Monroe County

Monroe County, Missouri — key demographics

Population size

• 8,666 residents (2020 Decennial Census)

Age

• Median age: ~45 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~21–22%
• 18–64: ~57–58%
• 65 and over: ~21–22%

Gender

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

Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census; Hispanic is an ethnicity overlapping race)

• White: ~91%
• Black or African American: ~5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: <1%
• Asian: <1%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Hispanic/Latino (of any race): ~1–2%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~3,600–3,700
• Average household size: ~2.3 persons
• Family households: ~60%
• Nonfamily households: ~40%
• Households with children under 18: ~25–30%
• Householders living alone (65+): ~15–16%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census (PL 94-171, DHC) and 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Monroe County, Missouri snapshot

• Population and density: ~8,600 residents; ~13 people per square mile across roughly 650 sq mi (very low-density, raising last‑mile costs).
• Estimated email users: ~6,000 residents (≈70% of total population), derived from current rural internet/email adoption benchmarks.
• Age distribution of email users (share of users): 18–29: 15% (900); 30–49: 30% (1,800); 50–64: 27% (1,620); 65+: 28% (1,680). Adoption is near‑universal among under‑50 adults, somewhat lower but substantial among seniors.
• Gender split among email users: ~50% female, ~50% male (email use shows negligible gender gap in rural Missouri).
• Digital access trends:
  • Home internet access is the norm; a solid majority of households maintain a broadband subscription, with steady gains since 2016.
  • Fiber footprints have expanded in and around towns, while many sparsely populated tracts rely on fixed wireless or satellite.
  • FCC mapping indicates remaining pockets of unserved or sub‑100 Mbps locations, especially on rural roads and near lake/forest areas; ongoing state/federal investments are targeting these gaps.

Bottom line: Despite very low population density, Monroe County now has broad email adoption, with thousands of active users and improving, though still uneven, high‑speed connectivity.

Mobile phone usage in Monroe County, Missouri — summary focused on county-specific patterns versus the Missouri average

Headline user estimates (2024–2025, modeled)

• Population baseline: 8,666 (2020 Census). Adult population ≈ 6,700–6,900.
• Adult smartphone users: 5,300–5,800 (≈ 78–84% of adults). This is a few points below Missouri’s adult rate (≈ 85–90%) due to the county’s older age profile and rural residence.
• Total mobile connections: ≈ 9,000–10,500 (≈ 105–120 lines per 100 residents, including phones, tablets, and IoT). Missouri’s statewide density is higher, driven by urban IoT and multiple-line households.
• Smartphone-only internet households (no home wired broadband): ≈ 18–24% of households, above the Missouri average (≈ 14–18%). This reflects limited fixed-broadband options in parts of the county.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age: The county skews older than the state. Among seniors (65+), smartphone adoption is materially lower than statewide (≈ 65–75% locally vs ≈ 75–80% in Missouri), with heavier reliance on voice/SMS and Wi‑Fi calling at home due to indoor coverage constraints.
• Income and plan type: A higher share of prepaid and budget plans than the state average. Data caps and hotspot add‑ons are common; smartphone‑only households are more prevalent among lower‑income and rental households.
• Families and youth: Teen smartphone access is near‑universal, similar to state levels, but video streaming and social media usage on mobile peaks after school when home broadband is weak, contributing to localized evening congestion.
• Workforce: Agriculture, trades, and small business users employ mobile hotspots and LTE/5G fixed‑wireless as primary connectivity on farms and job sites more often than the Missouri average.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage footprint: Countywide 4G LTE from AT&T and Verizon, with T‑Mobile coverage improving post‑2020 via low‑band spectrum. 5G is present mainly as low‑band in towns and along primary corridors; mid‑band 5G (C‑band/2.5 GHz) is patchy compared with Missouri’s metro areas.
• Speed and reliability: Typical LTE downlink speeds run ≈ 5–50 Mbps in outlying areas; 5G low‑band ≈ 50–150 Mbps where available. Mid‑band 5G (200+ Mbps) appears only in limited pockets. Speeds are more variable than the state average, with noticeable drops during evening peaks and during harvest-season tower loading.
• Dead zones: More persistent signal gaps than statewide norms in low-lying farm areas, wooded terrain, and around recreation areas near Mark Twain Lake. Indoor coverage can be weak in metal‑roof homes and barns; Wi‑Fi calling mitigates this.
• Backhaul and tower density: Fewer macro sites per square mile than urban Missouri; some sites still rely on microwave backhaul. Ongoing fiber builds along major routes are gradually improving backhaul capacity but lag metro timelines.
• Fixed wireless as a substitute: 5G Home Internet (where available) and LTE‑based fixed‑wireless are adopted at higher rates than the Missouri average in areas lacking cable/fiber, leading to greater mobile-network load from home usage.
• Emergency services and resiliency: County E911 is Phase II capable; however, single‑path backhaul to some towers means weather and power events have a larger service impact than in urban Missouri. Generators are common at macro sites; battery-only sites can see extended outages during multi-day storms.

How Monroe County trends differ from Missouri overall

• Adoption gap: Slightly lower adult smartphone adoption, concentrated among seniors, versus the state.
• Access pattern: Significantly higher share of smartphone‑only and mobile‑primary households than statewide, driven by patchy wired broadband.
• Technology mix: Heavier dependence on LTE and low‑band 5G; substantially less mid‑band 5G reach than Missouri’s metros.
• Performance variability: Lower average downlink and higher variability; evening and seasonal congestion are more pronounced than the state average.
• Plan economics: Higher prevalence of prepaid/budget plans and hotspot use; greater sensitivity to data caps.
• Network resiliency: Fewer redundant paths and towers per capita; outages have outsized effects relative to urban parts of the state.

Methodological notes

• Population base from the U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial). Adoption and device-use rates modeled from recent national and rural benchmarks (e.g., Pew Research Center smartphone ownership trends), NTIA/ACS indicators on device and internet access, and FCC mobile coverage/technology deployments in rural Missouri. Estimates are calibrated to rural age/income profiles typical of Monroe County and cross‑checked against statewide patterns to highlight divergences.

Monroe County, Missouri — social media usage (best-available, county-scaled estimates using Pew Research Center rural U.S. benchmarks and U.S. Census population)

User stats

• Population: 8,666 (2020 Census). Adults ≈ 6,600.
• Adults using at least one social platform: 70–75% (≈ 4,600–5,000 adults).

Age groups (share of adults in each band using social media)

• 18–29: 85–90%
• 30–49: 80–85%
• 50–64: 70–75%
• 65+: 45–55%

Gender breakdown (platform reach among adult men vs women)

• Any social media: similar overall, women slightly higher by a few points.
• Facebook: women 65–72%; men 58–65%.
• Instagram: women 35–45%; men 25–35%.
• Pinterest: women 35–45%; men 10–20%.
• YouTube: men 80–85%; women 70–78%.
• Reddit/Twitter(X): men 15–22%; women 8–15%.

Most‑used platforms (share of all adults in the county)

• YouTube: 75–80%
• Facebook: 60–65%
• Instagram: 30–35%
• TikTok: 25–30%
• Pinterest: 25–30%
• Snapchat: 20–25%
• Twitter/X: 15–20%
• WhatsApp: 10–15%
• Reddit: 10–15%
• LinkedIn: 12–18%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of local groups (schools, churches, local news, buy/sell/trade), event updates, obituaries, and public-service notices. Messenger is a default for one‑to‑one communication.
• Video is routine: YouTube for how‑to content, farming/rural life, hunting/fishing, equipment repair, and high‑school sports highlights.
• Younger users fragment across Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok; they favor short‑form video, stories, and DMs over public posts.
• Older users concentrate on Facebook and YouTube; they engage more with local news, weather, and practical information than with creator content.
• Activity peaks evenings (7–10 p.m.) and weekend mornings; mobile-first usage is common due to rural broadband variability.
• Trust and engagement skew local: posts from known community members, local businesses, schools, and county offices outperform national pages; Nextdoor-style neighborhood chatter is often handled inside Facebook Groups rather than standalone apps.

Notes on sources: Figures are derived by applying Pew Research Center’s most recent U.S. adult and rural-adult social media adoption rates (through 2023) to Monroe County’s population profile from the U.S. Census Bureau. County-specific social media panels are not published; numbers above represent the best current county-level estimates aligned with rural Missouri usage patterns.