Polk County Local Demographic Profile
Polk County, Minnesota – key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Census and 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5‑year estimates)
Population
- Total population: 31,192 (2020 Census)
Age
- Median age: 37.7 years
- Under 18: 22.9%
- 18 to 64: 59.7%
- 65 and over: 17.4%
Gender
- Male: 50.2%
- Female: 49.8%
Race and ethnicity (mutually exclusive: Hispanic shown separately; others are non-Hispanic)
- White (non-Hispanic): 82.6%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race): 9.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native: 3.7%
- Two or more races: 2.9%
- Black or African American: 1.2%
- Asian: 0.9%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Households and housing
- Total households: 12,730
- Average household size: 2.41
- Family households: 7,920 (62.2% of households)
- Average family size: 3.02
- Owner-occupied housing: 71%
- Households with children under 18: 28%
- Householder living alone: 28% (11% age 65+)
Insights
- Population is stable with a slight long-run decline versus 2010, consistent with many rural MN counties.
- Age structure is balanced; a sizable working-age share with nearly one in six residents 65+.
- The county is predominantly non-Hispanic White, with a meaningful and growing Hispanic/Latino community and notable American Indian representation.
- Household sizes are modest and homeownership is high, reflecting a largely family- and owner-occupied housing market.
Email Usage in Polk County
Population and density: Polk County, MN has about 31,200 residents (2020 Census) across 1,971 sq miles (15.8 people/sq mile). Over half live in East Grand Forks and Crookston, where cable/fiber coverage is strongest.
Estimated email users: ~22,400 adults, derived from ~24,300 adults and a 92% U.S. adult email adoption rate.
Age distribution of email adoption (apply to local adults):
- 18–29: ~99%
- 30–49: ~97%
- 50–64: ~92%
- 65+: ~85% This skews usage toward 30–64, with seniors slightly underrepresented among users.
Gender split among users: Essentially even (about 50/50), reflecting negligible gender gaps in email adoption nationally.
Digital access and trends:
- Roughly 9 in 10 Polk County households maintain an internet subscription, and ~9 in 10 have a computer device (ACS 5-year patterns for rural MN).
- Smartphone-only access is a small minority (~5–10% of households), with about 1 in 10 lacking home internet.
- Town centers have cable/fiber; rural areas lean on DSL/fixed wireless, with ongoing fiber buildouts via Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband investments improving 100/20 Mbps availability.
Insight: Email penetration is mature and broad; growth potential is concentrated in older adults and households without fixed broadband in rural tracts.
Mobile Phone Usage in Polk County
Mobile phone usage in Polk County, Minnesota (2024 snapshot)
User estimates
- Population and users: Polk County has roughly 31,000 residents and about 12,800 households. An estimated 26,000 residents use a mobile phone (≈84% of total population), with about 23,500 using smartphones (≈76% of total population; ≈88–90% of adults).
- Household internet via cellular: About 72% of households maintain a cellular data plan, and approximately 11% are “mobile-only” for home internet (cellular data plan with no fixed broadband). Both metrics are higher reliance on cellular than the Minnesota statewide pattern (state cellular-plan households ≈77%; mobile-only ≈8%).
- No home internet: Roughly 14–16% of Polk County households have no home internet subscription, vs ≈10–11% statewide, underscoring heavier dependence on phones for connectivity when home service is absent.
Demographic breakdown (how Polk differs from Minnesota)
- Age
- 18–34: Smartphone adoption ≈95% (near statewide levels).
- 35–64: ≈90% (slightly below statewide).
- 65+: ≈72% in Polk vs ≈79% statewide; Polk’s older profile makes age-related gaps more pronounced and drives higher mobile-only use for basic needs (voice/SMS) but lower app-centric usage in this cohort.
- Income
- < $35k: Mobile-only households ≈18% in Polk vs ≈12% statewide, reflecting cost and limited fixed options in rural areas.
- $35k–$75k: ≈12% mobile-only in Polk vs ≈8% statewide.
- ≥ $75k: High smartphone ownership (>90%) but lower mobile-only reliance than lower-income groups.
- Urban/rural within county
- East Grand Forks and Crookston: Higher smartphone adoption (≈89–92%) and more 5G availability; usage patterns align more closely with statewide norms.
- Rural townships: Lower smartphone adoption (≈82–85%) and greater mobile-only reliance due to sparser fixed broadband.
- Race/ethnicity (county-weighted)
- White, non-Hispanic: Smartphone adoption ≈85–87%.
- Native American and multiracial residents: ≈80–84%, with above-average mobile-only reliance.
- Hispanic/Latino: ≈88–90%, with higher mobile-first behavior similar to statewide patterns.
- Differences by race/ethnicity in Polk are modest compared with the stronger urban–rural and age effects.
Digital infrastructure and performance
- Coverage pattern: 5G is established in East Grand Forks and Crookston and along primary corridors (notably US-2 and US-75). Outside these areas, LTE remains predominant, with patchy 5G especially in western and central townships.
- Spectrum and carriers: All three national carriers operate in the county. T-Mobile mid-band 5G and Verizon C-band are most visible in the two cities and along main corridors; AT&T 5G coverage is broader at low-band but with lower peak speeds in rural stretches.
- Speeds: Typical median mobile download speeds in Polk County range around 35–50 Mbps in towns and 10–25 Mbps in rural zones, compared with statewide medians often in the 70–100 Mbps range. Upload performance shows a similar gap, affecting telehealth and remote work use cases.
- Reliability and gaps: Rural shadowing and longer inter-site distances create more dead zones than the Minnesota average; handoffs and indoor coverage can be inconsistent away from municipal centers. This drives higher reliance on Wi‑Fi calling in town and external antennas/hotspots on farms.
- Fixed-broadband interplay: Fiber and cable are present in the two cities and select communities; many rural households face DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite as primary fixed options. This pushes higher mobile-only or mobile‑first behavior than seen statewide.
Trends that diverge from state-level
- Higher mobile-only dependence: Polk has a noticeably larger share of households using cellular as their sole home internet, driven by rural geography and fixed-broadband gaps.
- Larger age-driven divide: The 65+ cohort lags more than the statewide average on smartphone adoption and app usage, while younger cohorts align with state norms, widening intra-county disparities.
- Slower 5G diffusion off-corridor: 5G improvements are concentrated in East Grand Forks/Crookston and along main highways; rural census blocks remain LTE-dominant longer than the statewide pattern.
- Lower median mobile speeds: The county’s median mobile performance trails Minnesota overall, shaping behavior toward bandwidth-light applications (voice/SMS, messaging) outside towns and limiting video-rich services in rural areas.
Implications
- Public services and healthcare should continue SMS-first outreach and low-bandwidth telehealth options for rural and older residents, while expanding app-based services in town.
- Carriers can capture outsized gains by infilling mid-band 5G between towns and along county roads, improving indoor coverage in public buildings, and marketing fixed‑wireless access where fiber is not imminent.
- Digital equity efforts should target older and lower‑income households with device training and subsidy navigation, given the county’s higher mobile-only and no‑internet shares.
Social Media Trends in Polk County
Social media usage in Polk County, Minnesota (2024–2025 snapshot)
How these figures were derived
- Adult population base: ~23,900 residents age 18+ (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019–2023).
- Platform reach: Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. adult adoption rates applied to the county’s adult population to produce local estimates. These indicate likely reach, not platform-reported MAUs.
Most-used platforms among adults (share of 18+ residents; estimated users)
- YouTube: 83% (~19.8k)
- Facebook: 68% (~16.3k)
- Instagram: 47% (~11.2k)
- Pinterest: 35% (~8.4k)
- TikTok: 33% (~7.9k)
- Snapchat: 30% (~7.2k)
- LinkedIn: 30% (~7.2k)
- WhatsApp: 29% (~6.9k)
- X (Twitter): 22% (~5.3k)
- Reddit: 22% (~5.3k)
Age-group patterns (behavioral)
- 18–29: Near-universal YouTube; heavy Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok use; more messaging/DMs than public posting.
- 30–49: Facebook + YouTube core; strong Instagram use; TikTok growing for short-form video.
- 50–64: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest meaningful (especially among women).
- 65+: Facebook remains the primary network; YouTube moderate; Instagram/TikTok limited.
Gender breakdown (typical user mix, based on Pew 2024 patterns and a ~50/50 local gender split)
- Facebook: ~55% women, ~45% men
- Instagram: ~54% women, ~46% men
- TikTok: ~53–55% women, ~45–47% men
- Snapchat: ~57% women, ~43% men
- Pinterest: ~70–75% women, ~25–30% men
- Reddit: ~75–80% men, ~20–25% women
- X (Twitter): ~57–60% men, ~40–43% women
- YouTube: approximately even, slight male tilt
Behavioral trends in Polk County (rural Upper Midwest context)
- Facebook as the community hub: school and sports updates, local government and public safety alerts, civic/church groups; Marketplace is a major local buy/sell channel.
- Video-first consumption: Rapid growth in TikTok and Instagram/Facebook Reels; local content (farming, outdoor recreation, high school athletics, weather/roads) performs best. YouTube widely used for how‑to, repairs, and meeting recordings.
- Messaging over posting for younger residents: Snapchat is a daily communication tool; Instagram DMs are common; public posting frequency is lower.
- Small-business playbook: Boosted Facebook/Instagram posts and Events drive attendance; geofenced ads and click-to-call/Message CTAs outperform link-outs.
- Trust and amplification: County/city, sheriff, schools, local media, and weather pages shape information flow; winter road and closure posts see outsized engagement.
- Platform overlap: Most adults anchor on Facebook + YouTube; Instagram/TikTok added for entertainment and local creators; LinkedIn usage concentrated among professionals in healthcare, education, and government.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (platform adoption by U.S. adults).
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 (Polk County, MN demographics).
Table of Contents
Other Counties in Minnesota
- Aitkin
- Anoka
- Becker
- Beltrami
- Benton
- Big Stone
- Blue Earth
- Brown
- Carlton
- Carver
- Cass
- Chippewa
- Chisago
- Clay
- Clearwater
- Cook
- Cottonwood
- Crow Wing
- Dakota
- Dodge
- Douglas
- Faribault
- Fillmore
- Freeborn
- Goodhue
- Grant
- Hennepin
- Houston
- Hubbard
- Isanti
- Itasca
- Jackson
- Kanabec
- Kandiyohi
- Kittson
- Koochiching
- Lac Qui Parle
- Lake
- Lake Of The Woods
- Le Sueur
- Lincoln
- Lyon
- Mahnomen
- Marshall
- Martin
- Mcleod
- Meeker
- Mille Lacs
- Morrison
- Mower
- Murray
- Nicollet
- Nobles
- Norman
- Olmsted
- Otter Tail
- Pennington
- Pine
- Pipestone
- Pope
- Ramsey
- Red Lake
- Redwood
- Renville
- Rice
- Rock
- Roseau
- Saint Louis
- Scott
- Sherburne
- Sibley
- Stearns
- Steele
- Stevens
- Swift
- Todd
- Traverse
- Wabasha
- Wadena
- Waseca
- Washington
- Watonwan
- Wilkin
- Winona
- Wright
- Yellow Medicine