Billings County

Here are key demographics for Billings County, North Dakota (latest Census/ACS):

• Population: 945 (2020 Decennial Census)
• Age (ACS 2018–2022):
  • Median age: ~41 years
  • Under 18: ~23%
  • 65 and over: ~16%
• Sex (ACS 2018–2022):
  • Male: ~56%
  • Female: ~44%
• Race and ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022):
  • White alone: ~94%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~2%
  • Black or African American alone: <1%
  • Asian alone: <1%
  • Two or more races: ~3%
  • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~5% (overlaps with race categories above)
• Households (ACS 2018–2022):
  • Total households: ~410–420
  • Average household size: ~2.3
  • Family households: ~58–60% (married-couple ~50%)
  • Nonfamily households: ~40–42%
  • Households with children under 18: ~24%
  • Average family size: ~2.8

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 2018–2022 5-year estimates. Figures carry margins of error due to the county’s small population.

Here’s a pragmatic estimate for Billings County, ND (pop. ~950; ~0.8 people/sq. mile, county seat: Medora):

• Estimated email users: 720–780 residents

  • Basis: ~88–93% of adults use email (Pew) adjusted for rural connectivity; includes most working-age adults and many teens/seniors.

• Age mix of email users (approx. share of users):

  • 13–17: 4–6%
  • 18–34: 22–28%
  • 35–64: 50–58%
  • 65+: 12–18%
  • Note: Seniors’ email use trails younger adults but is rising as broadband and mobile improve.

• Gender split of users: ~55% male, ~45% female (mirrors county’s male-leaning population; usage rates by gender are similar).

• Digital access and trends:

  • Household broadband subscription: roughly 75–85% (in line with rural ND ACS ranges), with 10–15% smartphone‑only households.
  • Coverage: Strong 4G/5G along I‑94/Medora; patchier service in badlands/ranchlands; fixed wireless and satellite commonly fill gaps.
  • Ongoing fiber and fixed‑wireless buildouts supported by state/federal funds (e.g., BEAD) are improving speeds and reliability.
  • Public access: Library/visitor centers in Medora typically provide Wi‑Fi; these nodes are important given dispersed residences.

Overall: Email is near‑universal among connected adults; connectivity constraints—not interest—drive the small non‑user share.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Billings County, North Dakota (focus on differences from state-level)

User estimates (small, rural population; ranges shown due to limited county-specific data)

• Population baseline: 945 residents (2020 Census).
• Adults (18+): roughly 720–760.
• Estimated mobile phone users (any mobile, incl. basic phones): 680–760.
• Estimated smartphone users: 580–680.
• Seasonal effect: Daytime/peak-season population in and around Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park rises by several thousand, causing short-term spikes in active devices and network load well above resident counts.

Demographic/behavioral breakdown

• Age:
  • 18–34: High smartphone adoption (≈90–95%); small cohort locally, so absolute numbers are modest.
  • 35–64: High but slightly lower than urban ND; many use LTE-only devices and enable Wi‑Fi calling at home.
  • 65+: Adoption significantly below state average; more basic phones and continued landline use than in metro ND.
• Household patterns:
  • More reliance on signal boosters and Wi‑Fi calling than statewide, due to spotty indoor coverage outside Medora/I‑94.
  • Mixed connectivity strategies: where fiber/co-op broadband is available, residents pair home Wi‑Fi with lower-cost cellular plans; where wired options are sparse, a noticeable minority use phones as primary internet.
• Occupation/seasonality:
  • Ranching/outdoor work leads to rugged devices and LTE hotspot use; two-way radios still complement mobile for off-grid areas.
  • Tourism workforce and visitors skew usage toward short-term, high-data demand near Medora in summer (navigation, streaming, POS terminals).
• Socio-cultural:
  • County is older and more rural than North Dakota overall, contributing to fewer smartphone-only households and more practical work-oriented usage.

Digital infrastructure points (what’s different from statewide)

• Coverage pattern:
  • Strongest, multi-carrier coverage hugs I‑94 and Medora; away from the corridor, terrain-driven dead zones are common. This contrasts with broader, denser multi-carrier coverage in ND’s metros and larger towns.
  • 5G availability is limited and mostly low-band along I‑94; mid-band 5G (the higher-speed kind common in Fargo–Bismarck–Grand Forks–Minot) is scarce or absent.
• Tower density and topology:
  • Very low tower density over ~1,100+ square miles of rugged badlands; canyons and buttes create line-of-sight challenges that are less pronounced in eastern ND.
• Carriers and reliability:
  • Typically 1–2 usable carriers off-corridor vs 3 in larger ND markets; Verizon and AT&T tend to be more consistent in remote areas; T‑Mobile strongest near the interstate. Residents often choose based on a single “works at my ranch” carrier rather than price or features.
  • Outages during severe weather or wildfire events have greater reach due to sparse redundancy; backup power at sites helps, but backhaul routes can be single-threaded.
• Public safety and E911:
  • Text-to-911 is available; first responders often rely on Band 14/FirstNet along I‑94 and VHF repeaters off-corridor—more reliance on non-cellular radio than in urban ND.
• Backhaul and local broadband interplay:
  • Fiber and fixed broadband exist in pockets via regional co-ops/telcos, especially in/near Medora and some rural exchanges, but coverage is uneven compared with ND’s metro areas.
  • Where fiber is present, residents lean on Wi‑Fi and keep lighter cellular plans; where it isn’t, LTE hotspots fill gaps but can be capacity-constrained in summer.

How Billings County differs from North Dakota overall

• Lower senior smartphone adoption and higher persistence of basic phones/landlines.
• Greater dependence on Wi‑Fi calling, vehicle/home signal boosters, and two-way radios.
• Coverage concentrated along a single corridor (I‑94) with sharp drop-offs, versus broader, multi-carrier 4G/5G in ND’s population centers.
• Limited mid-band 5G; LTE remains the workhorse technology.
• Seasonal tourism causes outsized, short-term congestion compared with relatively steady loads in most ND counties.

Notes on method

• User counts derived by applying rural U.S. mobile/smartphone adoption rates (Pew and similar studies) to the 2020 Census population, adjusted for Billings County’s older age profile and rural setting.
• Infrastructure observations reflect western ND carrier footprints, FCC coverage norms in badlands terrain, and known corridor-centric 5G/LTE deployments along I‑94.

Billings County, ND: social media snapshot (estimates for 2025)

Topline user stats

• Population: roughly 900–1,000 residents; small, rural, older-leaning, slight male skew.
• Active social media users (any platform): about 65–75% of adults. That equates to roughly 500–650 residents total when including teens.
• Internet/smartphone access: high by rural standards; most users access via smartphone. Patchy coverage in some areas still limits heavy video outside towns.

Age mix of users (share of local social users)

• Teens (13–17): 15–20% of users; near-universal use, heavy on Snapchat/TikTok/YouTube.
• 18–29: 15–20%; Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok + YouTube; Messenger for coordination.
• 30–49: 30–35%; Facebook/YouTube dominant; Instagram rising; some TikTok.
• 50–64: 15–20%; Facebook and YouTube; Pinterest among women.
• 65+: 10–15%; Facebook for community/news; YouTube for how‑to and local content.

Gender breakdown (of local social users)

• Slight male majority overall given county demographics; expected split about 50–55% male, 45–50% female.
• Platform skews: Pinterest and Instagram lean female; YouTube and Reddit lean male; Facebook close to even but slightly female-leaning in engagement.

Most‑used platforms locally (estimated share of adult users; ranges reflect rural U.S. patterns adjusted for ND)

• YouTube: 70–80%
• Facebook: 60–70%
• Facebook Messenger: 50–60%
• Instagram: 30–40% (higher among under 40)
• Snapchat: 25–35% (teens/20s)
• TikTok: 25–35% (under 40; strong among service/tourism workers)
• Pinterest: 25–30% (women, home/outdoors)
• LinkedIn: 15–20% (energy/tourism management)
• X/Twitter: 15–20% (news, sports, state politics)
• Reddit: 10–15% (younger, tech/outdoors)

Behavioral trends to know

• Facebook is the community hub: county/school/EMS pages, local buy–sell groups, event info, obituaries, weather/road updates, wildfire alerts.
• Seasonal swings: Summer (Medora/TR National Park tourism) boosts Instagram/TikTok activity and location tags; winter pushes higher Facebook engagement and YouTube watch time.
• Messaging matters: Facebook Messenger for families/community coordination; Snapchat for teens/young adults; group chats drive event turnout.
• Content that performs: local faces and names, high‑school sports, ranching/energy, hunting/fishing, trail/park conditions, road closures, forecasts, volunteer calls. Short vertical video and photo carousels outperform text.
• Timing: peaks before work (6–8 a.m.), lunch, and evenings (7–10 p.m.). Weekend activity strong; summer daytime engagement dips during outdoor/work hours.
• Targeting cautions: tiny audience sizes mean frequency fatigue sets in fast; use wider radius/geos, rotate creative often, and lean into interest-based and seasonal topics.

Method and sources

• There is no official, public, platform-by-platform dataset at the county level. Figures are derived from: U.S. Census/ACS demographics for rural ND counties; Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 social media adoption (with rural vs. urban breaks); platform advertising reach benchmarks; and observed rural usage patterns in the Upper Midwest. Ranges reflect uncertainty and small-population effects.