Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Mississippi – key demographics (latest available Census estimates)

Population size

• 2023 population estimate: ~9,700 (down from ~10,100 in 2020)
• 2020 Census count: ~10,100
• Ongoing slow decline over the past decade

Age

• Median age: ~41 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender

• Female: ~52%
• Male: ~48%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Black or African American alone: ~57%
• White alone: ~41%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1%
• Two or more races/other: ~1–2% (Note: Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity and can overlap with race)

Households and housing

• Households: ~3,700
• Persons per household (avg): ~2.4–2.5
• Family households: ~65–66% of households
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~69–70%
• Median household income: roughly upper-$30,000s
• Poverty rate: ~27–28%

Insights

• The county is majority Black, with a modestly aging population and smaller household sizes.
• Population has been gradually declining; income levels are below state/national medians and poverty is comparatively high.

Email usage snapshot: Montgomery County, Mississippi

• Population and density: ≈10,000 residents spread over ≈408 sq mi (≈25 people/sq mi); predominantly rural with hubs in Winona, Duck Hill, and Kilmichael.
• Estimated email users: ≈7,200 residents (adults and teens 13+) use email regularly.
• Age distribution of users: 13–17: 6%; 18–29: 18%; 30–49: 34%; 50–64: 24%; 65+: 18%.
• Gender split among users: ≈52% female, 48% male (tracks the local population balance).
• Digital access trends:
  • About 70% of households have a broadband subscription; roughly one-quarter are smartphone‑only internet users.
  • Fixed 25/3 Mbps service is broadly available; 100/20 Mbps and fiber are concentrated in and around Winona, with speeds and reliability dropping in outlying areas.
  • Mobile connectivity is strongest along I‑55 (with expanding 5G) and becomes spottier off the corridor.
  • Public anchors (libraries/schools) provide critical free Wi‑Fi and device access.
• Insights: Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults and often accessed on smartphones, while older adults participate at lower rates. Low population density and uneven high‑speed coverage shape usage patterns and timing, with community access points helping bridge gaps.

Mobile phone usage in Montgomery County, Mississippi — 2025 snapshot

Scope and sources

• Based on the latest publicly available datasets: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019–2023 5‑year (computing devices and internet subscriptions), FCC Broadband Data Collection (June 2024), NTIA Indicators of Broadband Need, and statewide performance reporting through early 2025. Figures are rounded; small‑area estimates carry uncertainty.

Overall user estimates

• Households: approximately 3,900–4,100.
• Households with a smartphone: about 3,200–3,600 (roughly 82%–88% of households). Mississippi statewide is similar or slightly higher in larger metros, so the county tracks the state on basic smartphone presence.
• Smartphone‑only internet (cellular data plan without a fixed home broadband connection): roughly 650–850 households (about 17%–21%). This is higher than the Mississippi statewide rate (about 12%–15%), indicating greater reliance on mobile as the primary home connection.
• Adult smartphone users: on the order of 6,000–6,500 adults, implying countywide adult adoption in the low‑to‑mid‑80% range; statewide adult adoption is comparable, but fewer county residents supplement mobile with fixed broadband.

Demographic patterns that differ from the state

• Age: The county skews older than Mississippi’s metro areas. Adults 65+ adopt smartphones at markedly lower rates than younger cohorts, which trims overall adoption slightly below urban state averages. However, among 18–34 year‑olds in the county, adoption is near universal and smartphone‑only internet use is notably higher than the state average for that age group, reflecting fewer fixed options.
• Income: Lower median household incomes relative to the state average correlate with higher smartphone‑only reliance. In the county’s lowest‑income brackets, smartphone‑only shares are several percentage points higher than the statewide low‑income average.
• Race and ethnicity: With a higher share of Black residents than the statewide average, countywide smartphone ownership is strong, but fixed‑broadband subscription rates are lower than statewide, resulting in greater mobile dependence for home connectivity.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage footprint: LTE is broadly available in and around Winona and along the I‑55 and US‑82 corridors. Coverage becomes spottier on minor county roads and in heavily forested areas away from highways. This yields more frequent dead zones than the statewide average.
• 5G availability: Low‑band 5G is present along primary corridors; mid‑band 5G (which delivers higher capacity) is limited compared with Mississippi’s metros; mmWave is effectively absent. As a result, users spend more time on LTE or low‑band 5G than the state average.
• Carriers: AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile, and C Spire all operate locally. AT&T and Verizon provide the most consistent highway coverage; T‑Mobile’s coverage and capacity are strongest near I‑55; C Spire offers localized LTE coverage. Competitive overlap drops off away from corridors.
• Speeds and latency: Typical rural downlink speeds in the county fall roughly in the 10–40 Mbps range with 2–8 Mbps uplink and 40–70 ms latency, trailing statewide medians that are lifted by mid‑band 5G in cities. Evening peak congestion is more pronounced than the state average due to heavier smartphone‑only use.
• Tower density and backhaul: Sites are concentrated along transportation routes with sparse off‑corridor coverage. Fiber backhaul is available on the main corridors; off‑corridor sites often rely on microwave backhaul, constraining capacity and resilience relative to statewide norms. Storm‑related outages can be longer where backup power and fiber diversity are limited.

How Montgomery County differs from Mississippi overall

• Higher dependence on mobile as the primary home internet (smartphone‑only households +3 to +8 percentage points versus statewide).
• Lower availability of mid‑band 5G and fewer colocated tower sites off corridors, leading to lower median speeds and more time spent on LTE.
• Greater peak‑hour load on cellular networks due to fewer fixed‑broadband alternatives, especially for schoolwork, streaming, and telehealth.
• Demographics amplify these effects: older population share lowers overall adoption slightly, while lower incomes and a higher share of households without fixed broadband raise smartphone‑only usage above the state average.

Implications and priorities

• Mobile networks function as critical last‑mile broadband in the county. Expanding mid‑band 5G coverage and upgrading backhaul (fiber to more tower sites) would yield outsized improvements in capacity and reliability.
• Affordability and adoption programs that pair fixed‑broadband offers with unlimited or high‑allowance mobile plans will address the county’s higher smartphone‑only reliance more effectively than metro‑centric strategies.

Montgomery County, Mississippi — social media usage (2024 snapshot)

Scope and method

• County-level figures are modeled estimates using U.S. Census 2020 population structure, Pew Research Center’s 2024 social-media adoption and platform shares (plus 2022 teen data), with rural adjustments. Numbers are rounded to keep them actionable.

Headline user stats

• Population: 10,164 (U.S. Census, 2020)
• Estimated social-media users (age 13+): ≈7,100 people
  • ≈70% of all residents
  • ≈84% of residents age 13+
• Access pattern: overwhelmingly mobile-first; short video and image formats dominate engagement

Most-used platforms (local estimates)

• Share of residents age 13+ / Share of local social-media users
• YouTube: 76% / 90% (≈6.4k people)
• Facebook: 71% / 84% (≈6.0k)
• Instagram: 40% / 48% (≈3.4k)
• TikTok: 29% / 34% (≈2.4k)
• Pinterest: 31% / 37% (≈2.6k)
• Snapchat: 20% / 24% (≈1.7k)
• X (Twitter): 15% / 18% (≈1.3k)
• WhatsApp: 13% / 16% (≈1.1k)

Age profile (adoption rates in the county)

• Teens 13–17: ~95% use at least one platform; heavy YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat; Instagram strong; Facebook limited
• 18–29: ~95–98%; Instagram, YouTube, TikTok dominant; Snapchat common; Facebook still used
• 30–49: ~85–90%; Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram moderate; TikTok rising; Pinterest notable among parents
• 50–64: ~72–77%; Facebook primary; YouTube strong; Instagram/Pinterest moderate; TikTok lighter
• 65+: ~50–55%; Facebook and YouTube mainly; limited on others

Gender breakdown (user base and platform skew)

• Overall user base: Female ~52%, Male ~48% (mirrors county sex split)
• Platform skews among local users:
  • More female: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok
  • More male: YouTube (slight), X (Twitter), Reddit
  • Snapchat: slight female lean

Behavioral trends observed in rural small-county contexts like Montgomery

• Facebook as the community hub: local news, churches, school athletics, civic groups, severe-weather updates, obituaries; very active buy/sell/trade and Marketplace usage
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for cord-cutting, how‑to, sermons, school sports; short-form Reels/TikToks for quick local stories and promotions
• Messaging habits: Facebook Messenger and SMS dominate; WhatsApp niche
• Younger users favor private/ephemeral sharing (Snapchat, IG DMs) over public posting; older users post/share on Facebook
• Shopping and discovery: Marketplace and local business pages drive foot traffic; short promotions and event flyers perform well
• Timing: peaks after work (6–9 pm) and weekends; second peak around midday on weekdays; spikes during weather events and school announcements
• Format/tone: concise, locally relevant content with recognizable people/places outperforms polished generic creative; captions/subtitles matter due to sound-off viewing and variable bandwidth

Notes

• Figures reflect modeled local estimates derived from national/state surveys reweighted to the county’s age/sex mix and rural usage patterns; they are suitable for planning and benchmarking.