Lee County

Key demographics for Lee County, North Carolina

Population

• Total population: ~66,700 (2023 population estimate)
• 2020 Census: 63,285
• 2020–2023 growth: ~5–6%

Age

• Median age: ~38.5 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 18–64: ~60%
• 65 and over: ~16%

Sex

• Female: ~50–51%
• Male: ~49–50%

Race and ethnicity (mutually exclusive; ACS)

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~26%
• White alone, non-Hispanic: ~52%
• Black or African American alone, non-Hispanic: ~18%
• Asian alone, non-Hispanic: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone, non-Hispanic: <1%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2%

Households and housing

• Households: ~23,500–24,000
• Average household size: ~2.7–2.8
• Family households: ~69%
• Married-couple families: ~45–48%
• With children under 18: ~30–32%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~65–67%
• Median household income: ~$60,000–$65,000
• Poverty rate (persons): ~13–15%

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

Lee County, NC overview

• Population ≈66,500 across ≈259 sq mi (≈255 people per sq mi); most residents live in and around Sanford.

Email users (adults)

• Adult population ≈51,500; estimated adult email users ≈47,400 (≈92% of adults, applying Pew usage rates).
• Gender split among users: ≈51% female (≈24,200), ≈49% male (≈23,200).

Age distribution of adult email users (estimate)

• 18–34: ≈30% (≈14,200)
• 35–54: ≈36% (≈17,100)
• 55–64: ≈15% (≈7,100)
• 65+: ≈19% (≈9,000) Usage is nearly universal under 55, with modest tapering among seniors.

Digital access and connectivity

• About 87% of households subscribe to broadband; roughly 92% have a computer or smartphone at home (ACS-style metrics).
• Smartphone reliance is notable: ~18% of adults are smartphone-only for home internet, higher in rural tracts.
• Fixed broadband (cable/fiber) serves the Sanford urban area extensively; rural southeast and southwest pockets rely more on DSL or fixed wireless, which correlates with slightly lower email intensity.
• Public access points (libraries, schools, municipal Wi‑Fi) supplement connectivity and support student email usage.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS computer/internet indicators; Pew Research Center adult email usage benchmarks. Figures are county-specific estimates derived from those datasets.

Mobile phone usage in Lee County, NC — 2024 snapshot

User estimates

• Population baseline: 63,285 (2020 Census). Growth since 2020 has been modest; 2024 county population is in the mid-60,000s.
• Unique mobile phone users: approximately 50,000–55,000 residents carry a mobile handset (smartphone or basic phone) on a regular basis.
• Smartphone users: approximately 47,000–52,000, reflecting near-universal adoption among teens and adults and lower adoption among the oldest residents.
• Mobile-only home internet: smartphone- or cellular-only households are in the mid-to-high teens as a share of all households, several points above the North Carolina average (low teens). This aligns with local income and rurality patterns.

Demographic breakdown (how usage differs from statewide patterns)

• Race/ethnicity: About one in five residents is Hispanic/Latino (2020 Census ≈20.5%), roughly double the statewide share. This correlates with higher use of prepaid/MVNO plans, multilingual messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp), and smartphone-only connectivity for home internet compared with the state as a whole.
• Income: Median household income in Lee County is below the North Carolina median. Price-sensitive plan selection (prepaid, family bundles, MVNOs) and heavier reliance on unlimited data tiers are more common than statewide.
• Age: Younger cohorts (teens, 18–34) show near-universal smartphone adoption, similar to NC overall, but seniors (65+) have lower smartphone take-up than prime-age adults, which sustains a small base of basic/feature phones and lifts the share of households using mobile service as their primary internet in lieu of costlier fixed options.
• Urban/rural mix: Sanford anchors the county’s urban usage, with suburban-rural tracts elsewhere. Compared with the state average, a larger share of users lives outside dense urban cores, which:
  • Increases the prevalence of smartphone-only internet access
  • Shifts traffic to evening and weekend peaks at home and along commuter corridors (US 1, US 421, NC 87)
  • Produces more variable signal quality at the edges of coverage compared with NC’s metro counties

Digital infrastructure points

• Networks and coverage
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide 4G LTE countywide and 5G in and around Sanford and along US 1/US 421/NC 87. 5G mid-band (e.g., 2.5 GHz for T-Mobile; C-band for Verizon/AT&T) is strongest in Sanford’s population centers, with low-band 5G/LTE filling rural areas.
  • FirstNet (AT&T’s Band 14) is deployed on select sites for public-safety reliability.
  • Several dozen macro towers plus water-tank/rooftop sites serve the county; small-cell density is higher in Sanford than in rural tracts.
• Backhaul and fixed alternatives
  • Fiber backhaul follows highway and utility corridors; cable plant is concentrated in Sanford. Outside the city, legacy copper and fixed wireless persist.
  • 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) from T-Mobile and Verizon is widely marketed in and around Sanford and increasingly in adjacent communities. Local FWA uptake is higher than the statewide average because fiber/cable availability drops outside the urban core.
• Performance considerations
  • Dense coverage and mid-band capacity in Sanford support higher median speeds and lower latency than rural tracts.
  • Terrain and tree cover create localized dead spots in sparsely populated areas; users rely more on Wi‑Fi calling and signal boosters than the NC urban average.

Trends that differ from North Carolina overall

• Higher smartphone-only/home mobile internet reliance: mid-to-high teens share of households versus low teens statewide.
• Greater prepaid/MVNO penetration: driven by income mix and a larger Hispanic demographic than the NC average.
• Faster adoption of 5G FWA as a home broadband substitute: stronger interest where cable/fiber options thin outside Sanford.
• More heterogeneous performance: near-metro speeds in Sanford contrasted with edge-of-cell variability in rural pockets, a sharper urban-rural divide than in major NC metros.
• Daytime mobility patterns: commuter flows along US 1 and industrial corridors produce predictable congestion windows that are more pronounced than in larger NC cities with denser site grids.

Key takeaways

• Lee County’s mobile ecosystem is robust in Sanford and adequate but variable in rural tracts.
• Compared with state averages, residents are more likely to rely on mobile service as their primary internet and to choose prepaid value plans.
• 5G FWA is a notable growth area locally, filling gaps where fixed broadband options are limited or costly.

Here’s a concise, data-backed snapshot of social media usage in Lee County, NC, with modeled 2024 estimates based on U.S. Census (2023) population and Pew Research Center social media adoption rates. Figures are rounded and expressed as a share of adult residents (18+).

County context

• Population: ~66,000; adults (18+): ~50,000
• Gender split: ~51% female, ~49% male

Most-used platforms among adults (estimated penetration and user counts)

• YouTube: 83% (42,000 adults)
• Facebook: 68% (34,000)
• Instagram: 47% (23,500)
• Pinterest: 35% (17,500)
• LinkedIn: 32% (16,000)
• TikTok: 33% (16,500)
• Snapchat: 27% (13,500)
• X/Twitter: 22% (11,000)
• Reddit: 22% (11,000)
• WhatsApp: 21% (10,500)
• Nextdoor: 20% (10,000)

Age groups (adult adoption of “any social platform,” aligned to national patterns)

• 18–29: ~80–85% use social media; heavy on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat
• 30–49: ~80% use; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram dominate; rising TikTok/Reels
• 50–64: ~70–75% use; Facebook and YouTube lead; Pinterest useful for projects/DIY
• 65+: ~45–50% use; Facebook and YouTube primary touchpoints; Nextdoor for neighborhood info

Gender breakdown

• Overall social media user base mirrors population (~51% female, ~49% male)
• Platform skews: women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Nextdoor; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, X/Twitter, LinkedIn

Behavioral trends observed locally

• Community-first usage: Facebook Groups and Pages are central for schools, city/county updates, events, church and youth sports; Marketplace is a top channel for local buying/selling
• Video-first engagement: short-form video (Reels/TikTok) and YouTube tutorials perform best for home services, trades, DIY, and local food/service discovery
• Bilingual reach matters: Lee County’s sizable Hispanic community drives strong Facebook and WhatsApp usage; Spanish-English content improves reach and shares
• Hyperlocal platforms: Nextdoor is used for neighborhood alerts, utilities/HOA issues, lost-and-found pets, contractor recommendations
• Shopping and conversion paths: discovery on Instagram/TikTok; trust-building and group validation on Facebook; in-person purchase or Messenger/WhatsApp follow-up is common
• Timing: engagement clusters in early evening (after work/school) and weekends; weekday lunch hours are solid for short-form video
• Trust and news: local outlets, schools, public safety, and government pages on Facebook are primary sources for timely updates and weather/emergency info

Notes on interpretation

• Percentages reflect adult penetration; youth usage (13–17) skews even more toward YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat
• Platform adoption mirrors national suburban/rural patterns, with slightly higher reliance on Facebook/YouTube for community information and services

Sources

• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use (2024) platform adoption rates
• U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 population estimates (Lee County, NC)
• Modeled local estimates applying national adoption by platform and age to county demographics