Wilson County

Wilson County, North Carolina – key demographics

Population

• Total: ~78,900 (2023 estimate)
• 2010–2023 change: roughly -3% (slight decline)

Age

• Median age: ~40 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 18–64: ~58%
• 65 and over: ~18–19%

Gender

• Female: ~52–53%
• Male: ~47–48%

Race and ethnicity (shares of total population)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~44%
• Black or African American: ~39–40%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~12–13%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Asian: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%

Households and housing

• Households: ~30,900
• Average household size: ~2.5
• Family households: ~64–65% of households
• Owner-occupied housing: ~57%
• Renter-occupied housing: ~43%

Insights

• Population has been flat to slightly declining since 2010.
• The county has a large Black population and a growing Hispanic community relative to state averages.
• Age structure skews slightly older than national norms, with nearly one in five residents 65+.

Wilson County, NC (population ≈78,800; density ≈210 people/sq mi)

Estimated email users: ≈54,000 adults (≈90% of ≈60,000 adults), reflecting very high adoption among working-age residents and strong—though slightly lower—use among seniors.

Age distribution of email users (est.):

• 18–34: ≈14,000 (26%)
• 35–54: ≈18,000 (34%)
• 55–64: ≈8,000 (15%)
• 65+: ≈14,000 (25%)

Gender split (est.):

• Female: ≈28,000 (52%)
• Male: ≈26,000 (48%)

Digital access and connectivity:

• The City of Wilson’s Greenlight municipal fiber provides gigabit service across the urban core, supporting high engagement and multi‑device email use.
• Outside the city, residents rely more on cable, DSL, and fixed‑wireless; smartphone‑only access is more common in rural tracts, moderating email intensity among older adults.
• Users cluster in and around the City of Wilson and along primary corridors, where fixed broadband availability and speeds are strongest.

Insights:

• Email is effectively universal among adults under 55 and remains the default communication channel for work, school, and services.
• Incremental growth is concentrated among older adults and newly connected rural households as fiber builds extend beyond the city.

Mobile phone usage in Wilson County, North Carolina — Summary and key differences from statewide patterns

Scope and sources

• Latest available federal datasets: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022 5-year (table S2801: Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions) for household device/subscription indicators; FCC National Broadband Map (2024) for network availability; City of Wilson for municipal fiber (Greenlight).
• Population context (Census): ~79,000 residents; ~31,000 households.

User and household adoption estimates

• Smartphone access: Roughly 9 in 10 households in Wilson County have at least one smartphone, consistent with ACS S2801 levels for similarly situated NC counties but slightly below the statewide average. That equates to approximately 28,000 smartphone households locally.
• Cellular data plans: About 4 in 5 Wilson County households maintain a cellular data plan for internet access (alone or bundled with home broadband), modestly below the North Carolina average.
• Mobile-only households: Reliance on mobile/cellular data as the only home internet subscription is noticeably higher in Wilson County than statewide. Local rates are in the mid-teens percent of households, versus low-teens statewide.
• Households offline: The share of households with no home internet subscription (of any kind) is a few points higher in Wilson County than the North Carolina average, reflecting affordability and rural last-mile gaps.

Demographic breakdown (how Wilson differs from North Carolina overall)

• Age:
  • Seniors (65+): Smartphone adoption is lower than the state average, with a larger senior cohort relying on basic phones or being offline. Mobile-only reliance among connected seniors is higher than the NC norm, indicating cost-sensitive, phone-first usage.
  • Under 35: Near-universal smartphone access, on par with the state, but a higher share in Wilson use mobile data as their primary or only home connection, reflecting lower fixed-broadband take-up in rental and lower-income young households.
• Income:
  • Low-income households (under ~$25,000): Smartphone access rates trail state averages by several points, and mobile-only reliance is materially higher than statewide. This group accounts for a disproportionate share of households with cellular-only internet.
  • Middle-income households: Mixed pattern—households in the City of Wilson who can access municipal fiber are less likely to be mobile-only than peers statewide; rural middle-income households are more likely to be mobile-only than statewide.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Black and Hispanic households in Wilson County show higher mobile-only reliance than White households, with a wider gap than is typical statewide. Smartphone possession itself is broadly high across groups, but fixed-broadband adoption gaps are more pronounced locally, pushing mobile-first behavior.
• Geography (intra-county):
  • Urban core (City of Wilson): Very high smartphone access and lower mobile-only share relative to the county average due to strong fixed-broadband competition (including municipal fiber).
  • Rural townships and unincorporated areas (e.g., along the county’s southern and eastern edges): Higher mobile-only shares and higher offline rates than the urban core; these areas drive the county’s divergence from statewide norms.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Municipal fiber leadership: The City of Wilson’s Greenlight Community Broadband provides citywide fiber, including symmetrical gigabit service. This is a notable outlier versus many NC communities and measurably reduces mobile-only reliance inside the city compared with similar NC urban areas.
• 5G and LTE coverage: All three national carriers report 5G coverage in and around the City of Wilson, major corridors (including I‑95 and US‑264), and population centers; 4G/LTE remains the practical baseline in several rural pockets where mid-band 5G is sparse. This urban–rural split contributes to higher mobile-only shares outside the fiber footprint.
• Backhaul and middle-mile: Presence of municipal fiber and regional carriers provides strong backhaul in the urban core; rural last-mile fixed options remain patchier than the NC average, sustaining phone-first patterns for affordability and availability reasons.
• Funding and buildouts: Recent state and federal grant activity (e.g., GREAT/ARPA/BEAD awards across eastern NC) is targeting rural gaps; as these builds complete, expect a gradual decline in mobile-only reliance in the county’s rural tracts.

Key insights and trends distinct from state-level

• Higher mobile-only reliance: Wilson County’s share of cellular-only home internet households is meaningfully above the North Carolina average. This is driven by rural availability gaps and affordability constraints that are more acute than statewide.
• Stronger urban fixed-broadband offset: The City of Wilson’s early municipal fiber deployment creates a two-speed county profile—urban households are less mobile-only than comparable NC cities, while rural areas are more mobile-only than the statewide rural average.
• Larger affordability signal: The county shows a higher concentration of low-income and senior households with either mobile-only access or no home internet, exceeding statewide rates. Phone-first use among these groups is a cost-containment strategy.
• Adoption ceiling near state but with sharper divides: Overall smartphone penetration is near the NC average, but Wilson exhibits sharper differences by income, age, and geography than the state as a whole.

What this means for planning and engagement

• Mobile channels are essential countywide—especially for reaching rural, low-income, and senior residents—while the urban core can support richer fixed-broadband experiences.
• Improving fixed-broadband availability and affordability in rural tracts will directly reduce mobile-only reliance and narrow digital equity gaps faster than device distribution alone.
• Public services and emergency communications should default to SMS-first outreach with low-bandwidth fallbacks, paired with app/web experiences optimized for cellular users.

Wilson County, NC social media snapshot (2025)

Baseline

• Residents: ≈79,000; adults 18+: ≈61,000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimates).
• All figures below refer to adults and are modeled from Pew Research Center 2024 platform adoption rates, adjusted to Wilson County’s age mix and urbanicity.

Overall reach (adults)

• Estimated adults using at least one major social platform: ≈76–80% (≈46,000–49,000 people).
• Share of social media users by age cohort (of all users): 18–29 ≈23%, 30–49 ≈37%, 50–64 ≈25%, 65+ ≈15%.
• Gender split among social users: ≈54% women, 46% men (women slightly over-index via Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest).

Most-used platforms (share of adults; modeled for Wilson County)

• YouTube: 82% (≈50,000)
• Facebook: 70% (≈43,000)
• Instagram: 45% (≈27,500)
• TikTok: 30% (≈18,300)
• Snapchat: 24% (≈14,700)
• Pinterest: 31% (≈19,000)
• X (Twitter): 21% (≈12,800)
• LinkedIn: 24% (≈14,700)
• WhatsApp: 27% (≈16,500)
• Reddit: 18% (≈11,000)
• Nextdoor: 14% (≈8,600) Note: Users overlap across platforms; counts are not mutually exclusive.

Age profile and platform mix (share of adults within each age group)

• 18–29: YouTube 93%, Instagram 78%, Snapchat 65%, TikTok 62%, Facebook 32%
• 30–49: YouTube 89%, Facebook 74%, Instagram 57%, TikTok 39%, Snapchat 30%
• 50–64: YouTube 83%, Facebook 76%, Pinterest 39%, Instagram 32%, TikTok 20%
• 65+: YouTube 70%, Facebook 69%, Nextdoor 18%, Instagram 21%, TikTok 10%

Gender breakdown by platform (share of adult women/men)

• Women: Facebook 73%, Instagram 51%, Pinterest 50%, TikTok 35%, Snapchat 30%, YouTube 81%
• Men: YouTube 86%, Facebook 66%, Instagram 43%, TikTok 31%, Snapchat 24%, X 27%, Reddit 29%, LinkedIn 33%

Behavioral trends to know

• Facebook is the county’s default community hub: heavy use of Groups (neighborhoods, churches, school athletics), Marketplace, local events, and service referrals; highest engagement evenings and weekends.
• Short-form video is surging: Reels and TikTok drive discovery for eateries, boutiques, home services, and local creators; cross-posted clips outperform static posts.
• Messaging is central to conversion: Facebook Messenger dominates for appointments and quotes; WhatsApp pockets exist (notably among Hispanic residents); Snapchat is the under‑30 default.
• News and civic info skew local: Residents rely on Facebook Groups/Pages and YouTube recaps for local news and school/municipal updates; older adults are more dependent on these channels.
• Commerce behaviors are pragmatic: Deal- and convenience-oriented content performs best; Marketplace + curbside pickup and “DM to hold” tactics work for micro‑retail.
• Platform roles are distinct:
  • YouTube for how‑to, product research, and long-tail local content.
  • Instagram for visual discovery and events; stories/DMs convert.
  • TikTok for reach beyond followers; authenticity beats polish.
  • LinkedIn is niche (healthcare/admin/manufacturing management), useful for hiring and B2B awareness.
• Demographic nuance: Women 25–44 drive school/PTA, youth sports, and local shopping chatter; men 25–54 over-index in trades, sports, and equipment groups; 50+ segment is the most comment- and share-heavy on Facebook.

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau (ACS/Census 2023) for population and age mix; Pew Research Center “Social Media Use in 2024” for platform adoption by age and gender. County-level percentages are modeled by applying Pew’s adoption rates to Wilson County’s adult age distribution and urbanicity; figures are rounded to whole percentages for clarity.