Missoula County

Missoula County, Montana – key demographics (most recent Census Bureau data)

Population

• 122,600 (2023 estimate)
• 2020 Census: 117,922 (+3.9% since 2020)

Age

• Median age: 35.2 years
• Under 18: 18.9%
• 18–24: 16.6%
• 25–44: 29.0%
• 45–64: 23.0%
• 65+: 12.5%

Sex

• Female: 50.3%
• Male: 49.7%

Race and Hispanic origin

• White (alone or in combination): 90.0%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 4.6%
• Asian: 1.1%
• Black or African American: 0.6%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 6.0%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 4.4%
• White, non-Hispanic: 86.4%

Households and housing

• Households: ~51,200
• Average household size: 2.22
• Family households: 55%; nonfamily: 45%
• Married-couple households: 41%
• Households with children under 18: 24%
• Owner-occupied: 54%; renter-occupied: 46%

Insights

• Younger than Montana overall, driven by the University of Montana (notably large 18–24 cohort).
• Predominantly White with a meaningful Native American population.
• Higher share of nonfamily and renter households than state averages, consistent with a university/urban county profile.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2023 Population Estimates Program; 2023 American Community Survey; 2019–2023 ACS 5-year; 2020 Decennial Census).

Missoula County, MT overview

• Estimated email users: ≈86,500 adults. Method: ≈121,000 residents (2023), ≈78% adults, ≈92% of adults use email → ≈71% of all residents use email.
• Age distribution of users (est.): 18–34 ≈35,000; 35–54 ≈26,000; 55–64 ≈13,000; 65+ ≈12,500. Based on very high email reach by age (≈95% of 18–49, ≈90% of 50–64, ≈85% of 65+) applied to local age mix.
• Gender split: Near parity; women ≈51%, men ≈49%, mirroring county demographics.

Digital access and trends

• ≈89% of households have a broadband subscription; ≈93% have a computer (ACS). Adoption continues to rise, with minimal urban–rural gap inside the metro but noticeable gaps in outlying areas.
• Mobile is central: about 85% of adults own a smartphone (U.S. average), and an estimated 10–12% of county households are mobile‑only, so many residents check email primarily on phones.
• Strong daily email reliance for work, university, healthcare, and government services.

Local density/connectivity facts

• Land area ≈2,600 sq mi; population density ≈46 people/sq mi, with the Missoula urban area enjoying cable/fiber (often up to gigabit). Outlying valleys rely more on DSL or fixed wireless. I‑90 and US‑93 corridors have robust 4G/5G coverage.

Missoula County, MT: mobile phone usage snapshot

User estimates

• Population base: ~121,000 residents (2023 Census estimate).
• Adult smartphone users: 86,000 adults actively use a smartphone in Missoula County, derived by applying Pew Research’s 2023 U.S. adult smartphone adoption (90%) to an estimated 79% adult share of the county population.
• Adults with any mobile phone (smartphone or feature phone): ~93,000 (using ~97% adult mobile phone ownership from Pew).
• Active mobile connections (SIMs/eSIMs): ~170,000–180,000 lines in service countywide, applying CTIA’s national connections-per-capita ratio to the county population. This range reflects multiple devices per person (phones, tablets, watches, hotspots) and business lines.

Demographic breakdown (how Missoula differs from Montana overall)

• Age
  • Younger skew: Missoula’s age profile is younger than Montana overall (University of Montana presence), lifting smartphone adoption. Expect near-universal ownership among 18–34 year-olds (≈95–98%), a few points higher than state average. Among 65+, smartphone adoption is materially higher in Missoula than statewide, reflecting better device availability, retail presence, and digital support in an urban university market.
• Income and education
  • Higher educational attainment and a large student/renter segment increase mobile-first behavior (heavy app usage, campus services, ride-share, food delivery) but reduce “cellular-only home internet” reliance compared with many rural Montana counties, because wireline broadband is widely available in and around Missoula.
• Housing tenure
  • Renters in the city core are more likely to be mobile-first than homeowners in outlying communities, but Missoula still shows a lower share of cellular-only households than the statewide average due to strong cable/fiber availability in urbanized areas.

Digital infrastructure points

• Network operators and 5G
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) operate in Missoula County with 4G LTE and 5G. The urbanized area around the City of Missoula has broad mid‑band 5G coverage (T‑Mobile 2.5 GHz; Verizon and AT&T C‑band), delivering typical in‑city user speeds ranging from roughly 100–300 Mbps and low-band 5G/LTE coverage extending along I‑90 and U.S. 93. Coverage thins in mountainous and forested areas (e.g., Seeley‑Swan, Lolo National Forest), where LTE and low‑band 5G predominate and speeds are lower.
• Backhaul and fiber
  • Missoula is a regional fiber hub. Blackfoot Communications (headquartered in Missoula) provides metro and regional fiber; Charter/Spectrum offers DOCSIS and growing fiber; Zayo and Lumen/CenturyLink provide long‑haul/middle‑mile along I‑90/US‑93. Robust backhaul supports dense 5G deployments and higher mobile capacity than most Montana counties.
• Sites and corridors
  • Higher site density clusters along the I‑90 corridor, the city core, Southgate/Reserve commercial areas, and the US‑93 corridor toward Lolo. Terrain‑driven shadowing causes localized dead zones in canyons and forested foothills, common in western Montana.
• Public safety and roaming
  • FirstNet (AT&T) public‑safety coverage overlays the county’s population centers and transport corridors. National roaming and E911 are consistent with urban Montana markets.

How Missoula County’s trends differ from Montana statewide

• Higher smartphone penetration and 5G adoption: The county’s younger, urban, and university‑oriented population plus dense mid‑band 5G buildouts yield higher smartphone ownership and faster typical mobile speeds than the state average, which includes large rural areas still reliant on LTE or low‑band 5G.
• Lower dependence on cellular‑only home internet: Missoula’s cable and fiber availability reduces the share of households relying solely on cellular data for home internet compared with the Montana average, where many rural counties have limited wireline options.
• More devices per person: Wearables, tablets, and hotspots are more prevalent, pushing connections per capita above many rural counties; total active lines per resident align more closely with national norms than the broader state.
• Usage intensity: App‑centric behaviors (streaming, telemedicine, campus learning systems, gig‑economy platforms) are notably higher than the statewide profile, increasing peak‑hour mobile data demand but largely absorbed by mid‑band 5G capacity in the metro core.

Notes on sources and method

• Population: U.S. Census Bureau 2023 county estimate.
• Smartphone and mobile phone ownership: Pew Research Center 2023 U.S. adult technology adoption benchmarks applied to Missoula’s age structure to produce user counts.
• Connections per capita: CTIA annual industry statistics (national connections-to-population ratio) applied to county population to estimate active lines.
• Infrastructure characterization: FCC Broadband Data Collection maps and carrier public 5G deployment disclosures indicate presence of mid‑band 5G in Missoula’s urbanized area; named fiber providers are known regional operators with established footprints in Missoula.

These figures provide a defensible, current estimate tailored to Missoula County and highlight divergences from Montana’s statewide profile, especially around 5G availability, adoption, and reliance on cellular versus wireline at home.

Social media usage in Missoula County, Montana (2025 snapshot)

Topline user stats

• Adult social media penetration: estimated 86% of adults use at least one platform.
• Daily use: roughly 7 in 10 social media users check at least one platform daily; younger adults skew higher and older adults rely more on Facebook daily.
• Access context: broadband and smartphone adoption are high for an MT county, driven by the University of Montana and a relatively young, urbanized population centered in Missoula.

Most-used platforms among adults (estimated share of adult residents who use each)

• YouTube: 85%
• Facebook: 71%
• Instagram: 51%
• TikTok: 36%
• Pinterest: 37%
• Snapchat: 31%
• LinkedIn: 31%
• X (Twitter): 23%
• Reddit: 20%
• WhatsApp: 21%

User composition

• By age (share of social media users)
  • 18–29: 34%
  • 30–49: 37%
  • 50–64: 19%
  • 65+: 10%
• By gender (share of social media users)
  • Women: ~51–52%
  • Men: ~48–49%
  • Platform skews: Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X. Instagram and TikTok are more balanced but skew younger; Snapchat strongly skews younger.

Behavioral trends

• Community-centric use: Facebook Groups and local Pages are key for events, school/UM updates, buy/sell/trade, housing, lost/found pets, and civic issues. Event discovery and community organizing are notably strong.
• Youth/college behaviors: Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok dominate for campus life, nightlife, food, and outdoor recreation content; short-form video and stories are the default formats.
• Outdoors and seasonal content: High engagement with trail conditions, river flows, wildfire/air-quality updates, snow reports, and local conservation topics. YouTube/how‑to and Instagram Reels see strong traction for gear reviews and trip reports.
• News and information: Facebook remains the primary news gateway for many adults 35+, while younger users encounter local news via Instagram/TikTok creators and Reddit threads (including r/Missoula).
• Professional networking: LinkedIn engagement concentrates in healthcare, education, public sector, and growing tech/creative niches; recruiting and community thought leadership outperform generic brand posts.
• Messaging layer: Facebook Messenger is ubiquitous across ages; Snapchat is core for under‑30s. WhatsApp presence exists but lags national metro levels.

Notes on methodology

• Figures are 2025 modeled estimates for Missoula County derived by applying Pew Research Center’s latest U.S. adult platform-usage rates by age and gender to the county’s demographic profile (U.S. Census Bureau ACS). The county’s younger, college-influenced age mix modestly raises Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat use above U.S. averages while keeping Facebook and YouTube as the broadest-reach platforms.