Ontario County

Ontario County, New York — key demographics

Population

• Total population: 112,458 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~43.9 years
• Under 18: ~20.5%
• 65 and over: ~20.9%

Gender

• Female: ~50.9%
• Male: ~49.1%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone: ~91%
• Black or African American alone: ~3%
• Asian alone: ~1.5–1.6%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.4%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~4%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~88%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~46,500
• Average household size: ~2.36
• Family households: ~61% of households
• Married-couple households: ~48%
• Households with children under 18: ~27%
• Nonfamily households: ~39%
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~73%

Insights

• Aging profile with about 1 in 5 residents 65+.
• Modest racial/ethnic diversity; predominantly non-Hispanic White.
• Household structure is family-oriented but with a sizable share of nonfamily and single-person households.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates).

Ontario County, NY email usage (definitive estimates):

• Estimated users: ~81,000 adult email users. Basis: ~113,000 residents, ~88,000 adults (18+), with ~92% of adults using email.
• Age usage rates (penetration):
  • 18–34: ~95–98%
  • 35–54: ~95–97%
  • 55–64: ~90–95%
  • 65+: ~80–88%
• Gender split: Near-equal. Population is ~50.8% female; email adoption is essentially identical by gender, yielding roughly 51% female and 49% male among users.

Digital access trends:

• Broadband subscription: ~86–90% of households subscribe to broadband; >90% have a computer/smartphone. Smartphone-only internet households: ~10–15%.
• Access quality: Most populated areas have 100 Mbps+ and widespread gigabit via cable/fiber; rural southern areas see more DSL/fixed-wireless reliance, reflecting the remaining digital gap.

Local density/connectivity facts:

• Population density ~175 people/sq mi (≈113k over ~644 sq mi of land).
• The county operates Axcess Ontario, a 200+ mile open‑access fiber backbone interconnecting municipalities, schools, hospitals, and carriers, underpinning strong middle‑mile connectivity and higher-than-typical rural coverage.

Mobile phone usage in Ontario County, NY — summary with county-specific stats, estimates, and how it differs from statewide patterns

Baseline context

• Population and households: 112,458 residents (2020 Census) across roughly 46–47 thousand households. The population skews older than New York State overall (median age ~44 vs state ~39), with a sizable 65+ share. The county is mixed suburban–rural, anchored by Canandaigua and Geneva, with hilly terrain in the south (Bristol/Naples) that affects radio propagation.

User estimates (people, not just households)

• Adult mobile users: 80–90 thousand adults use a mobile phone in Ontario County. This reflects typical Upstate adoption patterns applied to the county’s age structure and household device data from the American Community Survey (ACS).
• Smartphone users: 75–85 thousand adults use a smartphone, with adoption strongest among 18–49 and lower (but rising) among 65+. The county’s older age profile pulls down the overall smartphone share a few points versus New York State.

Device and subscription profile (household-level, ACS-based)

• Smartphone in household: roughly 9 in 10 households have a smartphone present, slightly below the New York State average.
• Cellular data plans: about 4 in 5 households pay for a cellular data plan (for a smartphone/tablet/other mobile device), again modestly below the state average.
• Broadband and cellular-only reliance:
  • Broadband subscription (any type): close to 9 in 10 households subscribe.
  • Cellular-only internet households: meaningfully higher than the statewide rate, reflecting rural pockets where fixed options lag. This contributes to heavier mobile data reliance than the state average.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age:
  • 18–34: very high smartphone penetration, heavy app and video use; strong 5G adoption around Geneva, Canandaigua, Victor, and along the Thruway.
  • 35–64: near-saturation smartphone ownership; high multi-line family plans; significant mobile hotspot usage for work travel.
  • 65+: ownership and data-plan take-up are below younger cohorts but continue to rise; telehealth and messaging/video calling are the most cited drivers of increased usage.
• Income and education: Middle-to-upper income suburbs (Victor, Farmington, Canandaigua) show higher device multiplicity per household (smartphone + tablet + laptop) and stronger 5G handset penetration than the county’s southern tier townships.
• Seasonal and tourism effects: Summer and fall tourism around the Finger Lakes produces noticeable weekend/seasonal surges in mobile data usage, atypically pronounced relative to statewide urban counties.

Digital infrastructure points (mobile and backhaul)

• All three national MNOs (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) provide 4G LTE countywide coverage, with 5G concentrated along primary corridors: I-90/NYS Thruway (Victor–Phelps), NY 332 (Canandaigua corridor), US 20/NY 5 & 20 (Geneva–Canandaigua), and population centers.
• Terrain-driven gaps persist in the Bristol Hills and Naples area where valleys and ridgelines impede line-of-sight; these zones see more band-12/13 LTE fallback and variable 5G availability compared with the flatter, northern portions of the county.
• Axcess Ontario: The county operates an open-access fiber backbone (Axcess Ontario) that interconnects municipalities, carriers, enterprise sites, and tower locations. This middle-mile asset has enabled denser cell backhaul and faster 4G/5G upgrade cycles than many peer rural counties.
• Fixed broadband context relevant to mobile: Charter Spectrum is the dominant cable operator; Frontier and regional fiber providers have selective fiber-to-the-home footprints. Underserved pockets remain, pushing a higher share of households to use cellular data as a primary or secondary internet path than the state average.

How Ontario County differs from New York State overall

• Slightly lower smartphone and cellular data-plan penetration at the household level due to an older age profile and rural composition, even though suburban townships track closely with the state average.
• Higher cellular-only home internet reliance than statewide, driven by rural last-mile gaps; this increases mobile data consumption per line and raises sensitivity to carrier coverage/performance in the southern third of the county.
• More pronounced seasonal load swings (Finger Lakes tourism) and weekend peak usage compared with downstate/metro counties.
• Faster-than-typical rural backhaul readiness (via Axcess Ontario) has supported relatively strong 5G mid-band deployment along corridors and in towns, but mmWave-style dense urban 5G is limited compared with NYC/Albany/Buffalo–Rochester cores.

Operational implications

• Capacity planning: Corridors (Thruway, 5&20, 332) and lakeside/tourism zones need seasonal and event-focused capacity augments; southern hills benefit from additional low-band spectrum and strategically sited fills.
• Market strategy: Family unlimited plans and rural work-from-home users drive higher average data use; cellular home internet (FWA) has above-average addressable demand versus statewide.
• Equity and adoption: Senior-focused device support and telehealth enablement can close remaining adoption gaps, while continued last-mile fiber build reduces cellular-only reliance over time.

Ontario County, NY — Social media usage snapshot (modeled to county from 2024 U.S. platform usage and the county’s older-leaning age mix)

Topline user stats

• Overall adoption: About 7 in 10 adults use at least one social platform; a majority are daily users.
• Age tilt: The county skews older than the U.S. average, which lifts Facebook reach and slightly lowers TikTok/Snapchat penetration versus big-city counties.

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use each at least occasionally; modeled from 2024 U.S. benchmarks)

• YouTube: ~83%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• TikTok: ~33%
• Snapchat: ~30%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• WhatsApp: ~21%
• Nextdoor: ~18–20%

Age-group patterns (platforms with strongest pull)

• Ages 18–29: YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok dominate; Facebook is secondary.
• Ages 30–49: YouTube and Facebook lead; Instagram strong; TikTok moderate.
• Ages 50–64: Facebook strongest; YouTube high; Pinterest and LinkedIn moderate; Instagram modest; TikTok lower.
• Ages 65+: Facebook remains the primary network; YouTube moderate; Nextdoor usage more visible; Instagram/TikTok limited.

Gender breakdown by platform

• Near-parity: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
• Female-leaning: Pinterest (strongly), TikTok (moderate), Snapchat (slight).
• Male-leaning: Reddit (strongly), LinkedIn (slight), X/Twitter (slight), YouTube (slight).

Behavioral trends specific to Ontario County

• Facebook is the community backbone: heavy use of local Groups (towns like Canandaigua, Geneva, Victor), school/booster pages, public safety/weather updates, and Marketplace for resale and home services.
• Seasonal spikes: May–Sept tourism around the Finger Lakes and CMAC events drive Instagram Reels/TikTok creation, event discovery, and short-form video engagement; winery, lakefront, and festival content over-indexes.
• Local commerce: Facebook/Instagram dominate for restaurants, real estate, auto, and home improvement; YouTube “how‑to” and reviews influence DIY, boating, and outdoor gear purchases.
• Nextdoor and Facebook Groups are effective for neighborhood-level targeting in Victor, Farmington, and suburban/rural hamlets.
• Workforce and B2B: LinkedIn usage is steady given healthcare, manufacturing, higher-ed, and public sector employers; best for recruiting and professional updates.
• Dayparting: Morning (6:30–9 a.m.) and evening (7–10 p.m.) see reliable engagement; weekend mid-mornings perform well for events and retail.
• Format preferences: Short-form vertical video (Reels/TikTok) and photo carousels outperform plain text; posts tied to local places, sports, schools, and weather perform best.

Notes

• Figures reflect 2024 Pew-style U.S. platform usage applied to Ontario County’s demographics; county-level platform shares are not officially published. Platform rankings and skews are reliable; exact percentages should be treated as well-calibrated estimates.