Madison County

Madison County, Montana – key demographics

Population size

• 2020 Census: 8,623

Age (ACS 2019–2023, 5-year)

• Median age: 52.5 years
• Under 18: 16.9%
• 18 to 64: 56.8%
• 65 and over: 26.3%

Gender (ACS 2019–2023)

• Male: 52.9%
• Female: 47.1%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023)

• White alone: 95.2%
• Black or African American alone: 0.2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.9%
• Asian alone: 0.4%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1%
• Some other race alone: 0.6%
• Two or more races: 2.7%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 4.1%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: 91.7%

Households and housing (ACS 2019–2023)

• Total households: 4,100
• Average household size: 2.03
• Family households: 56% (average family size: 2.56)
• Married-couple families: 48%
• Households with children under 18: 20%
• One-person households: 37% (with someone 65+ living alone: 18%)
• Housing tenure: 72% owner-occupied, 28% renter-occupied

Insights

• Older-than-national age profile with over one-quarter 65+ and a median age above 50.
• Small household sizes and a high share of one-person households.
• Predominantly White, with a small but present Hispanic/Latino community.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates.

Madison County, MT overview

• Population and density: 8,623 (2020 Census); ~3,600 sq mi; ≈2.4 people per sq mi. Sparse settlement and mountainous terrain raise last‑mile costs and create service gaps.

Email usage (estimated)

• Adult email users: ~6,800 (≈95% of adults), modeled from the county’s 2020 age structure and national email‑adoption rates.

Age distribution of email users (approximate counts and share)

• 18–34: ~1,700 (≈25%)
• 35–54: ~2,200 (≈32%)
• 55–64: ~1,000 (≈15%)
• 65+: ~1,900 (≈28%)

Gender split

• Email usage mirrors the adult population: roughly 51% male, 49% female among users.

Digital access trends and local connectivity facts

• Most households maintain an internet subscription, but high‑speed fixed broadband is uneven; coverage is strongest in town centers (e.g., Ennis, Sheridan, Twin Bridges) and along US‑287/MT‑41 corridors, with gaps in remote valleys and ranchlands.
• Fiber and fixed‑wireless availability has expanded since 2022 through state/federal investments; many residents outside towns rely on smartphone, satellite, or fixed‑wireless for email.
• Mobile service is reliable on main routes but drops in mountainous areas. Seasonal tourism and remote work are increasing bandwidth demand; public library and school Wi‑Fi remain important access points.

Mobile phone usage in Madison County, Montana — 2024 snapshot

County context

• Population baseline: approximately 9,500–10,200 residents (U.S. Census Bureau 2020–2023 intercensal range). Median age is materially older than the state (Madison County ≈52 vs Montana ≈40), reflecting a large retiree share alongside tourism and seasonal workers.

Estimated users

• Total mobile phone users: 8,400–9,000 residents (about 88–92% of the population), combining smartphones and basic/feature phones.
• Smartphone users: 7,300–8,000 residents (roughly 74–80% of the total population; about 84–88% of adults), reflecting lower rural and older-adult adoption compared with urban Montana.
• Households that are mobile-only for voice (no landline): approximately 60–65% of households, below the statewide share in more urban counties but above historical rural levels.
• Children and teens (under 18) with phones: approximately 55–65% penetration, concentrated in middle/high school ages.

Demographic usage profile (how Madison County differs from Montana overall)

• Older residents: The county’s older age structure pulls down overall smartphone share by 3–6 percentage points versus the Montana average, with notably lower smartphone adoption among 65+ residents but growing uptake for telehealth, banking, and messaging.
• Seasonal and part-time residents: A higher-than-average share of seasonal/recreational housing and tourism (Ennis/Madison River corridor, Big Sky area on the county’s eastern edge) creates pronounced peak loads during summer and ski seasons; this seasonality effect is stronger than the statewide pattern.
• Work patterns: A larger mix of agriculture, construction, outdoor recreation, and tourism leads to above-average use of basic phones, push-to-talk, and ruggedized devices, plus heavier reliance on SMS and voice in fringe coverage areas compared with urban Montana.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Coverage footprint:
  • Strongest along primary corridors (US-287, MT-41, MT-55, MT-87) and in/near towns such as Ennis, Sheridan, and Twin Bridges.
  • Significant dead zones persist in the Gravelly Range, Tobacco Root Mountains, and other backcountry areas; land-area coverage lags the state average due to terrain and public lands limiting new sites.
• Carrier landscape:
  • Verizon generally provides the most extensive rural coverage; AT&T is solid on highways and FirstNet for public safety; T‑Mobile service has improved via low-band 600 MHz but remains variable off-corridor.
• 5G availability:
  • Predominantly low-band (nationwide/DSS) 5G along main roads and towns; mid-band 5G (e.g., C-band) is sparse, and millimeter-wave is effectively absent. Practical speeds often mirror strong LTE outside town centers.
• Capacity and backhaul:
  • Fiber-fed sites cluster in towns and along primary routes; many remote sites still depend on microwave backhaul. Peak-season congestion (summer events, holiday ski traffic) is more acute here than statewide averages.
• Fixed broadband interplay:
  • 3 Rivers Communications and other regional providers have expanded fiber-to-the-premise in town centers and some rural exchanges, but gaps remain. Where fixed broadband is limited, households lean on mobile hotspots and Wi‑Fi calling, making mobile networks a de facto primary internet option for a larger share of homes than in Montana’s cities.

Key trends versus the Montana state picture

• Adoption: Overall mobile and smartphone adoption is high but a few points lower than the statewide average because of the county’s older age structure and very rural terrain.
• Reliability strategy: Madison County users are more likely to carry multi‑carrier SIMs/eSIMs, use signal boosters, and depend on Wi‑Fi calling to offset coverage gaps—behaviors less common in Montana’s urban counties.
• Seasonality: Network demand swings are larger, with summertime fishing/tourism and winter ski traffic driving short-duration congestion spikes not seen at the same scale statewide.
• 5G reality: 5G branding is present, but practical performance gains over LTE are limited outside towns due to low-band reliance and sparse mid-band deployments; this gap with urban Montana will persist until more mid-band spectrum is lit on fiber-fed sites.
• Safety and outdoors: Greater emphasis on offline maps, satellite messengers, and redundancies for backcountry travel, reflecting more frequent no‑service zones than the statewide norm.

Method notes

• User and device estimates are modeled from recent U.S. Census Bureau population and age structure for Madison County, Pew Research Center’s smartphone ownership by age and rurality, and national mobile-only household rates (NHIS), adjusted for the county’s older median age and rural profile. Digital infrastructure points reflect carrier deployment patterns typical of rural southwest Montana and known local providers.

Social media in Madison County, Montana — short breakdown

County context

• Population: 8,623 (2020 Census). Older-skewing age profile typical of rural Montana; adults 18+ ≈ 80–83% of residents.
• Gender: roughly balanced with a slight male majority in recent Census/ACS snapshots.

Most-used platforms (adult adoption; local estimates derived from Pew Research Center 2024 rural rates applied to Madison County’s age mix)

• YouTube: 80–85% of adults (≈ 5,500–6,000 people)
• Facebook: 70–75% (≈ 4,900–5,300)
• Pinterest: 32–38% (≈ 2,200–2,700; female-skewed)
• Instagram: 34–40% (≈ 2,400–2,800)
• TikTok: 20–25% (≈ 1,400–1,800)
• Snapchat: 20–25% (≈ 1,400–1,800)
• WhatsApp: 16–20% (≈ 1,100–1,400)
• X (Twitter): 14–18% (≈ 1,000–1,300)
• Reddit: 12–16% (≈ 850–1,150)
• LinkedIn: 15–20% (≈ 1,050–1,400)

Age-group usage patterns (what residents use most)

• Teens (13–17): Very high YouTube reach (93%); TikTok (63%), Snapchat (60%), Instagram (59%), Facebook (~33%) [Pew Teens 2023]. Behavior: heavy short‑form/video, school sports and events, private group chats.
• 18–29: YouTube ~90%+, Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok each majority use; Facebook for events, groups, and Marketplace rather than posting. Behavior: Reels/Stories, creator/brand discovery, DMs for coordination.
• 30–49: Facebook dominant for community ties; YouTube for DIY, outdoor, and product research; Instagram mid-level; TikTok/Snapchat lower but growing. Behavior: local groups, Marketplace, family content, practical “how‑to.”
• 50–64: Facebook and YouTube lead; Pinterest strong (home, recipes, crafts); Instagram modest. Behavior: community info, local news, weather/wildfire updates, event pages.
• 65+: Facebook remains primary; YouTube used for news and tutorials; limited Instagram/TikTok. Behavior: high engagement with local government, health, and service pages.

Gender breakdown (platform tendencies)

• Facebook and YouTube: near-even male/female split.
• Pinterest: majority female.
• Reddit and X: male‑skewed.
• Instagram and Snapchat: slight female tilt.
• Local implication: content around home/cabin life, recipes, and crafts over-indexes with women 35+; outdoor, ag, and gear content over-indexes with men.

Behavioral trends specific to rural Madison County

• Facebook Groups = the community hub: school districts (Ennis, Sheridan, Twin Bridges), buy‑sell‑trade, road conditions, wildfire/closures, county fair and rodeo, hunting and river reports. High trust and quick amplification for time‑sensitive posts.
• Marketplace is critical commerce: vehicles, equipment, ranch and recreation gear, seasonal rentals and job postings.
• Tourism and seasonality: Summer and early fall bring spikes in Instagram and Facebook activity from visitors and seasonal workers; short‑form video (Reels/TikTok) featuring fishing, hiking, and dining performs well.
• Outdoor and DIY on YouTube: strong consumption of how‑to (home, land, equipment), angling/hunting tips, and local trail/river content; long‑tail videos keep accruing views over seasons.
• Messaging habits: Facebook Messenger is the default cross‑age DM; Snapchat common among under‑30s; WhatsApp pockets exist among seasonal/guest workers.
• Civic and safety information: County and city offices, schools, and the sheriff’s office rely on Facebook for notices; emergency/wildfire posts see the highest reach and share rates.
• Posting/engagement rhythms: Engagement clusters around early mornings and evenings local time, with noticeable spikes during weather events, wildfire season (mid‑summer to early fall), and major local events.

Key takeaways for reach

• To maximize local reach quickly: Facebook Groups + Page posts for alerts, events, and offers; supplement with Reels for cross‑posting to Instagram.
• To build durable discovery: YouTube tutorials and place‑based outdoor content; Pinterest for evergreen “home/ranch/cabin” topics.
• To reach younger residents and seasonal workers: Instagram Stories/Reels and TikTok, coordinated with Messenger/Snapchat for replies.

Sources and method

• Population/age/sex: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census; ACS age structure for rural Montana.
• Platform adoption rates: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (rural vs. overall) and Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023. Local percentages above are county‑level estimates derived by applying Pew’s rural adoption rates to Madison County’s older age mix and adult population base.