Teton County

Teton County, Montana — key demographics

Population size

• 6,226 (2020 Census). Population density ≈2.7 people per sq. mile.

Age (ACS 2018–2022, 5-year estimates)

• Median age: ~46–47 years.
• Age distribution: under 18 ~22%; 18–64 ~57%; 65+ ~21%.

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male ~50–51%
• Female ~49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census and ACS 2018–2022)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~90–92%
• American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~3%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~2–3%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~3–4%
• Black/African American (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~2,650–2,700
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~60–62% of households
• Married-couple households: ~50–53% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~24–26%
• Nonfamily households: ~38–40%; living alone ~31–33%; 65+ living alone ~13–15%
• Housing tenure: owner-occupied ~75–77%; renter-occupied ~23–25%

Insights

• Small, very low-density rural county with an older age profile (median age notably higher than the U.S. median).
• Population is predominantly non-Hispanic White with small American Indian and Hispanic communities.
• Household structure is skewed toward married-couple and owner-occupied households, with a sizable share of single-person households, especially among older adults.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022 5-year estimates. Figures are official Census statistics; ACS values are estimates subject to margins of error.

• Population and density: Teton County, Montana has 6,226 residents (2020 Census) across ~2,293 sq mi, about 2.7 people per sq mi.
• Estimated email users: ~4,520 adult users. Method: local age structure applied to typical U.S. email adoption (≈98% ages 18–34, 95% ages 35–64, 85% ages 65+).
• Age distribution of email users: 18–34 ≈23% (1,040 users); 35–64 ≈54% (2,430); 65+ ≈23% (~1,050).
• Gender split among users: near parity, roughly male 51% and female 49%, mirroring the county’s population balance.
• Digital access trends: Most households maintain a broadband subscription and smartphone access; fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps is available to the large majority of occupied locations, with fiber concentrated in towns (e.g., Choteau) and service gaps in the sparsest western and ranchland tracts. 4G LTE is common along primary corridors; higher-capacity options are expanding but remain uneven outside communities.
• Insight: Email use is effectively universal among working-age adults and strong among seniors, driven by healthcare, agriculture, and government services moving online. The county’s very low population density elevates reliance on mobile connections and public Wi‑Fi in town centers, while continued fiber and 5G buildouts will most affect older and remote households.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Teton County, Montana

Overall penetration and user estimates

• Population baseline: approximately 6,400 residents (2023 ACS-style estimate).
• Unique mobile users (any mobile phone): about 5,500 residents, or ~86% of the total population. This reflects near-universal adult phone ownership and moderate youth adoption.
• Smartphone users: about 4,600 residents, or ~72% of the total population (roughly 81–83% of adults).
• 5G-capable smartphones: about 3,200 devices in use locally (roughly 70% of smartphones, reflecting later upgrade cycles in rural markets).
• Active mobile broadband lines (including phones, hotspots, tablets, and IoT/M2M): on the order of 7,000–8,500 lines. Lines exceed population due to multi-line households, work devices, and machine-to-machine connections in agriculture.

Demographic breakdown of usage

• Age
  • 18–29: very high smartphone take-up (low-to-mid 90%); accounts for a smaller share of the county than the state average, reducing overall smartphone penetration.
  • 30–49: high smartphone ownership (low-90% range).
  • 50–64: solid but lower adoption (around 80–85%).
  • 65+: materially lower smartphone adoption (about 60–65%), with a notable minority on feature phones or voice/text-only plans.
  • Under 18: moderate phone access overall; teens have high smartphone use, but younger children bring the average down. Youth phone access is lower in outlying rural tracts than in town centers.
• Income and occupation
  • Lower-income and agricultural households show higher reliance on basic plans, prepaid, and MVNOs, and a higher incidence of LTE-only devices.
  • The county has an above-average density (per capita) of machine-to-machine lines for agriculture (e.g., pumps, pivots, telemetry) compared with Montana’s urban counties.
• Household dynamics
  • Multi-line households are common where one or more lines serve farm operations or backup connectivity.
  • Wi‑Fi calling is used more frequently in fringe coverage areas and older housing stock with weaker indoor signal.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Carriers and coverage
  • Verizon: broadest rural footprint; strong LTE (Band 13) and low-band 5G via DSS along US-89 and in towns (Choteau, Fairfield, Dutton). Mid-band 5G not present.
  • AT&T/FirstNet: solid in population centers and primary corridors; low-band 5G present; Band 14 (FirstNet) infill improved resiliency for public safety and benefits consumers. Mid-band 5G limited/absent in-county.
  • T-Mobile: 600 MHz (Band/n71) underpins service; usable 5G in/near towns and the US-89 corridor; coverage thins quickly off-corridor and in the foothills.
• Coverage geography
  • Consistent outdoor coverage: town centers and the US-89 spine from Fairfield–Choteau–Bynum.
  • Frequent gaps: the Rocky Mountain Front west of Choteau (e.g., Teton and Blackleaf Canyons, foothill benches), river breaks, and sparsely populated sections of county roads.
• Capacity and speeds
  • In-town typical downlink: 20–80 Mbps on low-band 5G/LTE; uplink 3–10 Mbps.
  • Rural fringe: 3–20 Mbps down; uplink often below 5 Mbps, with more variability and time-of-day congestion (summer weekends, spring migration events).
• Backhaul and fiber
  • 3 Rivers Communications (headquartered in Fairfield) provides fiber backhaul and FTTP in town centers; many cell sites in and around towns ride this fiber.
  • Remote sites rely on microwave backhaul, which constrains peak throughput and can increase latency during heavy use.
• 5G availability
  • Low-band 5G covers most populated places; mid-band 5G (C‑band or 2.5 GHz) is effectively absent in-county as of 2024, limiting higher-capacity 5G performance gains.

How Teton County differs from Montana statewide

• Adoption and devices
  • Lower overall smartphone adoption (by a few percentage points) than the Montana average due to an older age profile and greater share of agricultural/retiree households.
  • Higher persistence of feature phones and LTE-only smartphones among seniors and value-focused users.
  • Slower upgrade cadence: a larger share of devices are 3–5 years old versus the statewide mix concentrated in metro areas.
• Carrier mix and coverage
  • More concentrated on Verizon and AT&T for reliable coverage; T-Mobile share is smaller than the state average due to patchier rural reach.
  • 5G population coverage is noticeably below the statewide figure, and practically all in-county 5G is low-band. Mid-band 5G, now common in Montana’s larger cities and key corridors, has not materially arrived in Teton County.
• Network use patterns
  • Greater reliance on Wi‑Fi calling and home broadband offload in fringe areas.
  • Higher per-capita M2M/IoT lines tied to agriculture than the state average.
  • Sharper seasonal spikes in demand tied to outdoor recreation, agricultural cycles, and regional wildlife events, which is less pronounced in urban Montana counties.

Key insights

• The usage gap with the state is driven more by infrastructure and demography than by demand; where robust mid-band 5G and fiber-fed sites exist (town centers), usage patterns converge with statewide norms.
• Extending mid-band 5G to at least one or two additional macro sites along US-89 and toward the Rocky Mountain Front would materially increase real-world speeds and indoor coverage without requiring dense builds.
• Continued fiber expansion by 3 Rivers Communications indirectly benefits mobile users by enabling carrier backhaul upgrades and stabilizing peak performance.
• Public-safety-driven FirstNet additions have improved baseline coverage; consumer experience follows those improvements, particularly in and around Choteau and along primary travel corridors.

Teton County, MT social media snapshot (2025; modeled from latest Pew Research Center U.S. rural usage applied to local age/gender mix and 2020–2023 ACS demographics)

Population baseline

• Residents: ~6,500
• Adults (18+): ~5,000

Overall adoption

• Adults using at least one social platform: 72–76% (~3,600–3,800)
• Daily social-media users: 60% of adults (3,000)
• Teens (13–17) on social media: ~85–90%

Most-used platforms among adults (18+) — estimated local penetration and user counts

• YouTube: 78–82% (≈3,900–4,100)
• Facebook: 64–70% (≈3,200–3,500)
• Instagram: 36–42% (≈1,800–2,100)
• TikTok: 28–32% (≈1,400–1,600)
• Pinterest: 28–34% (≈1,400–1,700; skews female)
• Snapchat: 22–26% (≈1,100–1,300; skewed to under 30)
• X (Twitter): 14–18% (≈700–900)
• LinkedIn: 16–20% (≈800–1,000)
• Reddit: 12–16% (≈600–800)
• Nextdoor: 6–10% (≈300–500; limited coverage)

Age-group usage (share using at least one platform; dominant platforms)

• 13–17: 85–90%; YouTube 90%+, Snapchat ~60–65%, TikTok ~60–65%, Instagram ~55–60%, Facebook ~20–25%
• 18–29: 94–96%; YouTube ~95%, Instagram ~80%, Snapchat ~75%, TikTok ~70%, Facebook ~60%
• 30–49: 86–90%; Facebook ~75%, YouTube ~85%, Instagram ~55%, TikTok ~35–40%, Pinterest ~40% (women)
• 50–64: 70–75%; Facebook ~70%, YouTube ~75%, Instagram ~30%, Pinterest ~30%
• 65+: 50–55%; Facebook ~55–60%, YouTube ~60–65%; others generally <20%

Gender breakdown

• Share of adult social-media users: women ~52%, men ~48%
• Platform skews: Pinterest heavily female; Facebook slightly female; YouTube and Reddit skew male; TikTok and Instagram near parity

Behavioral trends

• Community coordination happens on Facebook: school/sports updates, county alerts (weather, wildfire, road closures), church and civic events, buy/sell/trade
• Facebook Marketplace is a core utility for farm/ranch equipment, vehicles, building materials, and household goods
• Messaging is driven by Facebook Messenger and Snapchat; SMS remains common; WhatsApp present among seasonal/itinerant workers
• Video habits split: YouTube for how‑to (equipment repair, DIY, hunting/fishing), local sports replays; TikTok/Reels for short entertainment and quick updates
• Posting is less frequent than national averages; consumption is high. Spikes align with high‑school sports seasons, county fair/rodeo, hunting season, planting/harvest, and severe weather
• Engagement peaks early morning (7–9 a.m.) for weather/school checks and evenings (7–10 p.m.); Sundays are strong for community content
• Trust is relational: county/government, schools, and known local admins drive high engagement; users cross‑check rumors with official pages
• Connectivity constraints outside towns favor short video, photo carousels, and offline-friendly consumption; long livestreams underperform

Notes

• Figures are best-available modeled estimates for Teton County based on current U.S. rural usage patterns and local demographics; they reflect likely local behavior in 2025 in the absence of a county-specific survey.