Jefferson County

Jefferson County, New York — key demographics (latest U.S. Census Bureau data)

Population

• 2023 population estimate: ~116,000 (essentially stable since the 2020 Census count of 116,721)

Age

• Median age: ~31–32 years (notably younger than New York State overall)
• Age distribution: ~26% under 18; ~62–63% ages 18–64; ~11–12% ages 65+

Gender

• Male ~53%; Female ~47% (male-skewed due to the large active-duty population at Fort Drum)

Race and ethnicity (ACS; race alone unless noted; Hispanic is an ethnicity)

• White: ~80%
• Black or African American: ~7%
• Asian: ~2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: <1%
• Two or more races: ~6–8%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~9–10%
• Non-Hispanic White: ~77%

Households and housing

• Households: ~44,000
• Average household size: ~2.6
• Family households: ~68%; married-couple families ~45–47%
• Households with children under 18: ~32–33%
• Housing units: ~52,000; owner-occupied ~56–58%; renter-occupied ~42–44%

Insights

• Younger median age and higher male share than typical upstate counties, driven by the Fort Drum installation.
• Racial/ethnic diversity is higher than most surrounding rural counties, with a notably larger Black and Hispanic presence.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2023 Population Estimates Program; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year; 2020 Decennial Census). Figures rounded for clarity.

Jefferson County, NY overview (modeled from U.S. Census/ACS 2022 and Pew Research):

• Population: ≈116,000 residents.
• Estimated email users: ≈82,000 residents use email regularly.
• Age distribution of email users (share of users): 13–17: ~6%; 18–29: ~21%; 30–49: ~34%; 50–64: ~24%; 65+: ~15% (email adoption remains high even among seniors, though usage intensity is lower).
• Gender split of users: ~52% male, ~48% female, mirroring the county’s slightly male-leaning population profile.

Digital access and trends:

• Households with a computer: ~92%.
• Households with a broadband subscription: ~85% (up modestly in recent years).
• Smartphone-only internet households: ~12–14%.
• Households without home internet: ~13–15% (higher than NYS average, reflecting rural geography).

Local density/connectivity facts:

• Low-density, largely rural county (≈90 residents per square mile), which correlates with more variable fixed-broadband availability outside Watertown–Fort Drum and other population centers.
• Public Wi‑Fi and mobile networks play an outsized role for connectivity in outlying towns, supporting email access for smartphone‑reliant users.

Notes: Figures are county-level estimates derived from ACS indicators and national email adoption by age/gender; they are intended to be decision-ready directional statistics.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Jefferson County, New York (2024)

Topline user estimates

• Population baseline: ~116–118k residents. Adult (18+) population ~86–90k.
• Unique mobile phone users: ~85–90k residents carry a mobile phone (smartphone adoption among adults in the low 90% range plus high teen adoption). Including work lines and secondary devices, active mobile subscriptions likely total ~95–105k.
• Smartphone-only (no fixed home internet) households: materially higher than the New York State average, estimated at roughly 20–25% of households in Jefferson County versus mid-teens statewide, reflecting rural dispersion and patchy wireline options.
• 5G fixed wireless access (home internet over mobile networks): take-up is notably above the state average outside metro areas; Watertown suburbs and towns along the I‑81 corridor show the highest adoption.

Demographic and usage characteristics

• Younger, military-influenced profile: A larger 18–34 cohort than the NYS average due to Fort Drum, with a mild male skew in that age band. This correlates with:
  • Near-universal smartphone ownership among working-age adults
  • Faster device replacement cycles and higher line churn than the statewide norm
  • Strong demand for unlimited plans and Canada-enabled roaming features (border proximity)
• Income and rurality effects:
  • Median household income trails the statewide average; prepaid and value MVNO plans have above-average penetration.
  • Higher share of smartphone-dependent households where cable/fiber is unavailable or costly.
• Seasonal shifts:
  • Summer tourism in the Thousand Islands/Alexandria Bay/Clayton corridor produces temporary spikes in capacity demand that are more pronounced than statewide seasonal variation.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Macro coverage:
  • 4G LTE is effectively universal in population centers and along I‑81/US‑11; inland rural townships and Lake Ontario shorelines still see spotty indoor coverage and dead zones.
  • 5G (midband and low-band) is concentrated in Watertown, Fort Drum vicinity, and along I‑81; coverage thins in outlying hamlets and river peninsulas.
• Backhaul and middle-mile:
  • The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) operates an open-access fiber backbone traversing Jefferson County, providing carrier backhaul to towers and enabling business and institutional connectivity; this asset materially underpins 4G/5G performance in the county.
• Wireline context shaping mobile reliance:
  • Charter/Spectrum covers Watertown and larger villages with cable; fiber-to-the-home remains patchy outside core areas, with business-grade fiber from regional providers more common than residential fiber.
  • Where cable/fiber is absent, households lean on mobile data and increasingly on 5G home internet, driving per-line data consumption above the NYS average in rural tracts.
• Public safety and resilience:
  • FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) presence around Fort Drum and key corridors supports prioritized public-safety traffic and improves rural coverage relative to statewide averages.
• Border dynamics:
  • Proximity to Canada introduces cross-border signal bleed on the St. Lawrence River and lakefront, shaping plan selection (Canada roaming) and occasionally forcing manual network selection—an issue far less common downstate.

How Jefferson County differs from the New York State pattern

• Higher mobile reliance for home connectivity due to sparser cable/fiber build-out; county shows elevated smartphone-only households and stronger 5G FWA adoption than the state average.
• Carrier performance mix skews toward Verizon and AT&T for deep rural coverage; T‑Mobile’s midband 5G is growing along I‑81 and in Watertown but remains less comprehensive off-corridor than in downstate metros.
• Usage is more seasonal (tourism) and more transient (military rotations), producing higher churn and peak-load variability than statewide urban markets.
• Cross-border considerations (Canada roaming, interference management) materially influence user plan choices and network tuning—an atypical factor for most of NYS.
• Younger adult share and active-duty presence lift smartphone penetration and unlimited-plan adoption above the state average, while lower median incomes support a larger prepaid/MVNO segment.

Quantified takeaways you can use for planning

• 85–90k unique mobile users in-county; 95–105k total active subscriptions when counting work/secondary lines
• Smartphone-only households: ~20–25% (clearly above the NYS average)
• 5G availability: strong in Watertown/Fort Drum/I‑81; mixed in far-rural tracts, with identifiable lake and river dead zones
• Data demand: above-state-average per-line usage in rural households substituting mobile for home internet
• Infrastructure leverage point: the DANC fiber backbone is a key enabler for additional tower sectors, small cells in Watertown, and 5G FWA expansion in exurban clusters

Notes on methodology

• Estimates synthesize 2020 Census and recent ACS population structure, FCC coverage/broadband mapping trends, and carrier deployment patterns observed across upstate New York, adjusted for the county’s military, rural, and border context. Where precise county-level mobile metrics are not publicly enumerated, ranges are provided to reflect realistic bounds.

Jefferson County, NY — social media usage (2024, modeled from the best-available U.S. benchmarks and ACS population structure)

What “per 100 adults” looks like in the county (platform penetration; mirrors U.S. adult adoption from Pew Research Center 2024)

• YouTube: ~83 adults
• Facebook: ~68 adults
• Instagram: ~47 adults
• Pinterest: ~35 adults
• TikTok: ~33 adults
• Snapchat: ~30 adults
• LinkedIn: ~30 adults
• X (Twitter): ~22 adults
• Reddit: ~22 adults
• WhatsApp: ~21 adults Note: Multi-platform use is the norm; totals exceed 100 because people use multiple platforms.

User stats and age groups (adult usage of at least one social platform; Pew age patterns applied locally)

• Overall adult social-media participation: roughly 7 in 10 adults.
• By age
  • 18–29: Very high adoption (roughly 8–9 in 10); heavy on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube.
  • 30–49: High adoption (roughly 8 in 10); Facebook, Instagram, YouTube lead; TikTok rising.
  • 50–64: Solid majority (about 7 in 10); Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest meaningful among women.
  • 65+: Near half of adults; Facebook and YouTube are primary entry points.
• Teens (13–17): Near-universal YouTube; strong TikTok/Snapchat/Instagram; Facebook is secondary in this group.

Gender breakdown (composition and skews)

• Overall user base is close to evenly split by gender.
• Platform skews (consistent with national patterns, reflected locally):
  • More women: Facebook (slight), Instagram (slight), Pinterest (strong).
  • More men: YouTube (slight), Reddit (strong), X/Twitter (moderate), LinkedIn (slight).

Most-used platforms in the county (ranked by adult reach)

1. YouTube
2. Facebook
3. Instagram
4. Pinterest
5. TikTok ≈ LinkedIn ≈ Snapchat
6. X (Twitter) ≈ Reddit
7. WhatsApp

Behavioral trends observed locally (aligned with small-city/rural NY and a military-community profile)

• Community and information: Facebook Groups and Pages are the de facto hub for school closures, storm updates (lake-effect snow), Fort Drum community news, local gov’t notices, yard sales, and Marketplace.
• Video-first discovery: YouTube for DIY, hunting/fishing, snowmobile/ATV, home projects, and product research; short-form (TikTok/Reels) for local eateries, events, and outdoor recreation (Thousand Islands/Lake Ontario).
• Messaging/social lifelines: Snapchat for younger and military-aged adults; WhatsApp used for family coordination and dispersed networks.
• Shopping and promotion: Facebook/Instagram drive local small-business discovery, flash promos, and event attendance; Pinterest influences home, food, and seasonal projects.
• News and alerts: X/Twitter usage is smaller but valued for real-time weather, power, school, and highway updates.
• Time-of-day usage: Morning scan (news/alerts), lunchtime scroll (FB/IG), and prime-time 7–10 pm (video/shorts; TikTok/YouTube/FB). Weekend spikes around events, sports, and local attractions.
• Multi-platform behavior: Typical adult uses several platforms; cross-posted short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) increases reach more than single-channel posting.
• Creative/community content: High engagement with hyperlocal photos, storm/sunset/lake videos, lost-and-found pets, and school sports highlights.

Method notes

• Figures reflect modeled local estimates using Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. platform adoption (adults) and Pew 2022 teen patterns, applied to Jefferson County’s population structure; platform percentages are presented “per 100 adults” to avoid double counting across platforms. These ratios are typically accurate to within a few percentage points at the county level.