state average for this bracket).
  • $35k–$75k: ~20–24% smartphone-only.
  • $75k+: ~8–12% smartphone-only.
  • Insight: Cost sensitivity and patchy wireline availability in lower-density areas push more low- and moderate-income households to rely on phones.
• Age
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone adoption; smartphone-only internet ~25–30%.
  • 35–64: high adoption; smartphone-only ~18–22%.
  • 65+: smartphone ownership ~65–70% (a bit lower than statewide), but those who are online are more likely to be mobile-first than their statewide peers because wireline options are thinner outside Houma.
• Race and ethnicity
  • Black and Native households show higher smartphone-only rates than White households (roughly high-20s to low-30s percent vs high-teens), reflecting income and service-availability differences along the bayous.
• Geography within the parish
  • Houma/Gray/US‑90 corridor: highest 5G capacity, stronger wireline competition; smartphone-only share is closer to the state average.
  • Lower bayou communities (Dulac, Chauvin, Montegut/Cocodrie): fewer wireline options; smartphone-only share several points higher than parish average.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Mobile networks
  • Carriers: AT&T (including FirstNet), Verizon, and T‑Mobile all provide near-universal outdoor 4G LTE along the US‑90 corridor and in Houma.
  • 5G coverage: Broad low-band 5G parish-wide; mid-band 5G (Verizon C‑band, AT&T mid-band, T‑Mobile 2.5 GHz) is strongest in and around Houma/Gray and along major highways; capacity drops toward the marsh/coastal fringe.
  • Typical performance: Mid-band 5G in Houma commonly delivers triple‑digit Mbps; outside town and toward the coast, many users fall back to low-band 5G/LTE with tens of Mbps. Parish median mobile speeds are generally below Baton Rouge/New Orleans and slightly below the Louisiana median outside the urban core.
  • Resiliency: After Hurricane Ida (2021), carriers added hardened sites, backup power, and temporary deployables; coverage and time‑to‑restore improved versus pre‑Ida, but the coastal fringe still faces congestion and outage risk during storms.
• Wireline backstop
  • Cable/fiber: Spectrum and AT&T serve Houma/Gray; AT&T fiber is available in selected neighborhoods. Vision Communications (Lafourche Telephone Company) provides cable/fiber in parts of Terrebonne and adjacent Lafourche, especially along the bayous.
  • DSL/legacy: Pockets of legacy DSL remain where cable/fiber is absent.
  • New builds: State broadband grants (e.g., GUMBO) and forthcoming BEAD-funded projects are extending fiber to unserved/underserved pockets through 2026–2028; take-up will determine how quickly smartphone-only reliance declines in rural tracts.

How Terrebonne’s trends differ from Louisiana overall

• Higher smartphone-only reliance: By roughly 3–6 percentage points versus the state, driven by rural geography, storm risk, and uneven wireline options.
• Slightly lower wireline broadband subscription and availability outside the urban core, which shifts everyday connectivity to mobile networks.
• More pronounced urban–coastal gap in 5G capacity: Mid-band 5G is concentrated in Houma and along US‑90, whereas several Louisiana metros have broader mid-band footprints.
• Outage and congestion sensitivity is higher during hurricane season, making mobile resilience upgrades more consequential locally than in many inland parishes.

Data notes and sources

• Estimates reflect the latest available American Community Survey (ACS) internet and device indicators (county/parish level, 5‑year), FCC Broadband Data Collection coverage filings, state broadband grant disclosures, and national handset adoption trends as of 2023–2024. Figures are rounded to emphasize signal over noise while preserving parish‑vs‑state differences.

Social media usage in Terrebonne Parish (“Terrebonne County”), Louisiana — 2025 snapshot

Population context and user base

• Population: ≈110,000 residents; ≈85,000 adults (18+).
• Active social media users (18+): ≈71,000 adults (≈84% of adults use at least one platform).
• Gender split among active users: ≈52% women (≈37,000), ≈48% men (≈34,000).

Most-used platforms (adult reach; estimates applied to the local adult base)

• YouTube: ≈82% of adults (≈69,400 users)
• Facebook: ≈70% (≈59,300)
• Instagram: ≈45% (≈38,100)
• TikTok: ≈33% (≈28,000)
• Snapchat: ≈28% (≈23,700)
• LinkedIn: ≈25% (≈21,200)
• X (Twitter): ≈20% (≈16,900)
• WhatsApp: ≈18% (≈15,300)

Age-group patterns (share of each age group using the platform; local usage closely tracks national patterns)

• Teens 13–17: YouTube ≈93%; TikTok ≈63%; Snapchat ≈60%; Instagram ≈59%; Facebook ≈33%.
• Adults 18–29: YouTube ≈93%; Instagram ≈78%; Snapchat ≈65%; TikTok ≈62%; Facebook ≈67%.
• Adults 30–49: YouTube ≈92%; Facebook ≈77%; Instagram ≈59%; TikTok ≈39%; Snapchat ≈24%; LinkedIn ≈32%.
• Adults 50–64: YouTube ≈83%; Facebook ≈73%; Instagram ≈33%; TikTok ≈15%; LinkedIn ≈28%.
• Adults 65+: Facebook ≈62%; YouTube ≈60%; Instagram ≈15%; TikTok ≈8%.

Gender breakdown by platform (skews among local users)

• Facebook and Instagram: modest female tilt (≈55% women, 45% men).
• TikTok and Snapchat: slight female tilt (≈55–60% women).
• YouTube and Reddit: male-leaning (YouTube ≈55–60% men; Reddit ≈70% men).
• LinkedIn: near-even, slight male tilt.

Behavioral trends and usage habits

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups (neighborhoods, schools, events, buy/sell/Marketplace) and local news/weather updates; event-driven spikes during storms, festivals, parades, and high‑school sports.
• Short‑form video dominates discovery: TikTok and Instagram Reels drive trend awareness, food spots, fishing/outdoors, DIY/home repair, and local highlights; cross‑posted to Facebook.
• Messaging and ephemeral sharing: Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are key for day‑to‑day coordination among families and teens/young adults.
• Video watch time: YouTube used for how‑to, product research, outdoors/fishing, and local creators; skews male and 18–49.
• Commerce: Facebook Marketplace is the leading P2P channel; Instagram Shops and TikTok Shop are growing for impulse, low‑ticket items.
• Timing: Highest engagement evenings (roughly 7–10 pm), secondary peaks at lunchtime; weekend mid‑day works well for events and retail.
• Trust signals: Local media pages, parish agencies, school athletics, churches, and well‑known meteorologists/community admins carry outsized credibility and reach.
• Ad performance patterns: Static posts and short video perform best on Facebook/Instagram; UGC‑style vertical video outperforms polished creative on TikTok; local lookalikes and interest targeting around outdoors, food, family activities, and home improvement index well.

Method and reliability notes

• Figures are best-available local estimates derived by applying 2023–2024 Pew Research Center U.S. social media adoption rates (by age and platform) to Terrebonne Parish’s adult population and demographic mix from recent U.S. Census/ACS estimates. Platform skews by gender follow Pew-reported patterns. Counts are rounded for clarity.