Saint Francois County

Key demographics — St. Francois County, Missouri

Population

• Total population: 66,922 (2020 Census); approximately 67,600 (2023 Census estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~39 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~21%
• 65 and over: ~18–19%

Sex

• Male: ~55–56%
• Female: ~44–45% (County has a notable male skew driven by state correctional facilities.)

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone (not Hispanic): ~86%
• Black or African American alone: ~7–8%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• Two or more races: ~4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.5–0.6%
• Asian: ~0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~26,800–27,000
• Persons per household: ~2.4
• Family households: ~64% of households
• Married-couple households: ~44–46% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~36%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~69%

Insights

• Population is stable to slightly growing since 2020.
• Demographics are predominantly non-Hispanic White, with small but present Black and Hispanic populations.
• Household structure is typical for rural/suburban Missouri, with modest household size and a majority owner-occupied housing.
• The adult male share is elevated relative to national norms due to the local prison population.

Saint Francois County, MO snapshot (best-available estimates; sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2018–2022, FCC broadband data 2023, Pew Research 2023–2024)

• Estimated email users: 55,000–58,000 of ≈67,000 residents (≈82–86%), reflecting near‑universal email among internet users and county broadband adoption in the low‑80s percent of households.
• Age distribution (share using email):
  • 13–17: ~75–85%
  • 18–29: ~93–95%
  • 30–49: ~95–97%
  • 50–64: ~90–93%
  • 65+: ~80–85%
• Gender split: Essentially even; males ~89–91%, females ~90–92%, yielding ~49% male and ~51% female among email users.
• Digital access trends:
  • Household broadband subscriptions in the county are in the low‑80s percent and have risen several points since 2018.
  • Smartphone‑only internet households are roughly 12–15%; about 8–12% have no home internet subscription.
  • Fixed broadband (≥25/3 Mbps) is widely available in populated areas; outlying rural tracts rely more on fixed‑wireless/satellite, with lower speeds and higher latency.
• Local density/connectivity facts: Population density roughly 140–150 people per square mile; faster cable/fiber clusters around Farmington/Park Hills, while sparsely populated south/western areas see more coverage gaps—driving slightly lower email adoption among older and rural residents than in urban Missouri.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Saint Francois County, Missouri (2024 snapshot)

User base and adoption

• Population and households: Approximately 67,000 residents and about 26,000 households.
• Estimated smartphone users: ≈49,000 residents use a smartphone (about 85–88% of residents age 12+), yielding a countywide per-capita smartphone penetration slightly below Missouri’s statewide level.
• Household device/subscription profile (ACS 2018–2022, 5-year):
  • Households with a smartphone: ~88% (Missouri ~91%)
  • Households with a cellular data plan: ~79% (Missouri ~83%)
  • Households with broadband (any technology): ~75% (Missouri ~80%)
  • Households with no internet subscription: ~17% (Missouri ~13%)
• Cellular-only home internet: About 10–12% of households rely primarily or exclusively on cellular data for home internet (Missouri ~8–10%). This equates to roughly 2,600–3,100 households locally.

Demographic breakdown of mobile usage

• Age:
  • 18–29: very high smartphone adoption (~95%+), near parity with the state.
  • 30–49: high adoption (~90–93%), near parity with the state.
  • 50–64: moderate-to-high adoption (~78–83%), 2–4 percentage points lower than Missouri overall.
  • 65+: lower adoption (~60–66%), 3–6 points below the statewide average.
  • Net effect: The county’s age mix (larger senior share) and a wider senior adoption gap drive the overall penetration slightly below state levels.
• Income and education:
  • Median household income is materially below the Missouri median, and the share of households with high-speed wired subscriptions is lower. That correlates with greater reliance on smartphones as the primary internet device and higher usage of prepaid/MVNO mobile plans than the state average.
• Urban–rural split:
  • Residents in and around Farmington, Park Hills, Desloge, and Bonne Terre show state-like adoption patterns.
  • Rural tracts west/south of the US-67 corridor have higher cellular-only home internet use and a larger share of households using smartphones as the main or only computing device.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Coverage and technology mix:
  • All three national carriers provide 4G LTE across the county, with 5G present in the Farmington–Park Hills urban corridor and along US-67. 5G coverage is spottier in outlying and wooded areas, where LTE remains the primary layer.
  • Terrain and tree cover contribute to localized dead zones and variable indoor signal in rural valleys; performance is generally strongest along US-67 and within town centers.
• Backhaul and wired constraints:
  • Cable broadband is available in the main population centers; fiber-to-the-home remains limited outside those cores.
  • The comparatively lower wired-broadband availability and adoption underpin higher cellular-only usage for home connectivity than the Missouri average.
• Fixed wireless and satellite:
  • Multiple WISPs and nationwide satellite options (used as stopgaps) serve fringe areas; these alternatives are more prevalent locally than statewide averages, reinforcing mobile-first behavior.

How Saint Francois County differs from the Missouri statewide picture

• Slightly lower overall smartphone and cellular-plan penetration at the household level (by a few percentage points), driven by income mix and an older age profile.
• Higher reliance on mobile (cellular-only) for home internet, with an estimated 10–12% of households vs roughly 8–10% statewide.
• Wider senior adoption gap: residents 65+ lag the state by several points, pulling down the county’s aggregate.
• More pronounced urban–rural divide in mobile performance and usage: towns along US-67 are broadly state-like, while rural tracts lean more heavily on smartphones and cellular data due to sparser wired infrastructure.
• 5G footprint is concentrated along the main corridor; outside it, LTE predominates more than in Missouri’s metro counties, reinforcing a conservative device/plan mix (e.g., prepaid/MVNO and LTE-centric plans).

Key takeaways

• Around 49,000 people in Saint Francois County use smartphones, with household smartphone and cellular-plan adoption a bit below Missouri’s average.
• The county has a meaningfully higher share of cellular-only home internet households, reflecting infrastructure and income differences.
• Investment patterns that expand 5G and fiber beyond the US-67 corridor would narrow the adoption and performance gap with the state and reduce the county’s reliance on mobile as a substitute for wired broadband.

Saint Francois County, MO – Social media snapshot (modeled local estimates)

How these figures were derived

• Base population: ~67,000 residents; ~51,000–53,000 adults (U.S. Census Bureau ACS, recent estimates).
• Percentages are the latest nationally representative adult-usage rates (Pew Research Center, 2024) applied to the county’s adult population to produce local estimates. They represent adults who say they use each platform.

Most-used platforms (share of adults; approx. local adult users)

• YouTube: 83% (42–44k adults)
• Facebook: 68% (34–36k)
• Instagram: 47% (24–25k)
• Pinterest: 35% (18–19k)
• TikTok: 33% (16–17k)
• Snapchat: 30% (15–16k)
• Also-used but smaller: LinkedIn 30% (15–16k), X (Twitter) 22% (11–12k), Reddit 22% (11–12k), WhatsApp 21% (10–11k)

Overall penetration

• Estimated adults using at least one social platform: roughly 72–78% of adults (~37–41k people).

Age patterns

• 18–29: Heavy daily use of Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok; YouTube is nearly universal. Messaging-first behavior (DMs, Stories), fast reactions to short video.
• 30–49: Uses Facebook and YouTube most; Instagram growing; active in local buy/sell, youth sports, schools, and event content. Video (Reels/Shorts) is strong.
• 50–64: Facebook dominates for news, community groups, Marketplace; YouTube for DIY/trades, home, auto. Pinterest common for projects and recipes.
• 65+: Facebook Groups for local news, obits, churches, civic updates; YouTube for passive viewing and how-to. Lower but rising use of Instagram; minimal TikTok/Snapchat.

Gender breakdown (platform skews)

• Female-leaning: Pinterest (strong female majority), TikTok and Instagram (modest female majority), Facebook (slight female majority).
• Male-leaning: Reddit (strong male majority), X/Twitter and YouTube (modest male tilt), LinkedIn (slight male tilt).
• Net effect locally: Facebook and YouTube remain broadly mixed; Pinterest’s audience is predominantly women, while Reddit/X over-index among men.

Behavioral trends on the ground

• Facebook as the local hub: Community/yard sale groups, school and youth sports updates, church/community calendars, missing pets, severe-weather alerts, obituaries, and Marketplace drive daily check-ins. Event posts and urgent local info spike engagement.
• Video everywhere: Short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) gets the highest completion and share rates; practical YouTube content (home, auto, outdoors, trades) performs consistently.
• Commerce and services: Marketplace and local service posts (contractors, auto, lawn, home repair) convert well with clear pricing, before/after visuals, and fast Messenger responses.
• Youth behavior: Teens/20s default to Snapchat and Instagram DMs; they watch TikTok/Shorts more than they post. Peer/community highlights (games, graduations, fairs) travel fastest via short video.
• Timing: Evenings and weekends see peak local engagement; weather incidents and school/sports moments create predictable surges.
• Creative that works locally: People-first photos/video, recognizable locations, concise offers, and direct CTAs (“Call today,” “Message for quote”) outperform generic brand posts.

Notes

• Percentages are from Pew Research Center’s 2024 social media adoption among U.S. adults; counts are county-level estimates derived by applying those rates to the local adult population (U.S. Census Bureau ACS). Actual platform reach can vary slightly with broadband access and rural adoption patterns, but relative rankings and skews are consistent.