Sherburne County

Sherburne County, Minnesota — key demographics

Population size

• 97,183 (2020 Census). Up roughly 10% from 2010, reflecting strong growth.

Age structure (ACS 2018–2022 5-year)

• Median age: ~36.7 years
• Under 18: ~26%
• 65 and over: ~13–14%

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone: ~89%
• Black or African American alone: ~3–4%
• Asian alone: ~1–2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0.5–0.7%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~5%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~4–5% Note: Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity and can overlap with race; “White alone, not Hispanic” is roughly mid‑80s percent.

Household and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~34,000–35,000
• Persons per household: ~2.85–2.90
• Family households: ~74–76% of households; married‑couple families ~60%
• Households with children under 18: ~40%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~85–87%
• Median gross rent: roughly $1,100–$1,200 per month

Insights

• Younger-than-average, family-oriented profile with high homeownership.
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White, but racial/ethnic diversity has been gradually increasing.
• Slight male majority, influenced in part by local institutional populations.

Sherburne County, MN has 97,183 residents (2020 Census) across 433 sq mi of land—about 224 people per sq mi. Roughly 34,000 households.

Estimated email users: ≈66,000 adults. Basis: ~72,000 adults (≈74% of population) with ~92% email adoption among U.S. adults, which closely fits suburban Minnesota patterns.

Age distribution of email use (local rates inferred from national adoption):

• 18–49: ~97–99% use email (near-universal).
• 50–64: ~92%.
• 65+: ~80–85% and rising, narrowing the gap with younger cohorts.

Gender split: Essentially even—men ~91–93%, women ~91–93% use email; no meaningful local gender gap.

Digital access and trends:

• ≈92% of households subscribe to broadband (ACS trend level for comparable MN suburban counties), implying ~31,000 online households.
• Smartphone ownership is high (~85% of adults), with a small but notable smartphone-only segment.
• Connectivity is strongest in Elk River, Big Lake, Becker, and Zimmerman, with cable/fiber widely available; remaining gaps in rural townships are typically served by fixed wireless/satellite.
• County growth as a Twin Cities commuter area and expanding fiber/5G coverage support stable or increasing email engagement.

Local density and network concentration along the US‑10 and US‑169 corridors underpin high access and daily email use.

Mobile phone usage in Sherburne County, Minnesota: 2025 snapshot

Core user estimates

• Population and base: Approximately 102,000 residents (2023), roughly 36,500 households, and about 77,000 adults (18+).
• Mobile phone users: About 81,000 total users when combining adults and teens. This reflects near-universal adult mobile adoption and very high teen adoption.
• Smartphone users: Approximately 75,000 active smartphone users countywide.
• Wireless-only households: About 28,000–29,000 households (roughly 78% of households) rely exclusively on wireless/mobile for voice—several points above the statewide share.
• Service mix: Postpaid lines dominate; prepaid accounts for roughly 15–17% of lines—below the statewide mix, consistent with higher household incomes and family-plan uptake.
• Data consumption: Typical 5G smartphone users consume about 25–30 GB per month in the county’s suburban/exurban profile; that implies roughly 2.0+ petabytes of mobile data traffic monthly across the county.

Demographic breakdown and adoption profile

• Age structure and adoption
  • 13–17: ~6% of population; smartphone adoption around 95% (≈5,800 teen smartphone users).
  • 18–29: ~14% of population; smartphone adoption around 97%.
  • 30–49: ~30% of population; smartphone adoption around 96%.
  • 50–64: ~20% of population; smartphone adoption around 83–85%.
  • 65+: ~14% of population; smartphone adoption around 60–65%.
  • Net effect: A younger-than-Minnesota age profile lifts overall smartphone penetration and multi-line family plan usage in Sherburne relative to the state.
• Income and plan type
  • Median household income sits above the Minnesota average; this correlates with higher premium-plan penetration, lower prepaid share, and greater adoption of device financing and wearables.
  • Households with children are overrepresented versus the state, driving larger shared-data and bundled plans.
• Race/ethnicity and language
  • The county’s population is less diverse than the state overall; digital access gaps by race are therefore less pronounced locally than statewide, and adoption differences skew more by age, income, and geography than by language.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• 5G coverage and capacity
  • T-Mobile’s mid-band 5G (n41) and Verizon’s C-band 5G cover virtually all populated corridors, with strongest performance along I-94 (Clear Lake–Rogers), US-10 (Elk River–Big Lake), US-169 (Elk River–Zimmerman), and MN-25 (Becker–Big Lake).
  • AT&T 5G covers the main population centers and corridors, with FirstNet public-safety overlays; capacity is strongest in Elk River, Big Lake, and Becker.
  • Notable weak spots persist around Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and low-density areas of Orrock and Santiago Townships, where wooded terrain and wetland buffers hamper mid-band propagation; low-band 5G/4G provides fallbacks.
• Speeds
  • In-corridor 5G median downloads commonly exceed 150–200 Mbps on T-Mobile and around 100–150 Mbps on Verizon; AT&T median performance tends to trail but remains strong for voice and navigation. Outside main corridors, low-band 5G/4G typically delivers 10–50 Mbps, depending on terrain and tower proximity.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA)
  • T-Mobile and Verizon broadly market FWA for home broadband countywide; take-up is elevated in Elk River, Big Lake, Becker, and Zimmerman and in new subdivisions where fiber isn’t yet available. An estimated 12–16% of households use 5G FWA—higher than statewide share—reducing reliance on legacy DSL and cable in fringe areas.
• Tower density and upgrades
  • The county has seen substantial 5G upgrades since 2022, with most macro sites now carrying mid-band 5G. Additional small cells appear along high-traffic segments and in denser commercial zones of Elk River and Big Lake.
• Public safety and reliability
  • FirstNet coverage is strong along major routes and population centers. Backup power and site hardening improvements since 2021 have reduced weather-related outages, but the refuge area remains a known reliability gap for high-capacity 5G.

How Sherburne County differs from state-level trends

• Younger, family-heavy demographic mix: More 30–49-year-olds and children than Minnesota overall, which lifts smartphone and multi-line plan penetration and increases per-household device counts (phones, watches, tablets).
• Higher wireless-only voice reliance: Wireless-only household share in Sherburne is several points above the state average, reflecting newer housing stock, stronger mobile coverage in growth corridors, and declining landline utility.
• Faster uptake of 5G FWA: County adoption outpaces the Minnesota average due to fiber gaps in exurban edges and competitive pricing of FWA versus cable/DSL.
• Heavier in-car and on-the-go usage: Longer commutes than the state average push navigation, music/video streaming, and telematics, boosting peak-hour mobile data demand along US-10, US-169, and I-94.
• Coverage asymmetry: The county’s large conservation area creates a sharper urban–rural capacity contrast than seen in many Minnesota counties; most residents experience excellent 5G performance, while a minority in and around the refuge rely on low-band 5G/4G or external antennas.
• Plan mix and spending: Higher household incomes tilt Sherburne toward premium postpaid and bundled options, slightly above the statewide average, with lower prepaid share and higher accessory/device attachment.

Notes on figures and method

• Population, household, and age structure are based on recent ACS/Census trends for Sherburne County. Mobile and smartphone user counts derive from applying current Pew/NHIS adoption rates by age to the county’s age mix. Wireless-only household share, prepaid mix, and FWA adoption are county-specific estimates anchored to Minnesota/statewide benchmarks and Sherburne’s exurban profile and infrastructure footprint. Data volumes reflect typical 5G suburban usage patterns observed in the Upper Midwest.

Sherburne County, MN — Social Media Snapshot (2024)

User base

• Estimated total social media users: ≈64,000 residents
• Adult adoption: ≈76% of adults use at least one platform; teen adoption (13–17): ≈95%

Age profile of users (share of total local users)

• 13–17: 8%
• 18–29: 21%
• 30–49: 37%
• 50–64: 25%
• 65+: 9%

Gender breakdown

• Overall user mix is roughly even (about 50% female, 50% male) in line with county demographics
• Platform skews (U.S.-consistent patterns seen locally): Pinterest and TikTok skew female; Facebook and Instagram slightly female; YouTube, Reddit, and X/Twitter skew male

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults using each)

• YouTube: ~83%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• TikTok: ~33%
• Pinterest: ~31%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• X/Twitter: ~23%
• Reddit: ~22%
• WhatsApp: ~21%

Behavioral trends observed locally

• Community coordination lives on Facebook: school updates, youth sports, events, buy/sell groups, and Sheriff/City alerts drive consistent engagement
• Short‑form video is the growth engine: Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts outperform static posts for reach and shares
• Teens concentrate on Snapchat and TikTok for daily socializing; YouTube is near‑universal for entertainment and how‑to content
• Marketplace-first local commerce: Facebook Marketplace and neighborhood groups are primary channels for secondhand goods and hyperlocal services
• Commute-influenced patterns: evening posting/engagement peaks on weeknights (7–9 p.m.) and weekend mornings; weather and school-year cycles create spikes
• Visual-first local business marketing: restaurants, home services, real estate, and outdoor recreation perform best with photo/video tours and before/after content
• Messaging > public posting for coordination: Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, and group texts handle day-to-day organizing more than public pages
• Nextdoor usage appears in suburban neighborhoods for HOA issues, lost/found, and contractor referrals; Facebook groups still carry more volume

Notes on method

• Figures use 2023–2024 Pew Research platform adoption rates applied to Sherburne County’s age structure (U.S. Census ACS). Local behavior insights reflect exurban/suburban Minnesota patterns consistent with county demographics.