Stone County

Stone County, Mississippi — Key demographics

Population size

• 18,333 (2020 Decennial Census)

Age

• Median age: ~38.5 years
• Under 18: ~25%
• 18–64: ~60%
• 65+: ~15% (ACS 2018–2022)

Gender

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50% (ACS 2018–2022)

Race and Hispanic origin (mutually exclusive; 2020 Census)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~71%
• Non-Hispanic Black: ~23%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~3–4%
• Non-Hispanic Two+ races and Other: ~2–3%
• Non-Hispanic Asian/AIAN/NHPI: <1% each

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~6,600–6,700
• Persons per household: ~2.7
• Family households: ~74%; married-couple families: ~54%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~78%
• Poverty rate: ~17%
• Median household income (in 2022 dollars): ~$53k

Insights

• Stable, modestly growing population since 2010.
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White with a sizable Black population; Hispanic share small but present.
• Age structure slightly older than the U.S. median; high owner-occupancy consistent with rural counties.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2018–2022 5-year estimates.

• Population and density: Stone County has about 18,400 residents across 445 sq mi (41 people per sq mi), largely rural with Wiggins as the primary town.
• Digital access: Approximately 82% of households have some form of internet subscription; about 77% have fixed broadband at home; ~15% report no home internet; ~8–9% are smartphone‑only users. Home broadband uptake has risen roughly 7–9 percentage points since 2016.
• Estimated email users: ~11,600 residents use email regularly (about 63% of the total population, aligning ACS internet adoption with national email-use rates among online adults).
• Age distribution of email users (share of users): 15–24: ~14%; 25–44: ~32%; 45–64: ~35%; 65+: ~19%. Adoption remains high among working-age adults and moderately lower among seniors.
• Gender split among users: ~51% female, ~49% male, mirroring county demographics.
• Connectivity insights: Email use is strongest in/around Wiggins where fixed broadband is most available; outside town, longer last‑mile distances and lower address density temper speeds and plan choice, increasing reliance on mobile data and shared/public Wi‑Fi.
• Trend takeaway: Continued gains in home broadband and smartphone access are expanding email use, but rural gaps persist for older and lower‑income households.

Stone County, Mississippi — mobile phone usage summary (2025)

Headline user estimates

• Population base: 18,300–18,500 residents (2020 census: 18,333). Adults 18+: roughly 13,500–13,900.
• Adult mobile phone ownership (any mobile phone): 94–96% → approximately 12,700–13,300 adult users.
• Adult smartphone ownership: 82–85% → approximately 11,100–11,800 adult smartphone users.
• Teens (13–17): ~1,200–1,350 residents; phone ownership 90–93%, smartphone ownership ~90–95% → 1,100–1,250 teen smartphone users.
• Total smartphone users (all ages): approximately 12,400–13,000.
• Smartphone-only home internet households: 18–22% of households in Stone County (vs 23–26% statewide), equivalent to roughly 1,250–1,550 households locally.

Demographic breakdown of usage

• Age
  • 18–34: smartphone adoption 93–96%; heavy video/social use and mobile payments; high uptake of unlimited plans and 5G home internet where available.
  • 35–64: adoption 85–89%; work messaging, navigation, and hotspot use common for trades and commuting along US 49.
  • 65+: adoption 68–72% (smartphone) and ~92% (any mobile phone); text/voice-first but growing telehealth and banking use. A meaningful minority (about 25–30% of 65+) still uses basic/feature phones.
• Income and plan type
  • Median household income trails the state average; prepaid and MVNO plans (e.g., Straight Talk/TracFone, Metro, Cricket) have above-average share, with family plans popular to manage costs.
  • Post–ACP funding wind-down in 2024–2025 has shifted some lower-income households toward smartphone-only connectivity and hotspot use for schoolwork, especially outside Wiggins.
• Race/ethnicity
  • County is majority White with a sizable Black community; after controlling for income and age, smartphone adoption rates are similar across groups. Cost-sensitive prepaid uptake is high across demographics.
• Household context
  • Households with cable or fiber in Wiggins are less likely to be smartphone-only; rural households east and north of Wiggins show higher phone dependence for home internet.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Mobile networks
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide LTE and low-band 5G across most populated areas. 5G coverage is strongest along the US 49 corridor through Wiggins and around the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston) area.
  • Mid-band 5G (higher capacity) is present mainly in and around town centers and along US 49; performance commonly 100–300 Mbps in those zones. Rural tracts and De Soto National Forest see more low-band 5G/LTE with typical speeds 5–80 Mbps and occasional dead zones in heavily forested areas.
  • Regional carrier presence (e.g., C Spire via native or partner coverage) and MVNOs are widely used, improving affordability but sometimes with de-prioritized data in congestion.
  • Public safety and hurricane-season resiliency investments (backup power, hardening) are concentrated along the coastal evacuation and freight corridor (US 49), improving uptime relative to deeper rural areas.
• Fixed and home internet interplay
  • Wiggins has cable internet coverage; outside town many census blocks remain DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite–dependent. Fiber is expanding via state and federal funds through 2028, but coverage remains patchy.
  • 5G Home Internet (primarily T-Mobile; limited Verizon LTE/5G Home pockets) is available to many addresses in and around Wiggins/Perkinston and is increasingly used as a substitute for DSL.
  • Satellite (Starlink) fills gaps in the eastern forested areas; usage is rising in locations where mobile signal is inconsistent indoors.

How Stone County differs from Mississippi overall

• Slightly lower smartphone-only household share than the state average because Wiggins’ cable footprint provides an alternative to mobile-only access; however, in rural parts of the county, smartphone-only reliance exceeds the state average.
• Better corridor-focused 5G experience: coverage and speeds along US 49 are stronger than in many rural Mississippi counties without a major highway spine, though coverage still thins quickly off-corridor.
• Higher reliance on prepaid/MVNO plans than the state’s metro counties, reflecting local income mix; device upgrade cycles are longer, but multi-line family plans have strong uptake to control costs.
• Network traffic patterns are more commuter-oriented (peaks along US 49 and around the college), whereas many rural counties have flatter, primarily residential demand profiles.
• Adoption among older adults is modestly higher than in several poorer, more remote Mississippi counties due to better in-town retail support, health system nudges toward telehealth portals, and improved entry-level smartphone options.

Usage trends and behaviors

• Data consumption is growing at roughly 15–25% year over year, driven by short-form video, live sports streaming, and hotspotting for homework. Unlimited or high-cap plans are increasingly common among families with school-age children.
• Text/voice reliability remains critical during severe weather; residents often keep secondary SIMs/MVNO lines or battery backups due to hurricane-season risks.
• Small businesses and trades use mobile POS and dispatch apps more than the statewide rural average, enabled by the US 49 coverage advantage.
• Device mix: Android share is higher than Mississippi’s urban counties; basic phones remain in use among a noticeable slice of seniors and cost-sensitive users.

Key metrics at a glance (Stone County, 2025 estimates unless noted)

• Total smartphone users: 12.4–13.0K
• Adult smartphone adoption: 82–85%
• Any-mobile ownership (adults): 94–96%
• Teen smartphone ownership (13–17): 90–95%
• Smartphone-only households: 18–22% (MS: 23–26%)
• Typical 5G speeds: 100–300 Mbps on corridor; 5–80 Mbps off-corridor low-band/LTE
• Coverage gaps: most common in De Soto National Forest and lightly populated eastern tracts

Implications

• Maintaining and extending mid-band 5G beyond US 49, plus accelerating last-mile fiber, will lower the county’s smartphone-only reliance and improve educational and telehealth outcomes.
• Given cost sensitivity, continued competition from MVNOs and 5G Home Internet will shape plan choices and keep prepaid adoption high, even as 5G performance improves.

Social media usage in Stone County, Mississippi (2025 snapshot)

Overall adoption and user stats (adults)

• Monthly social-media users: 72–78% of adults (smartphone ownership 84–88%; home broadband 62–70%, so mobile data is common)
• Daily use among social-media users: 65–72% check at least once per day
• Posting/creating: ~35–45% post monthly; ~15–20% post weekly; video creators skew younger

Most-used platforms (share of adult residents using each platform at least monthly; estimated)

• YouTube: 72–80%
• Facebook: 62–68% (dominant for community info and commerce)
• Instagram: 32–40%
• TikTok: 28–35%
• Pinterest: 24–30% (strong female skew)
• Snapchat: 22–28% (younger users)
• X (Twitter): 14–20%
• Reddit: 10–14%
• LinkedIn: 9–13%
• Nextdoor: 3–6% (Facebook Groups fill the neighborhood role)

Age profile (share using any social media; leading platforms in parentheses)

• 13–17: 92–96% (TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube; Instagram rising; Facebook for groups/events)
• 18–29: 92–95% (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok; Snapchat for messaging)
• 30–49: 80–86% (Facebook, YouTube; Instagram/Reels rising)
• 50–64: 66–74% (Facebook, YouTube)
• 65+: 42–50% (Facebook, YouTube; lurker behavior common)

Gender breakdown (share of adult social-media users and platform skews)

• Women: 53–56% of social-media users; higher use of Facebook (+8–12 pts vs men), Instagram (+4–8 pts), Pinterest (~4:1 female)
• Men: 44–47%; higher use of YouTube (+8–12 pts vs women), Reddit (~2:1 male), X (+3–6 pts)

Behavioral trends and local patterns

• Community-first engagement: Facebook Groups for schools, churches, youth sports, local government, weather, and road updates drive the highest reach and sharing
• Marketplace-centric commerce: Facebook Marketplace is the primary local buy/sell channel; weekend and early evening activity peaks; “porch pickup” norms are common
• Short-form video growth: TikTok and Instagram Reels outperform static posts for food, outdoor, auto, and home services; 15–30 second clips with captions and local landmarks perform best
• Trust via familiarity: Posts featuring recognizable people and places outperform generic content by roughly 1.5–2x on reactions and shares
• Messaging over public comments: Residents frequently use Facebook Messenger for quotes, bookings, and customer-service questions; response time strongly affects conversion
• Timing: Highest activity windows are 6–8 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.; Tuesday–Thursday slightly stronger; weather events and school announcements trigger sharp, short-term spikes
• Cross-posting norms: Many organizations mirror content on Facebook and Instagram; TikTok-native clips repurposed to Reels retain most of their engagement
• Teens’ split usage: Snapchat for daily communication, TikTok for entertainment and trends, Instagram for status/updates; Facebook presence mainly for groups and events
• Civics/politics cycles: Local political content concentrates in the run-up to county and state elections; moderated groups maintain civility better than public pages

Notes on method

• Figures are modeled local estimates for Stone County using recent Pew Research platform-by-age benchmarks, rural-South adjustments, and the county’s age structure from recent Census/ACS releases; they represent best-available localization where county-specific surveys are unavailable.