Butler County

Here’s a concise demographic profile of Butler County, Nebraska.

Population

• Total: 8,369 (2020 Census); ~8,250 (2023 estimate, Census Bureau)

Age

• Median age: ~45 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 18–64: ~57%
• 65 and over: ~21%

Sex

• Male: ~50%
• Female: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (ACS, approximations)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~89–90%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~7%
• Two or more races: ~2%
• Black or African American: ~0.3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.4%
• Asian: ~0.3%

Households

• Total households: ~3,300
• Average household size: ~2.45
• Family households: ~64% (married-couple ~52%)
• With children under 18: ~26%
• Householder living alone: ~28% (65+ living alone: ~14%)

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2018–2022 5-year estimates; Population Estimates Program (2023).

Here’s a grounded estimate for Butler County, NE:

• Population: ~8.3–8.6k; land area ~600 sq mi → ~14 people/sq mi (very rural).
• Estimated email users: ~5.2–5.8k residents (driven by 80–85% of adults using email; teens lower).
• Age profile and email use (share of population → est. adoption):
  • 13–17: ~6–7% → 55–70% use email.
  • 18–34: ~20–22% → 92–96%.
  • 35–64: ~45–47% → 85–92%.
  • 65+: ~24–27% → 65–78%.
• Gender split: roughly even; email usage gap small (<2 percentage points), with women slightly higher.
• Digital access trends:
  • Household broadband subscription: roughly 70–80% (below urban Nebraska).
  • Smartphone ownership ~80–85%; 10–15% are smartphone‑only internet users—many access email primarily via mobile.
  • Connectivity concentrates in towns (e.g., David City); outside town limits, more reliance on DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite; fiber is expanding but limited.
  • Mobile coverage from major carriers is common along highways/communities, spottier on farmsteads.
• Overall: Email penetration is high among working‑age adults, growing among seniors, and constrained mainly by rural broadband gaps rather than interest or skills.

Estimates synthesized from U.S. Census/ACS rural Nebraska patterns, Pew internet adoption, and FCC broadband availability trends.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Butler County, Nebraska (focus on differences vs statewide)

Headline estimate (residents and users)

• Population baseline: ~8,200 residents; ~6,300 adults (18+). Small, older, and rural compared with Nebraska overall.
• Adults with any mobile phone: ~5,800–6,000 (92–95% of adults). Slightly below the state’s very high ownership rates due to age and rural factors.
• Adults with smartphones: ~4,900–5,300 (78–85% of adults). This is a few points lower than Nebraska’s statewide smartphone penetration (generally mid- to high-80s), primarily because of a larger senior share and more coverage gaps.
• Total smartphone users including teens: roughly 5,400–6,000 people. Method uses adult ownership plus an estimated majority of teens with phones.

Demographic patterns that shape usage

• Age: Seniors form a larger share of the county than the state average, and their smartphone adoption is notably lower. Expect more basic/feature-phone use and lower uptake of app-based services among residents 65+ than statewide.
• Income and plan type: Median household income trails the state average; prepaid and budget plans are more common than in urban Nebraska counties. Device upgrade cycles tend to be longer.
• Education and device reliance: A somewhat higher share of households rely primarily on mobile data for home internet (cellular-only) compared with the Nebraska average. This is tied to patchy or expensive fixed broadband outside David City.
• Race/ethnicity: The county is predominantly non-Hispanic White, with a small but meaningful Hispanic population centered around David City. Hispanic households nationally show strong smartphone reliance; locally that likely translates to higher mobile-first use among these households than among older White households.

Digital infrastructure snapshot

• Coverage: 4G LTE is widespread in towns and along main corridors (e.g., NE-15), with weaker indoor coverage and occasional dead zones in low-lying and sparsely populated farm sections. 5G is present intermittently around town centers; coverage thins quickly in the countryside. Overall, 5G availability is spottier than Nebraska’s urban corridors and interstates.
• Speeds: Median mobile download speeds are typically lower than the statewide median. In-town tests often hit acceptable LTE/5G rates, but many outlying areas fall to low double-digit Mbps or less, with higher latency—enough for messaging/voice, but inconsistent for HD video or telehealth.
• Tower density and backhaul: Fewer macro sites per square mile than the state average; inter-site distances are larger. Most sites have fiber or high-capacity microwave backhaul near towns; outside those areas, capacity constraints are more evident at peak times.
• Carriers and tech mix: All three national carriers provide service; Verizon and AT&T generally deliver steadier rural LTE coverage, while T-Mobile often leads 5G availability in town. Wi‑Fi calling is frequently used to overcome weak indoor signal in metal/ag buildings.
• Fixed broadband interplay: David City and a few communities have cable or fiber; outside them, DSL and fixed wireless are common. Where fixed options are limited, households lean more on mobile hotspots and cellular-only internet than the Nebraska average.
• Affordability: The sunset of the Affordable Connectivity Program has increased cost pressure on low-income subscribers; some households in Butler County are shifting to prepaid or reducing data tiers, which may further widen the usage gap with urban Nebraska.

How Butler County differs most from the Nebraska state picture

• Slightly lower smartphone ownership and a higher share of basic phone users, driven by older demographics and rural coverage constraints.
• Higher reliance on mobile-only internet for the home, especially outside David City, versus the state’s heavier fixed broadband usage.
• Spottier 5G and lower median mobile speeds than statewide urban averages; more day-to-day dependence on LTE.
• Greater prevalence of prepaid/budget plans and longer device replacement cycles.
• Usage patterns skew more to voice/SMS and practical apps (banking, weather, ag/logistics) and less to high-bandwidth streaming than in Nebraska’s metro counties.

Notes on method and sources

• Estimates synthesize: U.S. Census/ACS population and device-access patterns for rural counties, Pew Research Center smartphone ownership by age/rurality, and FCC/mobile carrier coverage data as of 2024. County-level figures are presented as ranges to reflect small-population sampling error and infrastructure variability block by block.

Social media snapshot: Butler County, Nebraska (estimates)

Context

• Population: ~8.3k residents; ~6.4–6.7k adults. Older-than-average age profile for Nebraska/rural U.S., which tilts usage toward Facebook and away from newer apps.

Overall adoption

• Estimated 65–75% of adults use at least one social platform (roughly 4.2k–4.9k people). Lower than urban areas due to age mix and patchy broadband, but still mainstream.

Most‑used platforms (adult reach, local estimates)

• Facebook: 60–70% (highest daily use; Groups and Marketplace are core)
• YouTube: 70–80% (how‑to, ag, home/auto repair, hunting/fishing, local sports)
• Instagram: 25–40% (strongest among 18–39; Reels growth)
• TikTok: 20–35% (younger skew; local short‑form video rising)
• Snapchat: 20–35% of adults; 60–80% of teens/young adults
• Pinterest: 20–30% overall; 35–45% of women
• X (Twitter): 8–15% (niche: sports, news watchers)
• LinkedIn: 8–15% (smaller professional base)
• WhatsApp: 5–12% (family/intl ties); Nextdoor: <5% (limited local footprint)

Age patterns (localized from national Pew data)

• Teens (13–17): Near‑universal YouTube; 60–70% Snapchat; 55–65% TikTok; 55–65% Instagram; Facebook low.
• 18–29: YouTube ~90%+; Instagram ~70–80%; Snapchat ~60–70%; TikTok ~55–65%; Facebook ~50–60%.
• 30–49: Facebook 70–80%; YouTube 85–90%; Instagram 40–55%; TikTok 30–40%.
• 50–64: Facebook 70–75%; YouTube 75–85%; Instagram 20–30%; TikTok 15–25%.
• 65+: Facebook 55–65%; YouTube 55–65%; Instagram 10–20%; TikTok 8–15%.

Gender tendencies

• Women: Over‑index on Facebook (Groups, Marketplace) and Pinterest; strong engagement with Instagram Stories/Reels.
• Men: Over‑index on YouTube (DIY, ag/mechanic, outdoors), small niches on Reddit/X; Facebook for local info.

Behavioral trends to know

• Community first: High reliance on Facebook Groups for school and youth sports updates, church/charity events, county fair, garage sales, obituaries, and weather alerts. Local radio/newspaper content is often cross‑posted to Facebook.
• Private by default: Many interactions happen in closed Groups, Messenger, and Snapchat rather than public feeds.
• Marketplace is big: Buy/sell for farm/ranch gear, vehicles, tools, furniture; high response to clear photos, prices, and local pickup.
• Video that teaches or features locals wins: Short, captioned how‑tos, fieldwork/harvest clips, small‑business behind‑the‑scenes, athlete highlights, and recap reels of local events.
• Timing: Engagement peaks early morning (6–8am), lunch (12–1pm), and evenings (7–9pm). Sunday evenings and weather events spike usage.
• Access realities: Some pockets have weaker broadband; shorter videos and compressed images perform better. Usage dips during planting/harvest daytime; scroll time rises after dusk.

How these numbers were derived

• County demographics from U.S. Census; platform shares extrapolated from Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 U.S. social media adoption by age/gender, adjusted for Butler County’s older/rural profile. For precise local counts, check:
  • Sizes of key Facebook Groups/Pages (schools, county, city, churches, buy‑sell groups).
  • Meta Ads Manager audience estimates filtered to Butler County.
  • YouTube/Google Ads reach estimates and local channel subscriber counts.

Sources

• Pew Research Center: Social Media Use in 2024; Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023.
• U.S. Census Bureau: QuickFacts, Butler County, Nebraska (population/age mix).