Jasper County

Jasper County, Missouri — key demographics

Population size

• Total population: 122,761 (2020 Census)
• Recent estimate: roughly 124–125k (ACS 2019–2023 5-year trend)

Age

• Median age: ~36.6 years
• Age distribution:
  • Under 18: ~25%
  • 18–24: ~9%
  • 25–44: ~25%
  • 45–64: ~24%
  • 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~50.7%
• Male: ~49.3%

Race and ethnicity

• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~9%
• Non-Hispanic race breakdown:
  • White: ~78%
  • Black or African American: ~2–3%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: ~2%
  • Asian: ~1–2%
  • Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0–0.5%
  • Two or more races: ~7%
  • Some other race: ~0–1%

Households and families

• Total households: ~47,500
• Average household size: ~2.6
• Average family size: ~3.1
• Family households: ~67% of households
  • Married-couple families: ~48–50% of all households
• Households with children under 18: ~31%
• One-person households: ~28%
• Homeownership rate: ~62–64%
• Vacancy rate: ~8–9%

Notable insights

• Population has grown modestly since 2010, with continued incremental gains post-2020.
• Age profile is slightly younger than Missouri overall.
• The Hispanic/Latino share has been rising and is near one in eleven residents.
• Household structure is predominantly family-based, with homeownership around two-thirds.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census (population count); American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 5-year estimates for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and household characteristics (figures are estimates and subject to margins of error).

Jasper County, MO snapshot

• Population and density: 122,761 residents (2020 Census); ≈191 people per square mile.
• Estimated email users: ≈93,000 residents (≈76% of total population; ≈92% of adults).
• Age distribution (adoption rates among residents in each group, mirroring U.S. patterns):
  • 18–29: ≈95%
  • 30–49: ≈96%
  • 50–64: ≈90%
  • 65+: ≈85%
• Gender split: Email usage is essentially even by gender (≈50/50), aligning with the county’s roughly even male–female population mix.
• Digital access trends:
  • Household broadband subscription: ≈84%.
  • Smartphone‑only internet users: ≈14%.
  • Trend: Continued gradual gains in broadband and mobile access; email remains a default channel for work, education, healthcare, and government services.
• Local connectivity facts:
  • Strongest fixed‑line options (cable/fiber) in the Joplin–Carthage–Webb City urban corridor along I‑44/I‑49; rural townships rely more on fixed wireless and satellite.
  • Urban concentration supports higher speeds and multi‑user households, sustaining high daily email use; rural areas see more variability due to access type.

Overall: Email penetration is mature and broad across adults, with incremental growth driven by older cohorts and smartphone‑only users.

Mobile phone usage in Jasper County, Missouri (2023–2024) — summary with county-specific estimates and how they differ from Missouri overall

User estimates

• Total smartphone users (age 13+): about 87,800 (est.), representing roughly 86% of adults and 95% of teens 13–17. Method applies Pew Research Center 2023 age-specific smartphone ownership rates to Jasper County’s age structure from recent ACS.
• Adult smartphone penetration (18+): ~85–86% in Jasper County, on par with statewide averages.
• Households with at least one smartphone: ~44,000 of ~49,000 households (≈89–91%).
• Households with a cellular data plan (any mobile broadband on a phone/tablet): ~43,000 (≈87–89% of households).
• Mobile-only internet households (have cellular data but no fixed home broadband): ~11,500–12,500 households (≈23–26%), measurably higher than Missouri overall (≈16–20%).
• No home internet of any kind: 9–11% of Jasper County households, slightly above the Missouri average (7–9%).

Demographic breakdown (modeled where noted)

• Age
  • 18–24: ~97% smartphone ownership (very high, bolstered by the college-age cohort in and around Joplin).
  • 25–34: ~96%; 35–49: ~95%.
  • 50–64: ~82–84%.
  • 65+: ~60–62% (lower than younger groups; county’s slightly lower incomes mean seniors’ smartphone adoption is a bit below the statewide senior average).
• Income (household, modeled using ACS income mix + national adoption gradients)
  • <$35k: smartphone ownership 80–85%, but mobile-only internet reliance is high (35–40% of these households), notably above the state share in this bracket.
  • $35–75k: smartphone ownership ~90–94%; mobile-only ~20–25%.
  • $75k+: smartphone ownership ~95%+; mobile-only ~10–12%.
• Housing tenure
  • Renters: mobile-only internet ~30–35% (county), several points higher than Missouri renters overall.
  • Owners: mobile-only internet ~18–20%.
• Race/ethnicity (directional, using ACS composition + national differentials)
  • White (majority of county): smartphone ownership roughly tracks county average; mobile-only below county average.
  • Hispanic/Latino and Black residents: smartphone ownership comparable or higher than average; mobile-only reliance several points higher than county average, mirroring statewide and national patterns.

Digital infrastructure points

• Coverage and technology
  • 4G LTE: Broad outdoor coverage countywide from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon; near-universal coverage along I-44 (Joplin–Carthage corridor) and I-49/US‑71 near Carthage.
  • 5G: Deployed by major carriers in Joplin, Carthage, and along primary corridors; coverage becomes patchier in northern and far-eastern townships. Population coverage is high in the urbanized south-central corridor and moderate-to-high countywide.
• Performance
  • Urban/suburban cores (Joplin/Carthage, corridors): mid-band 5G commonly delivers 150–300 Mbps downlink with low latency where available; LTE typically 25–75 Mbps.
  • Rural edges: LTE often 5–25 Mbps with higher variability indoors; 5G mainly low-band where present.
• Redundancy and providers
  • All three national carriers operate in the county; numerous MVNOs piggyback on these networks. Signal resilience and capacity are strongest along interstates, major arterials, hospitals, and campus areas.
• Fixed-broadband interplay
  • Because fixed broadband adoption lags state averages in several tracts, cellular data substitutes more often for home internet, increasing mobile network load during evening hours in residential zones.

How Jasper County differs from Missouri overall

• Higher mobile-only reliance: Jasper County’s share of households that use only cellular data for home internet is roughly 3–7 percentage points higher than the statewide average. This is the most pronounced difference and is driven by lower median household income and a larger share of renters in specific tracts.
• Slightly higher “smartphone dependence” among lower-income and renter households: The county shows a more mobile-first pattern for everyday tasks (banking, job search, telehealth) in these groups compared with Missouri overall.
• Seniors trail a bit more: Smartphone adoption among residents 65+ in Jasper County is modestly below the statewide senior average, widening the intra-county age gap in mobile use.
• Urban–rural split within the county is sharper: Performance and 5G availability are strong in Joplin/Carthage and along I‑44/I‑49, but drop more noticeably in rural townships than the typical urban–rural gradient seen statewide.
• Net smartphone penetration overall is similar to Missouri, but the way phones are used is more substitutional: Mobile networks shoulder a larger share of primary home connectivity in Jasper County than they do statewide.

Implications and practical insights

• Public-facing services in Jasper County should be designed mobile-first, with offline-friendly features and low data footprints to accommodate LTE-only users.
• Outreach for digital inclusion can be targeted to seniors, lower-income households, and renters, where smartphone access is common but device literacy and affordable fixed service lag.
• Network planning should account for evening residential peaks in mobile traffic in tracts with low fixed-broadband take-up, and for coverage hardening at the rural edges.

Notes on sources and method

• Population, households, income mix, and internet-subscription baselines use 2023 ACS 5-year profiles for Jasper County and Missouri (table series S0101/S1901/S2801).
• Smartphone ownership rates by age use Pew Research Center 2023 national statistics applied to the county’s age distribution to produce modeled counts.
• Mobile-only household shares are estimated from ACS S2801 (“cellular data plan” with no other subscription) and rounded to reflect typical ACS margins of error at the county level.
• Coverage characterizations reflect FCC mobile availability filings and carrier public 5G maps as of 2023–2024, synthesized to county geography.

Jasper County, MO — social media snapshot (2025, adults 18+)

Population base

• Total population: ~124,000
• Adults (18+): ~96,000

Overall reach

• Social media users: ~80,000 adults (≈83% of 18+)
• Daily use: Majority of users engage daily on their primary platform (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube), consistent with national daily-use patterns

Most-used platforms (share of adults; estimated local adoption applied from Pew 2024)

• YouTube: 83% (≈80k)
• Facebook: 68% (≈65k)
• Instagram: 47% (≈45k)
• Pinterest: 35% (≈34k)
• TikTok: 33% (≈32k)
• Snapchat: 30% (≈29k)
• LinkedIn: 30% (≈29k)
• WhatsApp: 29% (≈28k)
• X (Twitter): 22% (≈21k)
• Reddit: 22% (≈21k)
• Nextdoor: 20% (≈19k)

Age profile (who’s using what)

• 18–29: Near-universal use; YouTube (95%), Instagram (78%), Snapchat (65%), TikTok (50%), Facebook (~67%). Heaviest creators of short-form video; high daily streak behavior on Snapchat.
• 30–49: Broad multi-platform use; Facebook (77%) and YouTube (91%) dominate; strong Instagram (49%); TikTok (29%). Frequent Facebook Groups/Marketplace activity.
• 50–64: Facebook (73%) and YouTube (83%) lead; moderate Instagram (~29%); growing Pinterest usage for projects, recipes, and local shopping.
• 65+: Facebook (58%) and YouTube (49%) are primary; lower adoption elsewhere; stronger use for family updates, church/school/community information.

Gender breakdown

• Overall users: ~41k women, ~39k men (reflecting county gender mix)
• Platform tilts: Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, X, and LinkedIn; Instagram and TikTok are relatively balanced but lean slightly female

Behavioral trends (local patterns typical of small-metro Missouri counties)

• Facebook as the community hub: Heavy use of Groups (schools, churches, youth sports, neighborhood updates) and Marketplace for buy/sell/trade. Local news and weather updates drive spikes.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for how-to, local sports highlights, and faith content; TikTok/Instagram Reels for entertainment and local business promos.
• Messaging and ephemeral: Snapchat is the default for under-30 messaging and event coordination; Facebook Messenger widely used across ages.
• Shopping and discovery: Facebook/Instagram Shops and Pinterest boards influence local purchasing; click-to-call and map clicks perform strongly for service businesses.
• Posting cadence and timing: Engagement peaks evenings (7–10 p.m.) and weekends; weather events, school announcements, and community happenings reliably lift reach.
• Trust signals: User reviews, recommendations in Groups, and creator/neighbor endorsements carry outsized weight vs. brand ads.

Notes and method

• Figures are county-level estimates derived by applying Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. platform adoption rates to Jasper County’s adult population (U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimates). Percentages refer to adults (18+).