Prairie County

Prairie County, Montana — key demographics

Population size

• 1,088 (2020 Decennial Census)

Age profile (ACS 2018–2022 5-year estimates)

• Median age: ~50 years (older than the U.S. overall)
• Under 18: ~20–22%
• 65 and over: ~30–33% Insight: Skews significantly older, with about 1 in 3 residents 65+

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Female: ~49%
• Male: ~51%

Race and ethnicity (2020 Census unless noted)

• White alone: ~95%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~2%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1–2% Insight: Predominantly non-Hispanic White with a small Native presence

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~520–550
• Persons per household: ~2.0–2.1
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–80%
• Families with children under 18: ~1 in 5 households Insight: Small households and high homeownership typical of rural counties

Notes: Figures outside the 2020 headcount are ACS estimates and subject to higher margins of error due to the county’s very small population. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Decennial Census 2020; ACS 2018–2022).

• Scope: Prairie County, Montana (2020 Census population 1,088; land area ≈1,737 sq mi; density ≈0.6 persons/sq mi).
• Estimated email users: 740–820 adults (≈68–75% of all residents; ≈80–88% of adults), reflecting high email adoption among online adults tempered by rural connectivity.
• Age distribution of email users (share of users):
  • 18–34: ≈18–22% (near‑universal use among connected younger adults).
  • 35–64: ≈48–54% (broad workforce adoption).
  • 65+: ≈28–34% (lower but substantial use among seniors).
• Gender split:
  • Residents are roughly 52% male / 48% female; email usage skews near parity (≈50/50) with minor variation by age.
• Digital access trends:
  • Household internet adoption is moderate for rural Montana; expect roughly 75–80% of households with any internet, with a growing share that is smartphone‑only and fixed‑wireless.
  • Fixed broadband is most reliable in and around Terry; coverage and speeds drop in outlying ranchlands where satellite and fixed‑wireless fill gaps.
  • Gradual improvement since 2019 from new fixed‑wireless nodes and fiber backhaul along major corridors, yet affordability and distance from infrastructure still limit take‑up in sparsely populated areas.
• Local connectivity facts: Extremely low population density (<1 per sq mi) and long loop distances reduce provider competition and raise deployment costs, leading to pockets of limited or no wired service.

Prairie County, Montana: mobile phone usage snapshot and how it differs from statewide patterns

Context

• Population baseline: roughly 1.1k residents and about 500–600 households, concentrated in and around Terry, with very low population density and large rangeland between settlements. The I‑94 corridor bisects the county and is the dominant mobility and coverage spine.

User estimates (best-available modeled figures as of 2023–2024)

• Individuals using a smartphone: about 650–750 residents (roughly 60–70% of residents; ≈70–80% of adults).
• Individuals using a basic/feature phone (non‑smartphone): about 120–170 residents (≈10–15% of residents; higher share among seniors).
• Residents with no mobile phone: about 120–220 residents (≈10–20%), reflecting an older age profile and patchier service off the highway.
• Households with at least one smartphone: roughly 75–85% of households.
• Households that rely primarily on cellular data for home internet (phone hotspot or mobile broadband router): approximately 25–35% of households, markedly higher than Montana overall. Notes on method: Estimates align county population/household counts with recent ACS Computer and Internet Use patterns for rural counties and FCC coverage patterns; figures are rounded to reflect small‑population uncertainty.

Demographic breakdown shaping usage

• Age: A materially older age structure than Montana overall drives a lower smartphone share among seniors (roughly 55–70% smartphone use among 65+, versus 85–95% among working‑age adults). This widens the county’s smartphone gap versus the state.
• Income and occupation: Higher shares of agricultural and resource workers correlate with more basic/feature‑phone retention, multi‑line family plans concentrated in town, and device longevity (slower upgrade cycles).
• Household composition: More single‑adult and senior‑only households raise the proportion without any mobile service or relying on a single shared handset.
• Race/ethnicity: The county is predominantly non‑Hispanic White, with a comparatively small Native population; differences in adoption by race are therefore not the main driver here (age, dispersion, and infrastructure are).

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Network footprint
  • 4G LTE: Continuous along I‑94 and in Terry; service becomes sparse on section roads and in coulees away from the interstate and town centers.
  • 5G: Present primarily on/near I‑94 and in town; limited land‑area coverage off‑corridor. Population coverage meaningfully exceeds land coverage because residents cluster near the highway and in town.
  • Dead zones: Persistent in low‑lying rangeland and far from towers; outages during severe weather still reported anecdotally.
• Carriers and performance
  • Verizon and AT&T offer the most dependable highway/town coverage; T‑Mobile coverage is more variable off the corridor.
  • Typical user experience: LTE is the default outside the immediate highway/town footprint; 5G is opportunistic rather than ubiquitous for most daily travel. Indoor service quality can drop in metal‑clad or low‑cellular‑signal structures common on ranch properties.
• Backhaul and tower siting
  • Macro sites cluster along I‑94 and at community nodes (e.g., Terry). Long inter‑site distances and challenging terrain explain patchy coverage away from the corridor.
• Wireline alternatives and interplay with mobile
  • Mid‑Rivers and other rural providers have extended fiber and high‑quality DSL in and around town; beyond those footprints, fixed options thin out quickly, pushing more households to cellular‑only access.
  • Where fiber is available, households show strong take‑up; where it is not, cellular hotspots are a primary workaround.

How Prairie County’s trends differ from Montana overall

• Lower smartphone penetration: County adult smartphone adoption is several points below the statewide average because of an older population and sparser coverage off the highway. Expect a gap on the order of 7–12 percentage points versus Montana’s more urbanized counties.
• Higher cellular‑only reliance: A substantially larger share of households depends primarily on cellular data for home connectivity (roughly 10–15 points higher than the state), reflecting limited fixed broadband off‑grid.
• More basic‑phone retention: Feature‑phone use remains noticeably higher than the state average, concentrated among seniors and agricultural workers.
• Spottier 5G availability: 5G is largely a corridor/town feature in Prairie County, whereas Montana’s larger cities now have broader 5G footprints, improving indoor coverage and speeds that the county does not yet match.
• Lower multi‑device density: Fewer residents carry multiple cellular devices or data‑only lines compared with urban Montana, keeping total SIMs per capita lower than the state average.

Actionable implications

• Public safety and health outreach benefit from solutions that do not assume ubiquitous 5G or indoor LTE (e.g., deploy signal‑boosting, Wi‑Fi calling enablement, and SMS‑first communications).
• Infrastructure ROI is highest by adding/modernizing sites just off the I‑94 spine to fill dead zones on feeder roads and by extending fiber backhaul to existing sites to lift capacity.
• Digital inclusion should target seniors with smartphone onboarding, subsidized devices, and reliable in‑home signal solutions where wireline is unavailable.

These figures synthesize recent federal datasets and rural‑county patterns. They highlight a clear gap between corridor/town coverage and the ranchland hinterland, a higher reliance on cellular in lieu of fixed broadband, and an age‑driven adoption profile that together set Prairie County apart from Montana’s statewide averages.

Prairie County, MT — Social media usage snapshot (modeled 2025 estimates, adults 18+)

Overall usage

• Social platform penetration: 70–78% of adults use at least one social platform; 60–65% are daily users
• Typical device: smartphone-first; desktop use mainly for YouTube and Facebook Marketplace
• Multi-platform behavior: about half of users engage on 2+ platforms

Most-used platforms (share of adults; locally adjusted from Pew Research Center 2024 by the county’s older, rural profile)

• YouTube: 74–80%
• Facebook: 64–70%
• Pinterest: 30–36%
• Instagram: 24–34%
• TikTok: 18–26%
• Snapchat: 14–20%
• X (Twitter): 12–20%
• Reddit: 8–15%
• WhatsApp: 10–16%

Age profile of active users (share of local social media users)

• 18–29: 16–20% (heavy Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok; still high YouTube)
• 30–49: 30–35% (Facebook + YouTube core; Instagram secondary; Marketplace frequent)
• 50–64: 26–30% (Facebook + YouTube dominant; Pinterest notable)
• 65+: 20–26% (Facebook + YouTube; some Pinterest; limited use of TikTok/Instagram)

Gender breakdown (skews among local users; aligns with national patterns)

• Facebook: 52–56% female
• Instagram: 56–62% female
• Pinterest: 70–80% female
• Snapchat: 60–65% female
• TikTok: 55–60% female
• YouTube: roughly balanced (often slight male tilt)
• X (Twitter): 55–60% male
• Reddit: 65–75% male

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: high engagement with local groups (county updates, school sports, events), buy/sell, obituaries, and civic info; sharing/commenting outweighs original posting among 50+
• YouTube is “how-to” and hobby-driven: strong use for agriculture/ranching, equipment repair, gardening, hunting/fishing, church services, and local-history content
• Marketplace-first commerce: Facebook Marketplace is the default for local classifieds, used equipment, livestock, vehicles, and seasonal items
• Messaging over posting: Messenger/SMS for coordination; Snapchat for teens/young adults; WhatsApp niche for family ties outside the county
• Short-form video consumption > creation: Reels/TikTok widely watched; a small number of local creators; discovery via Facebook shares and YouTube recommendations
• Event-driven spikes: activity peaks around school sports, fairs, auctions, hunting season, weather events, and road conditions
• Trust and verification: preference for information from known local pages/people; skepticism toward national news accounts; active peer moderation in local groups
• Time-of-day usage: early mornings and evenings are most active; midday checks during lunch/chores

Notes and sources

• Figures are modeled for Prairie County’s older, rural profile using Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use in 2024 platform-by-age benchmarks and rural-adjustment deltas, combined with ACS-style age structure typical of eastern Montana counties. Expect platform reach to be slightly below national averages for Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok/Reddit and close to national for Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest.
• Key references: Pew Research Center (2024) “Social Media Use”; Pew platform adoption by age and gender; NTIA Internet Use (rural vs. urban differentials); U.S. Census/ACS for regional age structure.