Carteret County

Carteret County, North Carolina — key demographics

Population

• ~70,100 (ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate)
• 69,473 (2020 Census count)

Age

• Median age: ~49–50 years
• Under 18: ~18%
• 18–64: ~58%
• 65 and over: ~24–26%

Gender

• Female: ~51%
• Male: ~49%

Race and Hispanic origin (ACS 2019–2023)

• White alone: ~88–89%
• Black or African American alone: ~4–5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.5–0.7%
• Asian alone: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~4–5%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~5–6%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~84–85%

Households

• ~31,000 households
• Average household size: ~2.2–2.3
• Family households: ~60–62% of households
• Married-couple families: ~47–49% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~38–40%
• Households with children under 18: ~21–23%
• Households with someone 65+: ~39–41%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 (5-year estimates) and 2020 Decennial Census.

Carteret County, NC — email usage snapshot

• Population baseline: ~70,000 residents; older profile (median age near 50; roughly a quarter 65+). Land density ~140 people per square mile; many barrier-island and “Down East” communities separated by water, which raises last‑mile costs.

• Estimated email users: 55,000–60,000.

  • Method: ~92% of adults use email (national benchmarks), plus ~85–90% of ages 13–17; Carteret’s older mix lowers overall penetration slightly.

• Age distribution of email users (approx):

  • 13–24: 10–12%
  • 25–44: 25–28%
  • 45–64: 35–38%
  • 65+: 22–25%

• Gender split: ~51% female, ~49% male (email usage is essentially even by gender).

• Digital access trends:

  • Home broadband subscription around 80–85% of households; 10–15% are smartphone‑only internet users.
  • Fiber and cable are strongest along the US‑70/Morehead City–Beaufort corridor and Bogue Banks; coverage is spottier in smaller “Down East” communities, though recent NC GREAT/BEAD-funded builds are improving reach.
  • Public Wi‑Fi (libraries, schools, civic centers) supplements access; storm risk can cause periodic outages, so some households rely on mobile hotspots for redundancy.

Overall: high email adoption, with the county’s older age structure shifting a larger share of users into the 45+ brackets and coastal geography shaping connectivity.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Carteret County, North Carolina (what stands out versus the state)

Topline user estimates

• Resident base: Carteret County has about 70–72k residents. Adjusting for its older age profile, an estimated 46–53k adults use smartphones regularly (roughly 82–88% of adults, a few points lower than statewide due to age).
• Household phone setup: Wireless-only households are likely somewhat below the North Carolina average (NC ~70%+). Estimate for Carteret: 60–68%, reflecting higher landline retention among seniors and emergency-preparedness habits on the coast.
• Seasonal surge: Summer tourism and events (Crystal Coast beaches, Big Rock tournament, holiday weekends) push active devices to roughly 2–3x the resident baseline on peak days. That can mean 90–120k+ devices concurrently seen on local cells, driving temporary congestion patterns uncommon in most NC counties.

Demographic usage patterns (how Carteret differs)

• Age is the biggest differentiator:
  • 18–34: Near-universal smartphone use (~95%+), similar to NC.
  • 35–64: Very high use (~90%+), similar to NC.
  • 65+: Noticeably lower than younger groups—roughly 70–80% use smartphones, several points below the NC average for this cohort. More basic/feature-phone retention and more mixed landline/wireless households than the state overall.
• Income and work mix:
  • Service/tourism and marine trades rely heavily on mobile messaging, social, and booking apps during the season; off-season usage drops more than the NC average because of the local economy’s seasonality.
  • Smartphone-only internet reliance (no fixed broadband) is pulled in two directions: rural pockets increase reliance, but senior households and widespread cable availability in populated areas decrease it. Net: likely near or slightly below the NC average.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Carteret is less diverse than the state, so the digital divide locally skews more by age and geography than by race/ethnicity compared with NC.

Digital infrastructure and coverage (key differences vs statewide)

• 4G/5G footprint:
  • Strongest along US‑70 (Morehead City–Beaufort corridor), NC‑24 (Cape Carteret–Emerald Isle), and in Atlantic Beach/Beaufort/Morehead City.
  • Sub‑6 GHz 5G from major carriers is present in towns; mid-band capacity is improving but less uniformly built out “Down East” (Harkers Island, Cedar Island, Stacy, Sea Level, Davis) and in low-density mainland pockets than typical NC suburban counties.
  • Coverage gaps and lower in-building performance are more common in barrier-island areas and along ferry routes than statewide averages.
• Backhaul and last-mile realities:
  • Cable/fiber backhaul is solid in the populated coastal strip (Spectrum and telephone successors), but many rural stretches still lean on microwave or limited fiber laterals. This creates more cell-to-cell variability in capacity than in urban/suburban NC.
• Seasonal load management:
  • Greater reliance on temporary capacity (small cells/COWs) for event weeks and holidays than most NC counties due to dramatic tourist peaks.
• Resilience/hardening:
  • Hurricane exposure means more emphasis on generator-backed macro sites, rapid-deploy assets, and public-safety LTE (FirstNet) coverage around ports, bridges, and EM facilities. Power and backhaul outages after storms have historically been a bigger driver of service interruptions than RF coverage—this resilience focus is more pronounced here than statewide.
• Public Wi‑Fi and maritime context:
  • Dense clusters of venue and marina Wi‑Fi offload traffic in beach towns during peak season—usage offload is higher and more concentrated than in inland NC.
  • Marine users increasingly blend cellular with satellite messaging/backup (e.g., satellite SOS devices) compared with the NC average.

Trends to watch

• Capacity-first upgrades in beach towns and along NC‑24/US‑70, with slower incremental improvements toward the eastern, less-dense “Down East” communities.
• Continued gap between senior adoption and the rest of the population (age-based digital divide more salient than the state average).
• Rising uptake of fixed wireless access (FWA) where cable/fiber is thin, and modest but notable adoption of satellite internet as a resilience hedge—patterns more common here than in most NC coastal-urban counties.
• Ongoing seasonal congestion patterns likely to persist, keeping Carteret’s per-tower summer traffic volatility higher than the state norm.

Notes on method and uncertainty

• Estimates blend statewide adoption benchmarks with Carteret’s demographic profile (older median age, coastal/rural geography) and typical carrier deployment patterns as of 2024. Exact counts vary by carrier, neighborhood, and season; ranges above reflect those uncertainties.

Here’s a concise, county-specific snapshot using modeled estimates (Pew Research Center national social-media adoption, adjusted for Carteret County’s older, more rural profile and 2023 Census demographics).

Snapshot of users

• Population: ~70,000; adults (18+): ~56,000
• Adults using at least one social platform: ~38,000–42,000 (≈68–75% of adults)

Age mix of social-media users (share of users, not residents)

• 18–29: ~20%
• 30–49: ~36%
• 50–64: ~26%
• 65+: ~18% Note: Carteret is older than the U.S. average, but seniors’ lower adoption means the active user base skews to 30–49.

Gender breakdown (share of users)

• Female: ~53–56%
• Male: ~44–47% Drivers: above‑average Facebook and Pinterest use among women; Reddit/X more male but smaller bases locally.

Most‑used platforms in Carteret County (share of adult social-media users)

• YouTube: ~80%
• Facebook: ~74%
• Instagram: ~35%
• TikTok: ~27%
• Pinterest: ~32%
• Snapchat: ~20%
• LinkedIn: ~20%
• X (Twitter): ~16%
• WhatsApp: ~14%
• Reddit: ~12%
• Nextdoor: ~10–15% (stronger in towns like Morehead City, Beaufort, Emerald Isle)

Behavioral trends to know

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups for buy/sell/trade, school/athletics, churches, local events, hurricane updates, and fishing/boating communities. County/town agencies rely on Facebook for public info.
• Video leads engagement: short-form (Reels/TikTok) around beach conditions, storm prep/impact, restaurant specials, live music, fishing reports, and local history performs well. Many businesses cross-post Reels to both Facebook and Instagram.
• Seasonal surge: Summer tourism amplifies Instagram and Facebook discovery for food, lodging, charters, and attractions; businesses see spikes in saved posts, DMs, and map clicks.
• Messaging is a service channel: Facebook Messenger for customer inquiries; under‑30s favor Instagram DMs and Snapchat for peer coordination.
• Older residents: Loyal to Facebook and YouTube; engage with local news outlets, government, and civic groups; share and comment more than they post original content.
• Younger residents: Heavier on TikTok/Snapchat/Instagram; preference for authentic, short video, creator/local influencer recommendations, and behind‑the‑scenes content.
• Neighborhood talk: Nextdoor use is moderate where HOA/municipal boundaries are clear; topics skew to safety, code issues, contractor recs, and lost/found.

Notes on method and sources

• Estimates blend Pew Research Center’s 2024 social media adoption by age, gender, and community type (rural) with Carteret County’s age structure (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 estimates). Figures are modeled, not from a county-specific survey. Percentages refer to share of adult social-media users unless noted.