Mississippi County

Mississippi County, Missouri — key demographics

Population

• 12,577 (2020 Census)

Age (ACS 2018–2022)

• Median age: ~40 years
• Under 18: ~19%
• 18–64: ~62%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male: ~56%
• Female: ~44%
• Note: The Southeast Correctional Center (state prison) increases the adult and male shares.

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~67%
• Black or African American: ~28%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other: <1% each

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~4,700
• Average household size: ~2.4
• Family households: ~62% of households
• Married-couple households: ~38%
• Households with children under 18: ~26%
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~66%

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

Mississippi County, MO snapshot (2025)

• Population and density: ~12,500 residents; ~30 people per square mile. Adult (18+) population ~9,600.
• Estimated email users: ~8,400 adults (≈87% of adults), reflecting rural Missouri internet and age-specific email adoption.
• Age distribution of email users (approx.):
  • 18–29: ~1,540
  • 30–49: ~2,850
  • 50–64: ~2,250
  • 65+: ~1,760
• Gender split of users: ~51% women, ~49% men.
• Digital access and connectivity:
  • Households with an internet subscription: ~70–75%.
  • Households without home internet: ~20–22%.
  • Smartphone-only internet households: ~15–20%, signaling mobile-first email use.
  • Coverage is strongest in and around Charleston and along I‑55/I‑57; fixed broadband is patchier in low‑density farm areas, which elevates reliance on cellular data and public Wi‑Fi (libraries, schools).
• Trends and implications:
  • Email remains the default digital touchpoint across all adult ages; usage is near‑universal under 65 and solid among seniors.
  • Mobile email continues to grow with smartphone dependence.
  • Affordability pressures following federal subsidy changes may slow gains in home broadband, keeping a notable share of residents mobile‑only.

Mississippi County, Missouri — mobile usage snapshot (focused on what’s different from statewide)

Headline numbers (modeled 2024 estimates)

• Population baseline: 12,577 (2020 Census). Adults 18+: ~9,800; teens 13–17: ~750.
• People with a mobile phone (unique users, adults + teens): ~9,000–9,100 (about 72% of total residents).
• Adult smartphone owners: ~8,300 (≈85% of adults; vs Missouri adults ≈88–90%).
• Teen smartphone owners (13–17): ~700 (≈95% of teens).
• Smartphone-only internet users (people who rely on a smartphone for home internet): ~2,300–2,500 residents (≈24–26% of adults; vs Missouri ≈15–17%). This “mobile-only” reliance is materially higher than the state average.

Demographic breakdown of mobile users (what skews vs Missouri)

• Age
  • 65+ share is higher than Missouri overall, and adoption is lower at older ages. Estimated smartphone adoption by age in-county: 18–34 ≈95%, 35–64 ≈90%, 65+ ≈60–65%. Net effect: more total users than not, but a larger-than-average group on basic/legacy devices or without mobile phones relative to the state.
• Income
  • Household incomes are lower than the Missouri median, which raises the share of prepaid plans and smartphone-only internet users. Expect prepaid and budget MVNO usage to be several points higher than in metro Missouri.
• Race/ethnicity
  • The county’s Black population share is substantially higher than statewide. Nationally, Black adults report high smartphone adoption but higher smartphone-only reliance; that pattern appears locally as well, contributing to the elevated smartphone-only figures in the county.
• Household connectivity
  • A meaningfully smaller share of households has fixed broadband compared with Missouri overall. That gap directly shows up as higher mobile dependence (hotspotting and unlimited prepaid plans).

Digital infrastructure and coverage (county realities vs state averages)

• Cellular coverage
  • 5G low-band coverage from national carriers blankets town centers (e.g., Charleston) and highway corridors (notably I-57/US‑60/62), but mid-band 5G capacity is largely corridor- and town-limited. Away from highways and towns, service frequently falls back to LTE with areas of marginal indoor coverage—more so than typical Missouri counties.
  • Practical implication: Good performance in town and along interstates; step-down to LTE and occasional dead zones across river bottoms and farm/rural tracts, with more variability than the statewide experience.
• Fixed broadband and alternatives
  • Cable/fiber availability is concentrated in/near Charleston; large rural portions rely on legacy DSL, WISPs, or satellite. Fixed-wireless home internet from mobile carriers is available around towns and along corridors but not uniformly countywide.
  • Because fixed broadband availability is below Missouri norms, smartphone-only and hotspot-based home connectivity are higher, and mobile data plans carry more of the household internet load.
• Public safety and resilience
  • River levee and bottomland areas can experience coverage shadows. Redundancy (multiple carriers, external antennas) is more often necessary than in urban Missouri for reliable service during outages or severe weather.

How Mississippi County differs most from the Missouri average

• Higher smartphone-only internet dependence (≈24–26% vs ≈15–17% statewide).
• Slightly lower adult smartphone penetration (≈85% vs ≈88–90% statewide), driven by an older age mix and affordability constraints.
• A larger prepaid/MVNO footprint by share of users, tied to income mix and limited fixed broadband.
• Spottier mid-band 5G and indoor coverage outside towns and corridors; performance varies more by location than the Missouri norm.

Methodology notes (for transparency)

• Population and age structure from the 2020 Census, with adult/teen splits aligned to ACS patterns for similarly sized rural Missouri counties.
• Adoption rates applied from recent national/state surveys (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024) adjusted for rural counties and local income/age mix to produce county-level modeled estimates.
• Infrastructure points synthesized from FCC mobile/broadband mapping patterns and carrier 5G rollout norms in rural southeast Missouri.

Social media usage in Mississippi County, Missouri (2024–2025 snapshot)

Core audience size

• Population: ~12,600; age 13+: ~10,900
• Social media users (13+): ~8,600 (79% of 13+; ~68% of total population)
• Household broadband subscription: ~72% (mobile-first usage is prevalent)

Gender breakdown (social media users)

• Female: 54%
• Male: 46%

Age breakdown (share of local social media users)

• 13–17: 9%
• 18–24: 10%
• 25–34: 17%
• 35–44: 17%
• 45–54: 17%
• 55–64: 15%
• 65+: 15%

Most-used platforms locally (share of 13+ using monthly)

• YouTube: 74%
• Facebook: 66%
• Instagram: 32%
• TikTok: 27%
• Pinterest: 24%
• Snapchat: 22%
• X (Twitter): 16%
• LinkedIn: 13%
• Reddit: 10%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups and Marketplace for buy/sell/trade, yard sales, school sports, church, civic updates, and severe-weather info. Comment threads on local news drive outsized engagement.
• Video habits: Short-form vertical video is rising (Reels/TikTok) across all ages; YouTube dominates for how‑to, agriculture, home repair, hunting/fishing, and local event recaps.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default; Snapchat is a daily habit among teens/younger adults; WhatsApp usage is minimal.
• Shopping and ads: High receptivity to local deals and event‑driven promos (restaurants, auto, farm supply, hardware). Trust is higher for familiar local pages; generic national ads see lower engagement.
• Usage timing: Peaks around 6–8 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m. CT; weekends remain strong for sports and community events.
• Device behavior: >95% mobile usage; many view videos muted with captions; short clips (6–30 seconds) perform best; longer how‑to content is consumed on YouTube when on Wi‑Fi.
• Demographic patterns: 45+ skew heavily to Facebook and YouTube; women 25–54 over‑index on Pinterest for recipes/crafts/home; 13–24 favor Snapchat for messaging and TikTok for entertainment, with Instagram used mainly for Stories/DMs.

Notes on method: Figures are 2024 local estimates derived from U.S. Census/ACS demographics and Pew Research platform usage by age/gender, adjusted for rural Missouri adoption and rounded to whole percentages.