Perkins County

Perkins County, Nebraska — Key Demographics

Population

• Total population: ~2,940 (2023 Census estimate)
• Population density: ~3.6 per sq. mile

Age

• Median age: ~45 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 18–64: ~55%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Gender

• Female: ~49–50%
• Male: ~50–51%

Race and Ethnicity

• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~89%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~7–8%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): <1%
• Black (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%

Households

• Total households: ~1,230
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~65% (married-couple families ~54%)
• Households with children under 18: ~28%
• Nonfamily households: ~35% (1-person households ~30%)
• Homeownership rate: ~75–77%

Insights

• Small, sparsely populated, older-leaning county with a predominantly non-Hispanic White population and a modest Hispanic/Latino community.
• Household structure is family-oriented with high homeownership, typical of rural Great Plains counties.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Population Estimates; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Figures rounded; ACS values have margins of error.

Perkins County, NE overview: ~2,900 residents across ~885 sq mi (≈3.3 people per sq mi), centered on Grant with smaller villages and widely dispersed farms.

Estimated email users

• ≈2,150 residents use email regularly.

Age distribution of email users (share of all users; counts rounded)

• 13–17: 8% (170)
• 18–29: 17% (370)
• 30–49: 28% (610)
• 50–64: 22% (480)
• 65+: 24% (520)

Gender split among email users

• ≈51% male, 49% female (roughly even in absolute numbers).

Digital access and connectivity trends

• About 4 in 5 households maintain a home broadband subscription; remaining homes rely on mobile/fixed‑wireless or have no subscription.
• Smartphone ownership is high (≈85–90%), with roughly 12–15% of residents relying on smartphone‑only internet.
• Connectivity is densest in town centers (e.g., Grant) and along main highways; coverage becomes patchier on outlying ranch/farm roads, where fixed‑wireless and satellite fill gaps.
• Continued incremental upgrades by regional ISPs and fixed‑wireless providers are improving reliability, but long distances and sparse settlement keep last‑mile costs high, sustaining a small non‑subscriber segment.

Perkins County, Nebraska — mobile phone usage (2024 snapshot)

Key takeaways different from the Nebraska statewide picture

• Slightly lower smartphone adoption and more reliance on phones for home internet than the state average.
• Coverage is dominated by LTE with patchy mid-band 5G; regional carrier presence is stronger than in urban Nebraska.
• Older age structure depresses smartphone take-up among seniors relative to the state.

User estimates

• Population baseline: ≈2,900 residents; ≈2,380 residents are age 13+.
• Mobile phone users (any mobile phone): ≈2,190 people, about 92% of residents age 13+ (about 75% of the total population).
• Smartphone users: ≈2,000 people, about 84% of residents age 13+ (about 69% of the total population).
• Smartphone-only internet households: 20–24% of households (≈250–300 of roughly 1,250 households), higher than the Nebraska average of about 13–16%. This indicates heavier dependence on cellular data in the county than statewide.

Demographic breakdown (modeled 2024 estimates)

• Ages 13–17: ≈174 people; 88% use a mobile phone, 85% use a smartphone (≈150 smartphone users).
• Ages 18–34: ≈464 people; 97% use a mobile phone, 96% use a smartphone (≈445 smartphone users).
• Ages 35–64: ≈1,044 people; 95% use a mobile phone, 88% use a smartphone (≈920 smartphone users).
• Ages 65+: ≈696 people; 85% use a mobile phone, 70% use a smartphone (≈490 smartphone users).
• Compared with Nebraska overall, smartphone adoption among Perkins County seniors is lower by roughly 6–10 percentage points, pulling down the countywide average.
• Income pattern: Lower-income households are more likely to be smartphone-only for home internet than the state average, consistent with higher cellular dependence where fixed options are limited or costly.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier landscape: Verizon, AT&T (including FirstNet for public safety), T-Mobile, and regional carrier Viaero Wireless all have a presence. Viaero’s rural LTE footprint is a notable differentiator versus urban counties where national carriers dominate.
• Coverage and technology mix:
  • 4G LTE: Widespread and functionally the default in most of the county; reliability varies outside primary corridors and the county seat (Grant).
  • 5G: Low-band 5G from national carriers is present along main corridors, but mid-band 5G (C-band for Verizon/AT&T and n41 for T-Mobile) is limited or absent within much of the county. As a result, real-world 5G capacity gains trail Nebraska’s metro areas.
• Performance: Users experience more LTE fallback and greater speed variability than the Nebraska average; peak speeds on low-band 5G are lower than in cities with mid-band deployments, and uplink performance can be the constraining factor for hotspot use.
• Sites and terrain: Coverage is provided primarily by sparsely spaced macro towers; small cells are rare. The county’s flat, agricultural terrain aids range but can still leave low-lying or fringe areas with weaker indoor signal.
• Backhaul and middle mile: Fiber backbones from regional providers run along highways and into Grant, but last-mile fiber is less pervasive than in urban Nebraska. This pushes more households to rely on cellular or fixed wireless for primary connectivity.
• Public safety and redundancy: FirstNet coverage is available but, as with commercial 5G, capacity is better near corridors. Volunteer EMS and farm operations often maintain voice/SMS as the baseline, with data service used opportunistically.

How Perkins County differs from Nebraska overall

• Adoption: Smartphone penetration among residents age 13+ is roughly 84% in Perkins County versus about 89–91% statewide. The gap is driven primarily by a larger share of older adults.
• Access mode: Smartphone-only households are several points higher than the state average, signaling that mobile networks shoulder more of the home internet load.
• Network experience: Mid-band 5G availability and median speeds lag statewide metrics driven by Omaha–Lincoln and larger regional hubs. LTE remains the primary workhorse more often here than elsewhere in Nebraska.
• Carrier mix: Regional carrier Viaero plays a bigger role locally than in Nebraska’s urban counties, affecting device availability and plan mix, with prepaid and bring-your-own-device options used more frequently.

Notes on methodology

• Population and household counts align with recent Census/ACS estimates for small Nebraska counties.
• Adoption rates apply national and rural-adjusted benchmarks (e.g., Pew Research Center 2023–2024 smartphone ownership by age) to the county’s age structure, then are trued up to Nebraska’s statewide device ownership ranges from ACS/NTIA to produce county-level estimates consistent with rural profiles.
• Smartphone-only household estimates reflect ACS S2801 patterns for rural Nebraska counties and observed gaps between rural and statewide values.

Social media usage in Perkins County, Nebraska (2025 snapshot) Note: Figures are modeled estimates derived from Pew Research Center 2023–2024 social media usage and rural Nebraska demographics; county-level platform measurements are not directly published.

Population baseline

• Residents: ~3,000
• Adult share: ~77% of residents
• Adults using at least one social platform: ~79% of adults
• Daily social users: ~66% of adults
• Average platforms used per adult user: ~3

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use the platform)

• YouTube: ~82%
• Facebook: ~70%
• Instagram: ~37%
• Pinterest: ~33%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• TikTok: ~26%
• X (Twitter): ~16%
• LinkedIn: ~14%
• Reddit: ~11%
• Nextdoor: <5%

Age-group patterns (penetration within each age group)

• Teens (13–17): YouTube ~95%, Snapchat ~75%, TikTok ~70%, Instagram ~65%, Facebook ~25%
• 18–29: YouTube ~94%, Instagram ~78%, Snapchat ~70%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~60%
• 30–49: YouTube ~90%, Facebook ~73%, Instagram ~48%, TikTok ~35%, Snapchat ~32%, Pinterest ~30%
• 50–64: YouTube ~82%, Facebook ~72%, Pinterest ~30%, Instagram ~25%, TikTok ~20%
• 65+: YouTube ~70%, Facebook ~62%, Pinterest ~18%, Instagram ~14%, TikTok ~10%

Gender breakdown

• Overall social-media users roughly mirror the adult population split (~50% women, ~50% men)
• Platform skews:
  • Women higher on Facebook (+5–8 percentage points vs men), Instagram (+4–7 pp), Pinterest (majority of users are women)
  • Men higher on YouTube (+5–8 pp), Reddit (majority men), and X/Twitter (+3–5 pp)

Behavioral trends and local patterns

• Facebook as the local hub: Heavy reliance on Facebook Groups for community info (school and sports updates, storms/weather, church and civic events, buy/sell/trade, obituaries). Facebook Events widely used for fundraisers and local gatherings.
• Messaging first: Facebook Messenger dominates adult private sharing; Snapchat is the default among teens and many 18–29s. WhatsApp usage is limited.
• Video habits: YouTube is the go-to for how‑to content, farm equipment maintenance, hunting/fishing tips, and long-form news; TikTok/IG Reels used more for short-form entertainment by under‑35s.
• Local business usage: Most small businesses boost posts on Facebook over running complex ad campaigns; Instagram is used by boutiques, food trucks, and creators for visuals; minimal LinkedIn or X ad activity.
• Trust and engagement: Highest engagement goes to content from known local individuals, schools, churches, first responders, and county offices. Screenshots and links are frequently shared into Messenger/Snap rather than public reposts.
• Seasonal rhythm: Posting and engagement rise around severe weather, planting/harvest, school sports seasons, county fairs, and holiday events.
• Time-of-day peaks: Evenings (roughly 7–9 pm CT) are the strongest windows for reactions, comments, and shares.
• Platform gaps: Nextdoor has low adoption; Reddit remains niche. X/Twitter usage spikes around severe weather, statewide sports, or breaking news but is otherwise limited.
• Privacy/security sentiment: Older residents show hesitancy toward TikTok and prefer Facebook; younger residents are more fluid across Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok with lighter use of Facebook.