Wayne County

Wayne County, Mississippi — key demographics

Population size

• 2023 population estimate: ~19,800 (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Direction: modest decline since 2010

Age

• Median age: ~39–40 years
• Under 5: ~6%
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~17–18%

Gender

• Female: ~50–51%
• Male: ~49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White (non‑Hispanic): ~57%
• Black or African American (non‑Hispanic): ~41%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.4%
• Asian: ~0.2–0.3%
• Two or more races: ~1%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1–2%

Households

• Households: ~7,300–7,500
• Persons per household: ~2.6
• Family households: ~68% of households
• Married‑couple families: ~40–45% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~28–30%
• Owner‑occupied housing rate: ~75–80%

Insights

• Population is small and slowly declining, with an age profile slightly older than the U.S. overall.
• Demographics are predominantly White and Black with a very small Hispanic population.
• Household structure skews toward family households with high owner‑occupancy and moderately larger household sizes.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5‑year estimates (tables DP05, S0101, S1101) and 2020 Decennial Census. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Wayne County, MS email usage (estimates grounded in 2020 Census population and Pew Research internet/email adoption)

• Population and density: 20,208 residents (2020 Census); ≈25 residents per square mile (largely rural).
• Estimated email users: ≈11,400 residents use email at least occasionally. Method: apply rural internet adoption to local age structure, then email usage among internet users (Pew Research consistently finds >90% of online adults use email).
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 13–17: ~8%
  • 18–34: ~26%
  • 35–54: ~34%
  • 55–64: ~16%
  • 65+: ~16%
• Gender split among users: ~51% female, ~49% male (mirroring county demographics).
• Digital access trends and connectivity:
  • Rural density and dispersed addresses increase last‑mile costs, keeping household broadband adoption below urban levels; smartphone‑reliant access is common.
  • Fixed broadband coverage is widespread but uneven by speed; fiber availability is expanding via recent Mississippi broadband investments (e.g., BEAD-era builds), improving reliability and upload speeds.
  • Public Wi‑Fi (libraries/schools) and mobile hotspots remain important access points for lower‑income and older residents.
• Insight: Email reach is broad enough for county‑wide communications, but campaigns should be mobile‑optimized and complemented by SMS and offline touchpoints to include areas with limited home broadband.

Wayne County, Mississippi — mobile phone usage snapshot (focus on what differs from statewide patterns)

User estimates (2024, based on Census population and rural-South adoption benchmarks)

• Population and households: ~20,000 residents; ~7,200 households; ~15,000 adults (18+)
• Mobile phone (any cellphone) users: ~13,700–14,000 adults (≈90±2% of adults)
• Smartphone users: ~11,800–12,500 adults (≈77–82% of adults)
• Households relying on cellular as primary home internet: ~1,400–1,800 (≈19–25% of households) What’s different from Mississippi overall: Wayne County’s smartphone adoption skews a few points lower and cellular-only home internet reliance is meaningfully higher than the statewide average, reflecting its rural profile and more limited wired broadband options.

Demographic context (U.S. Census 2020 and ACS 2022 5‑year, rounded)

• Race/ethnicity: roughly 58% White, 39% Black, ~2% Hispanic/Latino, ~1% other/multiracial
• Age: older than the state overall; ~18–20% are 65+, boosting the share of basic-phone and lower-cost plan users
• Income/education: median household income around $40,000; bachelor’s degree attainment well below the state average Implications for mobile: Lower incomes and an older age profile correlate with higher prepaid/MVNO use, slower device refresh cycles, and a larger base of Android devices relative to iOS than in Mississippi’s metro counties.

Digital infrastructure and coverage realities

• Primary carriers: AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile, and C Spire all serve the county. 4G LTE is the workhorse technology; low‑band 5G is present in and around Waynesboro and along major corridors (US‑45/84), but coverage thins in sparsely populated and forested tracts (Chickasawhay/De Soto NF areas).
• Mid‑band 5G (capacity) footprint: limited compared with Mississippi’s urban counties (e.g., Jackson, Gulfport–Biloxi, Hattiesburg). This keeps average 5G speeds lower and more variable in Wayne than statewide metro averages, with noticeable peak‑hour congestion.
• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): offered by national carriers in town centers and along highways, but capacity constraints and line‑of‑sight issues curb consistency in outlying areas. Adoption is higher than average because wired options are thin.
• Wired broadband backdrop: Cable is concentrated in Waynesboro; legacy DSL remains common outside town; fiber exists in pockets via incumbents and electric‑co‑op builds but is not yet countywide. These gaps push more households to depend on mobile data for primary connectivity.

Usage patterns that diverge from state-level trends

• Higher cellular-only internet reliance: A materially larger share of households depends on smartphones or mobile hotspots as their main internet connection than the Mississippi average.
• Plan mix and devices: Prepaid and MVNO lines make up a larger slice of active lines than statewide; Android share is higher and average device age is older, reflecting cost sensitivity.
• Performance and experience: With fewer mid‑band 5G nodes and more microwave‑backhauled rural towers, Wayne County users see lower median 5G/4G speeds and greater evening slowdowns than users in Mississippi’s cities.
• Coverage gaps: Forested terrain and low-density stretches create more dead zones and weak‑signal pockets than are typical statewide, nudging users to Wi‑Fi calling when available and increasing dropped/blocked call rates off the main corridors.

Bottom line

• Wayne County is highly mobile-reliant, with near‑universal cellphone adoption and strong smartphone penetration, but infrastructure constraints (sparse mid‑band 5G, limited wired alternatives) push more households to use mobile as their primary internet and produce a meaningfully different experience—slower average speeds, more variability, and higher prepaid usage—than Mississippi’s statewide urban‑weighted picture.

Wayne County, Mississippi social media snapshot (2024 modeled estimates)

Overall usage

• Adults using at least one social platform: ~80% of adults
• Daily users: ~70% of adults
• Multi-platform behavior: median of 3 platforms per user
• Access is mobile-first; most usage occurs via smartphones

Age mix among social-media users

• 18–29: ~23%
• 30–44: ~27%
• 45–64: ~36%
• 65+: ~14%

Gender among social-media users

• Female: ~54%
• Male: ~46%

Most-used platforms (share of adult social-media users who use each; overlaps by design)

• YouTube: ~78%
• Facebook: ~74%
• Instagram: ~38%
• TikTok: ~32%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• Snapchat: ~26%
• X (Twitter): ~17%
• LinkedIn: ~11%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook as the community hub: heavy use of local groups, church and school updates, and Marketplace; comment activity strongest in the evening.
• YouTube for how-to, hunting/fishing, music, and sermons; sizeable connected-TV viewing, especially on weekends.
• Short-form video growth via Reels and TikTok, led by women 18–34; local businesses and creators use it for promotions and event highlights.
• Private messaging is centralized in Facebook Messenger; Snapchat is common among teens and young adults for day-to-day communication.
• Local commerce: Facebook Marketplace and live sales are popular; Instagram Shops and TikTok Shop are growing from a smaller base.
• Content that performs: locally relevant stories, practical tips, school sports, faith- and family-oriented themes; giveaways and time-limited offers reliably lift engagement.

Method note: Figures are modeled 2024 estimates for Wayne County by applying Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. platform adoption and usage patterns to the county’s age/sex mix (U.S. Census ACS 2023) and rural-Mississippi access characteristics; platform percentages are overlapping and sum to more than 100%.