Yancey County

Yancey County, North Carolina – key demographics

Population

• 18,833 (2023 estimate, U.S. Census Bureau)
• 18,470 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~50 years
• Under 18: ~18.5%
• 65 and over: ~25%

Gender

• Female: ~50.8%
• Male: ~49.2%

Race and ethnicity

• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~90–91%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~4–5%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Black or African American alone: ~0.6%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0.4%
• Asian alone: ~0.3%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.0–0.1%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~7,800
• Average household size: ~2.25
• Family households: ~63% of households
• Married-couple households: ~52% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~37%
• Individuals living alone: ~31% (about 14% age 65+ living alone)

Insights

• Small, slowly growing county with an older age profile (about 1 in 4 residents are 65+).
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White, with a small but present Hispanic/Latino community.
• Household sizes are modest, with a substantial share of nonfamily and single-person households.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2023 Population Estimates; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year.

• Population and density: ≈18,500 residents; ~59 people per square mile.
• Estimated email users: ≈14,400 (about 94% of adults; ~78% of total residents).
• Age distribution of email users (adoption within each group):
  • 18–29: 2,000 users (98% adoption)
  • 30–49: 3,900 users (95%)
  • 50–64: 4,200 users (90%)
  • 65+: 4,200 users (80%)
• Gender split: Population is 51% female, 49% male; email users mirror this (7,350 female, ~7,050 male).

Digital access and trends:

• ~79% of households have a broadband subscription; ~89% have a computer; ~13% are smartphone‑only internet households.
• Daily email engagement is highest among working‑age adults; seniors’ usage is rising as smartphone adoption increases.
• Connectivity context: Rural, mountainous geography and low settlement density create last‑mile challenges outside Burnsville and primary road corridors, leaving roughly one in five households without broadband. Ongoing fiber and cable upgrades are expanding coverage and speeds, while public Wi‑Fi (libraries, community sites) provides access for households lacking home service.

Overall: Email is near‑universal among younger and middle‑aged adults in Yancey County and strong among seniors, constrained mainly by broadband availability rather than interest.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Yancey County, North Carolina

Headline estimates (2023–2024 context)

• Population: ~18,500 residents; adults (18+) ~15,000.
• Active smartphone users: ~13,000–14,000 people (about 70–75% of total population; ~85–90% of adults).
• Households relying on mobile phones as their primary home internet (smartphone-only or cellular hotspot in place of wired broadband): ~1,500–2,000 households (roughly 19–25% of households).
• Basic/feature phone users: ~1,200–1,700 people, concentrated among ages 65+.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age:
  • 65+ share is materially higher than the state average (roughly one-quarter of county residents). Smartphone adoption in this group lags working-age adults by 15–20 percentage points, and basic-phone retention is noticeably higher. Result: overall smartphone penetration is several points lower than the North Carolina average.
  • Teens and working-age adults exhibit very high smartphone penetration (≈90%+), but a larger-than-average minority depend on mobile data as their only home connection due to patchy fixed broadband.
• Income and rurality:
  • Median incomes trail the state average; prepaid plans and lower-cost Android devices are used more often than in metro North Carolina. Mobile-only households are more common because of the cost and availability of wired broadband.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • The county’s population is predominantly White non-Hispanic, with smaller Hispanic/Latino and other groups; observed differences in mobile adoption are driven more by age and income than by race in this market.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Terrain and siting:
  • Mountainous topography (including Mount Mitchell and Pisgah National Forest lands) creates pronounced dead zones and signal shadowing in hollows and ridge-protected valleys. Coverage is strong along US‑19E and in/around Burnsville and Micaville, and spottier along the Blue Ridge Parkway, South Toe River valley, and high‑elevation back roads.
• 5G and LTE layers:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T/FirstNet, Verizon, T‑Mobile) are present. Low‑band 5G covers the main corridors; mid‑band 5G capacity is concentrated in and near Burnsville and along the US‑19E spine. mmWave is effectively absent.
  • Typical performance: LTE 5–40 Mbps in rural stretches; low‑band 5G 20–80 Mbps along corridors; mid‑band 5G 100–300+ Mbps in town centers where deployed. Indoor coverage often falls back to Wi‑Fi calling in older buildings and deep valleys.
• Backhaul and redundancy:
  • Fiber backhaul follows primary transportation routes; single‑path fiber segments and limited tower density leave networks more vulnerable to localized outages and congestion during peak tourism and events than in metro NC.
• Fixed‑wireless/home internet:
  • 4G/5G home internet options (Verizon or T‑Mobile) are available in pockets around Burnsville and US‑19E. Adoption is higher than the state average where cable/fiber is unavailable or cost‑prohibitive.

How Yancey County differs from the North Carolina statewide picture

• Lower overall smartphone penetration, driven by an older age structure and rural income profile, despite very high adoption among working‑age residents.
• Significantly higher reliance on mobile as the primary home internet (mobile‑only households roughly 19–25% vs. a notably lower share statewide), reflecting patchy fixed broadband availability.
• More pronounced coverage gaps and performance variability due to terrain; 5G mid‑band capacity is spotty outside Burnsville, while statewide it is more broadly deployed in metro counties.
• Prepaid usage and budget‑tier devices are a larger slice of the market; device upgrade cycles are longer than in urban/suburban NC.
• Network congestion is more episodic (tourism weekends, seasonal peaks) and linked to a smaller number of tower sectors and backhaul routes than in cities.

Implications for planners and providers

• The fastest lift in digital inclusion comes from expanding mid‑band 5G sectors and fixed wireless along valley communities off the US‑19E corridor, combined with targeted senior adoption programs.
• Backhaul diversity (additional fiber routes/microwave links) and a few well‑placed infill sites will reduce outage risk and smooth event‑driven congestion.
• Support for Wi‑Fi calling, signal boosters, and affordable device programs will have outsized impact relative to metro areas, given the county’s terrain and demographics.

Social media usage in Yancey County, NC (modeled 2024 snapshot)

How many people use social media

• Population: ~18.6k; adults (18+): ~14.9k
• Estimated adult social-media users: ~10.9k (about 74% of adults)
• Access: mobile-first. Roughly 1 in 5 households lack a home broadband subscription, so most usage is via smartphones and Facebook Messenger

Age mix of social-media users (share of users)

• 13–17: ~8% (heavy on TikTok/Snapchat/YouTube; Instagram secondary)
• 18–29: ~16% (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok; Snapchat for messaging)
• 30–49: ~30% (Facebook and YouTube dominant; Instagram rising; TikTok moderate)
• 50–64: ~26% (Facebook and YouTube; Pinterest among women)
• 65+: ~20% (Facebook for community/news; YouTube; lighter use elsewhere)

Gender breakdown

• Overall users: ~54% women, ~46% men (county skews slightly female)
• Platform skews among local users (approximate):
  • Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram: more women
  • YouTube, Reddit, X (Twitter): more men
  • Facebook: slight female tilt; Snapchat: slight female tilt; LinkedIn: slight male tilt

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults; counts are rounded)

• YouTube: 78% (11.5k adults)
• Facebook: 70% (10.4k)
• Instagram: 38% (5.7k)
• TikTok: 30% (4.5k)
• Pinterest: 28% (4.2k)
• Snapchat: 20% (3.0k)
• WhatsApp: 18% (2.7k)
• LinkedIn: 14% (2.1k)
• Reddit: 12% (1.8k)
• X (Twitter): 12% (1.8k)
• Nextdoor: 6% (0.9k)

Behavioral trends to know

• Community-first on Facebook: Local news, schools, churches, events (e.g., festivals, yard sales) flow through Facebook Pages and Groups; Facebook Messenger is a primary channel for informal communication
• Video-led consumption: YouTube for how-to, outdoor/recreation content, local music/arts; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) increasingly drives discovery for dining, services, and events
• Practical engagement: High response to timely, utility content (weather, road conditions, school updates, local government notices), coupons/discounts, and posts tied to in-person visits
• Timing: Engagement peaks evenings (7–9 pm) and weekends; weekday lunch hours produce secondary spikes
• Mobile, simple, local: Short captions, vertical video, clear calls to action, and geo-tagging within ~10–20 miles of Burnsville perform best

Notes on methodology

• Figures are best-available local estimates derived from the county’s 2023 demographic profile and 2024 U.S. platform adoption benchmarks (Pew Research and comparable rural-county patterns), age-weighted to Yancey County’s older population. Percentages indicate reach among adults, not time spent.