Montgomery County

Key demographics – Montgomery County, New York (latest U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates, 2019–2023)

• Population size: ~49,000
• Age:
  • Median age: ~42 years
  • Under 18: ~21%
  • 18–64: ~60%
  • 65 and over: ~19%
• Gender:
  • Female: ~51%
  • Male: ~49%
• Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive categories):
  • Non-Hispanic White: ~74–76%
  • Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~16–18%
  • Non-Hispanic Black: ~3–4%
  • Non-Hispanic Asian: ~1%
  • Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, other or two+ races combined: ~3–5%
• Households:
  • Total households: ~20,000
  • Average household size: ~2.4
  • Family households: ~64%
  • One-person households: ~30%
  • Households with children under 18: ~27%
  • Tenure: ~68–70% owner-occupied; ~30–32% renter-occupied

Insights: The county is small and aging modestly, with a slight female majority and a notable Hispanic/Latino community (largely centered in and around Amsterdam). Household sizes are modest and homeownership predominates.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP02, DP05, S0101, S1101).

Montgomery County, NY has about 50,200 residents (~124 people per sq. mile). Roughly 39,700 are adults; applying current U.S. email and internet adoption rates yields an estimated 35,000–36,000 adult email users (about 87–90% of adults).

Age distribution of email adoption (estimate, aligned to national patterns):

• 18–29: ~98%
• 30–49: ~96%
• 50–64: ~90%
• 65+: ~82% This skews usage toward working-age adults while including most seniors.

Gender split: The population is slightly female‑majority (~51% female). Email adoption is near‑parity by gender, implying roughly 17.8k female and 17.2k male adult users.

Digital access and trends:

• About 91% of households have a computer and ~81% have a broadband subscription (ACS 2018–2022), supporting sustained email use.
• Access is densest in and around the City of Amsterdam and along the I‑90 corridor, with sparser options in rural townships; this pattern underlies modest adoption gaps for older and lower‑income households.
• Ongoing state and federal build‑outs are expanding higher‑speed options, while smartphone reliance remains a common fallback where wireline service is limited.

Overall, email is a near‑universal digital touchpoint across the county, with the small remaining gap concentrated among the oldest and least connected households.

Mobile phone usage in Montgomery County, New York (2024–2025 snapshot)

Topline user estimates

• Population and households: ~49–50k residents and ~20–21k households.
• Mobile phone users: 38k–41k residents have an active mobile phone line (including teens).
• Smartphone users: 32k–35k adult smartphone users (roughly 85–90% of adults), slightly below New York State’s ~90–92%.
• Mobile-only home internet: 19–22% of households rely primarily or exclusively on cellular connections (phone hotspot or 5G/LTE home internet), materially higher than the statewide ~12–14%.
• 5G fixed wireless access (FWA): 1.8k–2.4k households use 5G home internet (notably above the statewide per‑household adoption rate due to more limited cable/fiber options outside Amsterdam).

Demographic usage patterns

• Age:
  • 18–34: Near-universal smartphone adoption (~96–99%); heavy app and streaming usage.
  • 35–64: High adoption (~90–94%), with strong work and navigation use; growing FWA adoption for home internet.
  • 65+: Smartphone adoption ~70–75% (below NYS ~80–85%); basic/flip phones remain more common than the state average.
• Income and plan type:
  • Sub-$35k households show a higher reliance on prepaid and discount MVNOs; prepaid lines estimated at ~30–35% of subscribers countywide (vs ~20–25% statewide).
  • Mobile-only internet and data-capped plans are more prevalent among cost‑constrained households, especially after the 2024 lapse of ACP subsidies.
• Platform split:
  • Android has a slight edge (estimated 55–60%) over iOS, opposite of the statewide tilt toward iPhone ownership.
• Language and access:
  • Hispanic/Latino communities in and around Amsterdam show above-average mobile-only home internet use and higher household reliance on smartphones for work, education, and communication.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage:
  • Robust 4G LTE from the major carriers across the NYS Thruway (I‑90) corridor and population centers (Amsterdam, Canajoharie, Fort Plain/Palatine Bridge), with 5G coverage from at least one carrier in nearly all populated areas.
  • Extended‑range 5G (600/700 MHz) generally countywide; mid‑band 5G clustered near I‑90 and towns; mmWave is minimal and venue‑specific.
• Speeds (typical, not peak):
  • Town centers with mid‑band 5G: ~150–300 Mbps down.
  • Extended‑range 5G / strong LTE: ~30–80 Mbps down.
  • Rural valleys and fringe areas: ~5–25 Mbps down with occasional dead zones and indoor signal challenges.
• Reliability:
  • Terrain (river valleys, rolling hills) creates pockets of weak indoor coverage; residents frequently rely on Wi‑Fi calling.
  • Public‑safety towers and utility structures are increasingly shared for commercial colocation, improving fill‑in coverage but still lagging dense downstate footprints.
• Backhaul and fiber:
  • The I‑90/CSX corridor provides robust fiber backhaul that supports higher 5G capacity near the Thruway; away from that spine, microwave and lower‑capacity fiber segments are more common.
• FWA availability:
  • 5G home internet from national carriers is widely available around Amsterdam and along the Thruway, with expanding coverage to adjacent towns where cable/fiber is sparse.

How Montgomery County differs from New York State

• Higher mobile-only dependence: A notably larger share of households uses mobile as the primary home connection, reflecting sparser wireline options outside the Amsterdam area.
• More prepaid and MVNO usage: Price sensitivity drives greater take‑up of prepaid plans than the statewide norm.
• Platform mix: Android leads locally, while New York State overall leans more iOS.
• Older‑adult adoption gap: Seniors in the county are less likely to own smartphones than seniors statewide, and basic phones persist at higher rates.
• Network experience: Median mobile speeds are lower and more variable than statewide averages, with more frequent coverage gaps in rural valleys; FWA adoption helps bridge fixed-broadband gaps.
• 5G footprint quality: Extended‑range 5G is common, but mid‑band capacity is concentrated along I‑90 and town centers, whereas downstate metros have denser mid‑band and mmWave layers.

Practical implications

• Businesses and agencies should plan for mobile-first customer contact and service delivery, including SMS-based workflows and offline-capable apps.
• Public services, schools, and healthcare providers benefit from mobile‑friendly portals and zero‑rated or low‑bandwidth options, especially for lower‑income and Spanish‑speaking households.
• Infrastructure priorities with the highest payoff: more mid‑band 5G sectors away from I‑90, indoor coverage solutions in community anchors, and continued tower colocation on public‑safety sites to reduce rural dead zones.

Social media usage in Montgomery County, NY (2024–2025 snapshot)

User base

• Population: 49,532 (2020 Census). Adults 18+ ≈ 38,500.
• Adult social-media penetration: ≈ 80% (Pew, rural U.S. benchmark), or ~30,800 adult users in the county.

Age groups (share of adults who use social media; Pew 2024 benchmarks applied locally)

• 18–29: ~90–95% (heavy daily use; strongest on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube).
• 30–49: ~82–85% (balanced use; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube; rising TikTok/Reels).
• 50–64: ~70–75% (Facebook and YouTube dominant; Instagram moderate).
• 65+: ~50–55% (primarily Facebook; YouTube for how‑to/news).

Gender

• Population mix: ~51% female, ~49% male (Census).
• Usage pattern: similar overall adoption across genders; women over-index on Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest, men on Reddit/X/YouTube (Pew).

Most-used platforms (share of adults; Pew 2024, applied to ~38,500 adults; ≈ local user count)

• YouTube: 83% (~32,000)
• Facebook: 68% (~26,000)
• Instagram: 47% (~18,000)
• TikTok: 33% (~12,700)
• LinkedIn: 30% (~11,500)
• WhatsApp: 29% (~11,000)
• Snapchat: 27% (~10,400)
• Pinterest: 35% (~13,500)
• Reddit: 22% (~8,500)
• X (Twitter): 22% (~8,500)

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: local news, schools, municipal updates, events, and Marketplace drive the highest engagement among adults 30+.
• Short-form video growth: Instagram Reels and TikTok are increasingly important for 18–34 audiences and local businesses (restaurants, events, youth sports).
• YouTube is a fixture across ages for how‑to, product research, local sports highlights, and entertainment.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is widespread; WhatsApp usage is notable among Hispanic and international households.
• Older adults (50+) concentrate time on Facebook (groups, photo posts) and YouTube; younger cohorts rely on Snapchat/TikTok for daily communication/entertainment and use Facebook mainly for events/groups.
• Content that performs best locally: timely community updates (weather, school closures), event announcements, local faces/stories, and short vertical video. Engagement typically clusters in evenings and weekends.

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial) for population; adult count approximated from county age structure.
• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024, for platform-by-adult percentages and demographic patterns.
• Local counts are computed by applying Pew’s U.S. adult platform shares to Montgomery County’s estimated adult population.