Park County

Park County, Montana — key demographics

Population

• Total population: ~18,100 (ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate)
• 2020 Census: 17,191

Age

• Median age: ~45 years
• Under 18: ~19%
• 18 to 64: ~59%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (ACS, race alone unless noted; Hispanic can be any race)

• White: ~94%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~1–2%
• Black: ~0.3%
• Asian: ~0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~4–5%

Households and housing

• Total households: ~7,900–8,100
• Average household size: ~2.2
• Family households: ~54% of households; married-couple families ~41%
• Nonfamily households: ~46%; living alone ~38%; age 65+ living alone ~14%
• Housing tenure: owner-occupied ~69%; renter-occupied ~31%

Notes

• Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 5-year estimates. These are the most reliable small-area estimates and may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

• Scope: Park County, Montana (2020 Census population 17,191; land area ~2,803 sq mi; density ~6.1 people/sq mi).
• Estimated email users: ≈13,000 adults (about 75% of total residents), derived from U.S. adult email adoption in the low‑to‑mid 90% range.
• Age distribution of email users (est.):
  • 18–34: ≈3,700
  • 35–54: ≈4,400
  • 55–64: ≈2,000
  • 65+: ≈2,900 (lower adoption than younger cohorts but still high)
• Gender split: Email usage is effectively even by gender (≈50/50) given minimal national gender gaps.
• Digital access trends and local connectivity:
  • Access is concentrated in Livingston and the I‑90 corridor (cable/fiber); outlying valleys and ranchlands rely on DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite.
  • Mobile coverage is strongest along I‑90 and US‑89; mountainous terrain creates dead zones in Paradise Valley and Absaroka–Beartooth foothills.
  • Household internet subscription rates in rural Montana are typically in the low‑to‑mid 80% range; Park County aligns, with speeds dropping outside towns.
  • Public access via libraries/schools helps bridge gaps; summer tourism increases mobile network load near Yellowstone. Insights: Email penetration is mature and near‑universal among working‑age residents; connectivity constraints are location‑driven rather than demand‑driven.

Mobile phone usage in Park County, Montana — 2024 snapshot

Executive summary

• Resident mobile adoption is high but a notch below Montana’s statewide average due to an older age profile and mountainous terrain that creates persistent coverage gaps outside the I‑90/US‑89 corridors.
• Seasonal tourism materially changes network load, with summertime peaks in Livingston, Paradise Valley, and Gardiner far above resident demand, a pattern more pronounced than in most Montana counties.

User estimates (resident base ~18,000)

• Any mobile phone (resident users): about 15,000–16,000.
• Smartphone users (resident): about 13,000–14,000.
• Feature-phone–only users: roughly 1,500–2,000.
• Residents without a mobile phone: roughly 2,000–3,000.
• Seasonal effect: daily population in peak summer typically surges by several thousand, pushing concurrent mobile users 15–30% above the resident baseline in Livingston–Gardiner. This produces recurring capacity constraints at popular nodes (I‑90 exits, US‑89 corridor, trailheads, lodging clusters).

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age:
  • Park County skews older than the Montana average, which lowers smartphone penetration by an estimated 2–4 percentage points versus statewide.
  • Seniors (65+): expect smartphone adoption in the high‑70s to low‑80s percent range; feature‑phone and no‑phone rates are higher than the state average.
  • Teens (13–17): smartphone adoption is near universal (≈90%+), similar to statewide.
• Income and work patterns:
  • Mixed-income tourism and service economy increases the share of smartphone‑only internet users compared with Montana overall in areas with limited fixed broadband, especially south of Livingston.
  • In‑migration of remote workers in Paradise Valley drives higher‑end device ownership and multi‑line households near fiber-fed corridors.
• Household behavior:
  • Multi-carrier households are more common than statewide in rural tracts to hedge against carrier-specific dead zones.
  • Prepaid lines see an uptick during tourism season among temporary workers, then drop back in the shoulder season.

Digital infrastructure snapshot

• Coverage geography:
  • Strongest, most continuous coverage along I‑90 through Livingston and on US‑89 to Emigrant; coverage becomes patchy farther south toward Gardiner and in side valleys (e.g., East River Road) due to terrain shadowing.
  • Large no‑service areas persist in backcountry and wilderness; this gap is wider than the Montana average because Park County’s inhabited areas are tightly clustered with steep surrounding topography.
• 5G availability and performance:
  • Low‑band 5G from major carriers is present along I‑90 and parts of US‑89; outside those corridors, LTE remains the fallback. Mid‑band 5G capacity is limited and localized.
  • Typical observed speeds: 5G low‑band roughly 50–200 Mbps along I‑90 in/near Livingston; LTE in valleys often 2–25 Mbps, with frequent sub‑5 Mbps pockets.
• Carriers and resilience:
  • Verizon generally offers the broadest rural footprint; AT&T and T‑Mobile have improved materially on the main corridors but remain inconsistent in valleys and canyons.
  • Backhaul is a mix of fiber along I‑90 and microwave in outlying sites, which can bottleneck peak-season performance. Power outages from winter storms and wildfire events periodically knock sites offline; battery backup coverage is uneven outside town centers.
• Public safety and tourism nodes:
  • Gateway areas (Gardiner, Yellowstone approaches) have added capacity compared with five years ago, but event days and summer evenings still trigger congestion. Public-safety coverage via FirstNet is strongest along primary corridors, with gaps off-corridor.

How Park County differs from Montana overall

• Adoption: Slightly lower resident smartphone penetration than statewide because of an older population; higher share of feature‑phone and no‑phone users among seniors.
• Seasonality: Larger seasonal swing in active users and traffic than most MT counties due to national-park tourism, producing recurring, location-specific congestion.
• Coverage gaps: Terrain-driven dead zones are more prevalent than the statewide pattern; reliable service is highly corridor-dependent.
• 5G footprint: More constrained off-corridor 5G than statewide averages; mid‑band capacity is scarce outside Livingston.
• Behavior: Above-average rates of multi‑carrier households and smartphone‑only internet use in rural tracts where fixed broadband is limited.

Method notes

• Counts are derived by applying current U.S./rural smartphone adoption benchmarks to Park County’s resident population and age structure, then adjusted for rural Montana usage patterns and the county’s tourism profile. Ranges are provided where local microdata are limited.

Social media in Park County, MT — concise snapshot (modeled local estimates)

Population context

• Residents: roughly 18,000; adults are about three-quarters of the population.
• Adult social media adoption: 78–82% of adults use at least one platform; that equates to approximately 11,000–12,000 adult users. About 65–70% of users check daily, with ~45% checking multiple times per day.

Age group usage (share using any social platform)

• 13–17: ~95%
• 18–29: ~95%
• 30–49: ~85–90%
• 50–64: ~70–75%
• 65+: ~50–60%

Gender breakdown

• Users are roughly balanced overall (≈50/50). Women skew higher on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest; men skew higher on YouTube, Reddit, and X (Twitter). Expect a 5–10 percentage-point tilt by platform in those directions.

Most-used platforms among adults in Park County (percent of adults)

• YouTube: ~80%
• Facebook: ~66%
• Instagram: ~41%
• Pinterest: ~32%
• TikTok: ~28%
• Snapchat: ~22%
• LinkedIn: ~20%
• WhatsApp: ~18%
• X (Twitter): ~17%
• Reddit: ~16%
• Nextdoor: ~10%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community backbone: local news, school sports, wildfire/road/weather updates, buy/sell groups, and event organizing. Engagement peaks early morning (7–9 a.m.) and evenings (7–10 p.m.), with spikes during storms and fire events.
• Instagram is visual and tourism-driven: landscape photography, reels of Yellowstone/Paradise Valley, dining and lodging highlights. Activity climbs May–September; stories are key for day-of promos.
• YouTube consumption is high for how‑to content (home/land, hunting/fishing, gear), trail reports, and local creators; lean-back evening viewing on TV devices is common.
• TikTok/Snapchat concentrate in under‑30s: short outdoor clips, seasonal jobs, hospitality behind-the-scenes, and event coordination.
• Marketplace behavior is strong and seasonal: vehicles, outdoor gear, rentals; Facebook Marketplace is the default.
• Messaging patterns: Facebook Messenger dominates; WhatsApp use is modest and centered on hospitality/tourism workers and multi-national teams.
• Information trust flows through known local pages/groups; outsider ads without local relevance perform poorly. Practical, community-first content outperforms overt sales.
• Multi-platform presence: most adults pair Facebook with one secondary platform (YouTube or Instagram); under‑30s maintain 3–4 platforms.

Notes on methodology

• Figures are modeled from Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. social media benchmarks and adjusted for Park County’s older-leaning age profile and rural usage patterns (ACS age structure). Treat as planning-grade estimates rather than results of a county-specific survey.