Luce County

Luce County, Michigan — key demographics

Population

• 2023 population estimate: ~5,900 (U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program)
• 2020 Census: ~5,340

Age

• Median age: ~44 years
• Under 18: ~16–17%
• 18 to 64: ~67%
• 65 and over: ~16–17%

Sex

• Male: ~61–62%
• Female: ~38–39% Note: The male share is elevated due to the presence of a state correctional facility.

Race and ethnicity (alone or in combination; Hispanic is any race)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~75%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~12–13%
• American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~7–8%
• Two or more races: ~4%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• Asian and other: <1%

Households and housing (ACS 5-year)

• Households: ~2,200–2,300
• Average household size: ~2.25–2.30
• Family households: ~60% (married-couple families ~45%)
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• Nonfamily households: ~40% (living alone ~31%; age 65+ living alone ~12%)
• Owner-occupied housing: ~75–80%
• Total housing units: ~4,000; high share of seasonal/vacant units, typical of the region

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; 2023 Population Estimates Program.

Luce County, MI snapshot

• Population ≈6,500; land area ≈899 sq mi → ~7 people/sq mi (one of Michigan’s least‑dense counties).
• Estimated email users: ≈5,000 residents (≈77% of total; ≈92% of adults).
• Age distribution of email users: 12–17: 7%; 18–34: 22%; 35–54: 31%; 55–64: 11%; 65+: 29%.
• Gender split among active users: ~49% men / 51% women. The county’s overall population skews male due to the state prison; incarcerated residents have minimal internet access, so the civilian email user base skews slightly female.

Digital access and connectivity

• Home broadband subscriptions: ≈78% of households (~2,200 of ~2,800).
• Fixed broadband availability: about 70% of locations have ≥100/20 Mbps; fiber reaches <10%. Cable/DSL serve Newberry and the M‑28 corridor; outlying townships lean on fixed wireless and satellite.
• Smartphone‑only internet reliance: ≈18% of adults; public Wi‑Fi (libraries/schools) supplements access.
• Mobile coverage: 4G/5G covers population centers and highways; coverage is patchier in forested and Lake Superior shoreline areas.

Trend: Email use is steady to rising, driven by smartphones and expanding fixed‑wireless; households without wired broadband are slowly declining, but very low density and terrain keep persistent connectivity gaps.

Mobile phone usage in Luce County, Michigan — summary and key differences from statewide patterns

County baseline

• Population: 6,631 residents (2020 Census), spread across a very large, heavily forested Upper Peninsula county with extremely low population density. Newberry is the population center; substantial public land (including Tahquamenon Falls State Park) creates wide unserved areas between settlements.
• Implications for mobile: Low density and heavy tree cover make radio propagation and tower economics challenging, creating more frequent dead zones than the Michigan average.

User estimates (people and households)

• Adult smartphone users: 3,800–4,400 residents. Method: adult population ≈ 5,000–5,600; rural smartphone ownership typically 75–85%, below the Michigan average (~85–90%).
• Total mobile subscriptions (SIMs) in service: 6,000–8,000. Method: small-county norms of 0.9–1.2 active mobile lines per resident (smartphones, hotspots, tablets, watches), with seasonal tourism causing short-term peaks above resident base.
• Households relying on mobile as primary home internet: 700–950 households (about 25–35% of households), materially higher than the statewide share. Method: rural Michigan counties show elevated “mobile-only” internet reliance where wireline options are sparse or costly.

Demographic usage patterns (county estimates vs Michigan)

• Age: County skews older than the state. Estimated smartphone ownership by age: 18–34 at ~90–95%; 35–64 at ~80–85%; 65+ at ~60–70%. The larger 65+ share depresses overall smartphone take-up compared with Michigan’s urban counties.
• Income and plans: Lower median incomes and greater budget sensitivity drive higher prepaid adoption and price-focused plan choices than the state average. Multi-line family plans are less prevalent due to smaller household sizes and more single-adult households.
• Work and mobility: A larger share of outdoor, shift, and seasonal work (forestry, parks, tourism) increases demand for coverage along highways and recreation corridors rather than inside dense neighborhoods—opposite the pattern that dominates in downstate metro areas.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Carriers present: AT&T (including FirstNet), Verizon, and T‑Mobile have footprint in and around Newberry/M‑28; coverage thins rapidly away from highways and towns. UScellular service or roaming is present in parts of the eastern Upper Peninsula.
• 5G availability: Present primarily in and near Newberry and along main corridors (e.g., M‑28), with DSS/low-band 5G providing wide-area coverage but modest speed uplift. Mid-band 5G capacity is sparse compared with Michigan’s urban counties.
• LTE fallback: Large interior areas, lake shorelines, and forested tracts remain LTE-only, with frequent pockets of weak or no signal—far more common than the state average.
• Typical speeds: Where 5G mid-band is absent, users commonly experience LTE/low-band 5G download speeds in the ~10–50 Mbps range and variable uplink under 10 Mbps, substantially below Michigan’s metro medians that often exceed 100 Mbps on mid-band 5G.
• Tower density and backhaul: Fewer macro sites per square mile than the state average; backhaul clusters along highways. Fiber backhaul improvements on main corridors help, but off-corridor sectors are capacity-constrained, which shows up as slowdowns during peak tourism days.
• Public safety and resilience: AT&T FirstNet coverage improvements have focused on highways and critical facilities. Extended power/transport outages can isolate interior sectors longer than typical downstate restoration timelines because of distance and access constraints.

How Luce County differs most from Michigan overall

• Higher mobile-only internet dependence: A markedly larger share of households use smartphones/hotspots as their primary home connection than the statewide norm, reflecting limited wireline choices in many census blocks.
• More pronounced coverage gaps: Dead zones and weak indoor service are common away from Newberry and highways, unlike the broadly contiguous 4G/5G footprints in southern Michigan metros.
• Lower effective speeds and capacity: Median user speeds are well below state medians due to sparse mid-band 5G and fewer sectorized sites, with sharp congestion during summer tourism surges around Tahquamenon Falls and other recreation areas.
• Plan mix skews prepaid/value: Budget and credit constraints produce a higher prepaid share than the Michigan average, with a corresponding tilt toward smaller data buckets and hotspot add‑ons.
• Device mix and upgrade cadence: A larger tail of older LTE-only or budget 5G handsets remains in use, extending upgrade cycles compared with urban Michigan.
• Emergency and highway-centric buildouts: Network improvements concentrate on M‑28 and critical facilities (including FirstNet), whereas broad neighborhood densification—common in downstate metros—is limited by terrain and economics.

Practical implications

• For residents: Expect reliable 4G/low-band 5G in Newberry and along major routes; carry offline maps and plan for weak or no service on back roads and in deep forest. Hotspots can help but are still constrained by tower capacity and terrain.
• For providers and policymakers: The highest-impact upgrades are mid-band 5G sectors and additional microwave/fiber backhaul on non-highway sites, plus small infill sites in recreation corridors. Targeted subsidies and permitting streamlining can materially close performance and safety gaps.
• For businesses and visitors: Peak-season congestion is predictable; caching, Wi‑Fi offload in lodging and venues, and managed failover (dual-carrier hotspots) mitigate slowdowns and outages.

Data inputs and derivation

• Population/statutory facts: 2020 Census for Luce County (population and settlement pattern).
• Usage estimates: Benchmarked from recent Pew Research smartphone ownership, FCC broadband data for rural coverage, ACS computer/internet-use patterns for rural Michigan, and observed rural-carrier deployment in the Upper Peninsula. Ranges reflect rural variability, seasonal swings, and the county’s age/income profile.

Luce County, MI social media usage (2025, modeled local estimates) Note on method: Figures are modeled from 2024–2025 Pew Research Center platform penetration by age and gender, applied to Luce County’s age mix (ACS 2022), with rural adjustments for broadband and adoption. Multi-platform use is common; percentages won’t sum to 100.

Headline user stats

• Adult residents using at least one social platform: ~72% (≈3,700 adults)
• Daily users: ~62% of adults; multiple times per day: ~28%
• Primary device: mobile-first (~88%); desktop/laptop weekly use: ~35%

Most-used platforms (share of all adults; and of social-media users)

• YouTube: 57% of adults (≈79% of social users)
• Facebook: 52% (≈72%)
• Instagram: 23% (≈32%)
• Pinterest: 18% (≈25%; ≈37% of women)
• TikTok: 17% (≈24%)
• Snapchat: 16% (≈22%)
• WhatsApp: 11% (≈15%)
• X (Twitter): 10% (≈14%)
• LinkedIn: 9% (≈13%)
• Reddit: 8% (≈11%)
• Nextdoor: 6% (≈8%)

Age-group profile (share of each age group using any social media)

• 18–29: 92% use social; platform mix skews to YouTube (90%), Instagram (68%), TikTok (60%), Snapchat (~58%); Facebook ~45%
• 30–49: 82% use social; YouTube (80%) and Facebook (74%) dominate; Instagram (45%), TikTok (30%), Snapchat (28%)
• 50–64: 68% use social; Facebook (70%) and YouTube (65%) lead; Pinterest (28%), Instagram (20%), TikTok (12%)
• 65+: 52% use social; Facebook (60%) and YouTube (55%) core; Pinterest (22%), Instagram (12%), TikTok (7%)

Gender breakdown (any social; platform skews)

• Women: ~74% use social; more likely on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (≈26% of all women), and local Facebook Groups/Marketplace
• Men: ~69% use social; more likely on YouTube, Reddit (≈12% of men), and X; Facebook still widely used, but less than among women

Behavioral trends and local patterns

• Community-first behavior: Heavy use of Facebook Groups for local news, school and township updates, events, obituaries, buy/sell/trade, and seasonal outdoors/hunting/fishing communities
• Marketplace > e-commerce: Facebook Marketplace is a primary venue for local transactions; messaging often shifts to Facebook Messenger or SMS
• Mobile and bandwidth-aware: Short videos (YouTube Shorts, Reels, TikTok) perform best; many users avoid long HD streams due to variable home broadband
• Seasonal cadence: Winter months see increased screen time and posting; summer and fall outdoors seasons boost content around tourism, trails, fishing, ATVs, and snowmobiles
• News and alerts: Local information is consumed via Facebook and YouTube; official pages and volunteer-run groups shape reach and trust
• Creator influence: Users follow statewide/regional outdoors and homesteading creators more than national celebrities; local micro-creators and organizations punch above their weight
• Posting vs. lurking: Older cohorts skew toward consuming, reacting, and sharing local notices; younger cohorts create and watch short-form video, with lighter public posting
• Business usage: Local businesses, attractions, and services rely primarily on Facebook Pages, Groups, and Events; Instagram is secondary for tourism/hospitality visuals; LinkedIn usage is low but present among healthcare, public sector, and education

Practical takeaways

• Facebook and YouTube are the county’s reach pillars; Instagram and TikTok extend into under-40s
• Community Groups, Events, and Marketplace drive the highest organic engagement
• Short, mobile-friendly video and timely local information outperform generic brand posts
• Paid reach is most efficient on Facebook/Instagram; YouTube TrueView helps with awareness in seasonal campaigns