Dunklin County

Here are key demographics for Dunklin County, Missouri. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates).

Population size

• Total population (2020 Census): 28,283
• Recent estimate (ACS 2019–2023): ~27,800

Age

• Median age: ~40 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18 to 64: ~59%
• 65 and over: ~18%

Sex

• Female: ~51–52%
• Male: ~48–49%

Race/ethnicity (2020 Census; Hispanic is of any race)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~77%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~11%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~6–7%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~4–5%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~0.4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~0.3%
• Other (incl. NHPI), non-Hispanic: ~0.1%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Total households: ~11,200
• Average household size: ~2.5
• Family households: ~7,200
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~63%

Dunklin County, MO (pop. ~28k; ~52 people/sq. mile) is rural, with connectivity concentrated in towns like Kennett and Malden and thinner options in outlying areas.

Estimated email users: 16–18k residents. Method: ~77% adults × ~80% internet adoption in rural areas × ~92% of internet users using email, plus some teen users.

Age distribution among email users (approx.):

• 18–29: 18–22%
• 30–49: 30–34%
• 50–64: 26–30%
• 65+: 18–22% Teens use email less regularly; many rely on messaging apps.

Gender split: roughly even; slight female majority (about 51–52%) reflecting local demographics.

Digital access trends:

• Household broadband subscription roughly 65–70%; remaining homes rely on mobile-only access or have no subscription.
• Smartphone-only internet reliance is elevated for a rural county (about 15–25%), influencing lighter, mobile-first email usage.
• Fixed broadband is a mix of cable/DSL in towns and fixed wireless in rural areas; fiber exists but is limited outside town centers.
• Public Wi‑Fi (libraries, schools, municipal buildings) remains an important access point.
• The wind-down of federal affordability subsidies in 2024 increased risk of service churn among low-income households.

Overall: high email familiarity among connected adults, but adoption and frequency trail urban areas due to access and affordability constraints.

Below is a pragmatic, county-level picture built from recent rural-usage research, Missouri’s rural socioeconomic profile, and local context in the Bootheel. Figures are estimates; they’re intended for planning, not regulatory reporting.

Snapshot

• Population: ~28,000 (about three-quarters adults). Rural, aging, lower-income than the Missouri average, with agriculture as a major employer and growing Hispanic/Latino presence.
• Mobile is the primary on-ramp to the internet for many residents, especially outside Kennett/Malden and smaller towns.

User estimates (adults unless noted)

• Any mobile phone: 92–95% → roughly 19,500–21,000 users.
• Smartphones: 78–84% → roughly 16,500–18,000 users.
• Smartphone-only internet at home (no fixed service): 20–25% of households countywide; higher (30%+) among low-income and rental households.
• Prepaid share of mobile lines: 35–45% (well above statewide levels), driven by price sensitivity and ACP wind-down effects.
• Platform mix: Android 60–70%, iPhone 30–40% (reverse of Missouri’s urban markets).
• Average device replacement cycle: ~4 years (longer than statewide), with many users running older LTE-only devices.
• Multiline family plans remain common, but single-line prepaid is prevalent among seasonal workers and lower-income users.

Demographic patterns

• Age: Near-universal smartphone use among under-40; sizable gap for 65+, where basic phones and shared family devices are more common.
• Income and education: Higher rates of smartphone-only connectivity and prepaid plans among households under ~200% of the federal poverty level; students and service workers often rely on school/library hotspots.
• Race/ethnicity: Growing Hispanic/Latino population shows heavy use of WhatsApp/Facebook for voice/video; multilingual messaging apps more prevalent than in Missouri overall.
• Work patterns: Agriculture and small manufacturing drive daytime usage bursts at field edges, processing sites, and along US‑412/MO‑25 corridors; seasonal labor increases SIM activations and data loads in harvest months.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Coverage mix: 4G LTE remains the workhorse. Low‑band 5G is present around towns/highways, but mid‑band 5G capacity is patchier than in metro Missouri. Many users routinely fall back to LTE outside town centers.
• Tower density: Lower than statewide average; spacing across flat farmland creates fringe zones with variable indoor coverage, especially in outlying areas between towns.
• Backhaul: Fiber backbones follow highway/rail corridors; electric‑cooperative and regional fiber providers are expanding middle‑mile and FTTH in pockets. Where fiber backhaul is thin, carriers lean on microwave links, which can bottleneck peak-hour mobile data.
• Redundancy and resiliency: Weather (ice, storms) and power events can disrupt service; single‑path backhaul to some sites increases outage duration compared with metro Missouri.
• Public-safety and schools: Agencies commonly leverage nationwide public-safety networks; schools and libraries loan hotspots to bridge homework gaps, with stronger take-up than statewide norms.

How Dunklin County differs from Missouri overall

• Higher mobile dependence: A larger share of households rely on smartphones as their only home internet, reflecting lower fixed-broadband adoption and affordability constraints.
• More prepaid, more Android: Cost-sensitive plans and devices are notably more common than statewide, with a higher Android share and longer device lifecycles.
• Slower 5G transition: 5G coverage is broader on maps than in day-to-day experience; mid‑band capacity is less consistent, and LTE remains dominant outside towns—lagging urban corridors in Missouri.
• Greater performance variability: Tower spacing and backhaul limitations mean bigger swings in speed and reliability across short distances; indoor coverage gaps are more frequent than in metro counties.
• Seasonal and cross-border effects: Harvest-season labor and proximity to Arkansas create temporary load spikes and occasional roaming/edge‑coverage quirks not seen in most Missouri counties.
• Program impacts: The phase-down of the Affordable Connectivity Program hit harder here than in cities, nudging some households from fixed broadband to mobile-only reliance.

Planning implications

• Prioritize mid‑band 5G upgrades and fiber backhaul to existing rural towers to stabilize speeds.
• Target fixed-wireless and co‑op fiber buildouts to fringe zones between towns.
• Support device-upgrade and affordability programs; modest subsidies shift many users from LTE‑only to 5G-capable devices, improving network efficiency.
• Maintain library/school hotspot programs and multilingual outreach to match the county’s usage realities.

Below is a concise, county-level view using best-available public data and rural benchmarks. True platform stats aren’t published at the county level, so figures are estimates inferred from Pew Research Center’s 2024 social-media adoption, rural vs. urban splits, and Dunklin County’s age/gender mix from the U.S. Census. Ranges reflect that uncertainty.

At-a-glance

• Population: ~28k; adults (18+): ~21–22k; slightly older than U.S. average; ~51–52% female.
• Estimated people using at least one social platform:
  • Adults: ~16–19k (≈75–85% of adults)
  • Teens (13–17): high penetration (≈90%+ use at least one platform)

Most-used platforms among adults (estimated share of adults; rough user counts in parentheses)

• YouTube: 75–85% (≈16–19k)
• Facebook: 60–70% (≈13–15k)
• Instagram: 35–45% (≈7.5–10k)
• TikTok: 25–35% (≈5–8k)
• Snapchat: 20–30% (≈4–7k; skew younger)
• Pinterest: 25–30% (≈5–7k; skew female)
• X/Twitter: 15–20% (≈3–4k)
• Reddit: 10–15% (≈2–3k)
• LinkedIn: 10–15% (≈2–3k; likely toward the low end locally)

Age patterns (likely in Dunklin, based on rural U.S. profiles)

• 13–17: Near-universal YouTube; heavy TikTok and Snapchat; Instagram common; Facebook light.
• 18–29: Broad multi-platform use; Instagram and TikTok strongest after YouTube; Facebook still sizable.
• 30–49: YouTube and Facebook dominate; Instagram moderate; TikTok growing but secondary.
• 50–64: Facebook and YouTube primary; Instagram/TikTok lower but rising.
• 65+: Facebook first, YouTube second; minimal Instagram/TikTok.

Gender breakdown

• Overall social users: ≈51–52% female, ≈48–49% male.
• Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X/Twitter. Instagram is fairly balanced; Snapchat skews female among teens/young adults.

Behavioral trends observed in similar rural Missouri counties (and likely in Dunklin)

• Facebook as the community hub: local news, school sports, church updates, city/county announcements, yard-sale groups, Marketplace, obituaries.
• Messaging habits: Facebook Messenger widely used for coordination vs. SMS; group chats for teams, churches, clubs.
• Video consumption: High YouTube use for how-tos, farming/mechanics, outdoor rec, sermons; short-form (Reels/TikTok) growth for entertainment and local creators.
• Shopping and classifieds: Heavy reliance on Facebook Marketplace and buy/sell/trade groups; local service discovery via recommendations in groups.
• Civic and weather: Spikes in engagement during severe weather, school closures, elections; local admins and moderators play an outsized role.
• Posting patterns: Most original posting is on Facebook; younger users post on Snapchat/TikTok but often “lurk” elsewhere; cross-posting of short video to Reels/TikTok is common.
• Timing: Peaks before work/school (6–8am), lunch (11:30am–1pm), and evenings (7–10pm); weekend spikes for events and sports.
• Jobs/networking: Facebook groups more influential than LinkedIn for local hiring; trades and shift work dominate discussions.

Notes on method/sources

• Benchmarks primarily from Pew Research Center (Social Media Use in 2024; Teens, Social Media & Technology), adjusted for rural usage patterns; local demographics from U.S. Census/ACS. County-level platform shares are not directly published; estimates interpolate national/rural data to Dunklin’s age/gender mix.