Burleigh County

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• 2020 Decennial Census (hard counts)
• Latest ACS 5-year (2019–2023 estimates)
• 2023 Census population estimates

If you don’t specify, I’ll use ACS 2019–2023 for composition/households and 2023 population estimate.

Burleigh County, ND email usage (estimates)

• Estimated email users: 75,000–85,000 residents out of ≈100,000. Based on ~90% adult adoption and high teen usage; limited use under age 13.
• Age distribution of email users (approx.): 13–17: 8%; 18–34: 28%; 35–54: 38%; 55–64: 14%; 65+: 12%.
• Gender split: roughly even, mirroring county demographics (~51% male, 49% female).

Digital access and local connectivity

• Population concentration: Most residents live in and around Bismarck (about three‑quarters of the county), supporting higher email adoption through better broadband.
• Network access: Cable and fiber are widely available in Bismarck; rural townships rely more on fixed wireless and mobile broadband.
• Mobile: 5G service covers Bismarck; 4G LTE is prevalent in rural areas. Public Wi‑Fi is common in libraries, schools, and government facilities.
• Trends: Strong smartphone use for email, ongoing shift to cloud email platforms, rising adoption among older adults, and persistent rural gaps in speed/reliability despite overall high connectivity in the metro.

Notes: Figures are estimates derived from county population patterns combined with typical U.S./North Dakota email and broadband adoption rates.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Burleigh County, North Dakota

Scope and approach

• Figures below are reasoned estimates using recent population counts, national and Upper Midwest adoption benchmarks, and known carrier build-outs through 2024. They are intended to show scale and direction, not precise headcounts.

User estimates

• Population base: About 100,000 residents, with roughly three-quarters adults.
• Total mobile users (any mobile phone): Approx. 80,000–90,000 people. This includes most adults and a large majority of teens.
• Smartphone users: Approx. 70,000–78,000 (smartphone penetration is very high among under-65s; some 65+ and rural residents still use basic phones).
• Wireless-only households: Likely above the statewide average (statewide share is high but depressed by very rural counties). In Bismarck proper, wireless-only households are common and approach large-metro levels; the county-wide share is a few points below the city but above the North Dakota average.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age
  • 13–44: Near-universal smartphone ownership; heaviest data consumption (video, social, mobile banking).
  • 45–64: Very high smartphone ownership; strong use of employer-provided or BYOD lines.
  • 65+: Rapid growth in smartphone adoption driven by telehealth portals (Sanford, CHI St. Alexius) and messaging; still the most likely to retain voice-first or basic devices, especially outside Bismarck.
• Income and plan type
  • Higher share of postpaid family and employer plans than the state average; prepaid share is lower than in oilfield and very rural counties.
  • iPhone share is somewhat higher than statewide; budget Android devices remain common in rural parts of the county.
• Urban–rural split within the county
  • Bismarck (urban core): Dense 5G coverage, strong indoor performance, high app usage (ride-hail, food delivery, mobile ticketing, government services).
  • Northern and far-eastern Burleigh (low-density): More mixed coverage and greater reliance on voice/SMS; hotspot use for home internet is more common.
• Employment mix effects
  • Government, healthcare, and education are overrepresented vs. the state average, yielding more business/government lines (including FirstNet) and higher daytime network loads near the Capitol, hospitals, and campuses.
  • Less oilfield-driven prepaid churn and seasonal line volatility than western ND.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier presence and 5G
  • All three national operators (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide 4G LTE county-wide and 5G in and around Bismarck.
  • Mid-band 5G is well established in the city: T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz “Ultra Capacity” and Verizon/AT&T C-band sectors deliver strong capacity and “hundreds of Mbps”-class speeds in many indoor/outdoor locations.
  • Low-band 5G and LTE blanket highways (I-94, US-83) with fewer dead zones than most ND counties.
• Densification and small cells
  • Macro sites ring the metro and highways; small cells and sector splits exist around downtown, the medical corridor, the Capitol complex, and retail hubs to boost capacity.
• Backhaul and fiber
  • Robust fiber backhaul from regional providers (e.g., Midco, Lumen/CenturyLink, BEK) supports 5G capacity. This fiber density is above the state median due to the metro concentration.
• Coverage gaps and terrain
  • Performance can dip along river bluffs, in pockets near the Missouri River, and in sparsely populated northern townships—still better than the typical ND county due to closer site spacing.
• Public safety
  • FirstNet (AT&T) coverage is strong in the metro and main corridors; local agencies rely on mixed LMR and cellular, with good WEA alert reach.

What’s different from the North Dakota state-level picture

• More urban, less oilfield: Burleigh’s usage reflects a stable, government/healthcare-heavy metro rather than oilfield-driven peaks. Churn and prepaid prevalence are lower than the state’s western counties.
• Higher 5G availability and indoor capacity: Mid-band 5G is much more accessible in Bismarck than in many ND counties, raising typical user speeds and enabling heavier mobile video and hotspot use.
• Fewer coverage gaps: Highway and in-town reliability exceeds the state average; true “no service” pockets are rarer and shorter in duration.
• Higher smartphone and iPhone adoption: Especially among working-age adults and families; seniors’ adoption is rising faster than the state average due to proximity to large healthcare systems and digital services.
• More business/government lines: A larger share of enterprise and FirstNet subscriptions than statewide, shaping traffic patterns and daytime loads.
• Greater uptake of mobile government and telehealth: Residents more frequently use mobile apps for DMV, tax, licensing, and health portals; this behavior lags in many rural counties.

Implications

• Capacity, not coverage, is the binding constraint in the city; continued sector splits and small cells will matter more than new macro sites.
• Targeted rural infill north/east of Bismarck and along river-adjacent terrain would close the remaining reliability gaps.
• Senior-focused digital literacy and affordable devices/plans could accelerate already-strong adoption growth in the 65+ segment.
• Competition is healthy; switching costs and promotions will likely drive churn more than coverage in the metro core.

Below is a concise, directionally accurate snapshot for Burleigh County (Bismarck area). County-level, survey-grade social metrics are scarce, so figures are modeled from Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. platform adoption, adjusted for North Dakota’s urban/rural mix and local demographics. Treat as estimates.

At-a-glance user stats

• Population: ~100–103k; adults 18+: ~76–79k.
• Social media users (adults): ~61–65k (≈80–84% of adults). Including teens 13–17: ~68–72k total users.
• Internet access: high (≈88–92% of households), with slightly lower adoption in rural townships than in Bismarck/Lincoln.

Most-used platforms (adult penetration, estimated “use” at least monthly)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 66–70%
• Instagram: 42–48%
• Pinterest: 32–38% (majority female)
• TikTok: 30–35% (skews under 35)
• Snapchat: 25–30% overall; 70–80% of ages 18–29
• LinkedIn: 26–30% (notable among government, healthcare, energy/professional roles)
• X (Twitter): 18–22% (news, politics, sports)
• Reddit: 18–22% (mostly male 18–34)
• Nextdoor: 15–20% in Bismarck/Lincoln neighborhoods; low outside city limits
• WhatsApp: 12–18% (niche; international ties)

Age patterns (share of local social users; platform skews in parentheses)

• 13–17: ~9–10% (Snapchat, TikTok; YouTube nearly universal)
• 18–29: ~23–25% (Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok; YouTube; Facebook for events/groups)
• 30–49: ~34–36% (Facebook, YouTube; Instagram rising; Pinterest for home/recipes)
• 50–64: ~20–22% (Facebook, YouTube; Pinterest; some Instagram)
• 65+: ~12–14% (Facebook, YouTube; some Nextdoor)

Gender breakdown

• Overall social users: ~52% female, ~48% male.
• Platform skews: Pinterest heavily female; Reddit and LinkedIn more male; Facebook and Instagram slightly female-leaning; Snapchat balanced to female-leaning in younger cohorts.

Behavioral trends to know

• Community-first on Facebook: Local news/weather, school and church updates, buy-sell groups, youth sports, road and snow alerts, hunting/fishing swaps.
• Video-forward consumption: YouTube for DIY, home/auto, outdoor content; TikTok/Reels for quick local tips, food, events; strong winter uptick.
• Messaging over posting for youth: Snapchat (streaks, group chats) and Instagram DMs; teens/20s post less publicly on Facebook.
• Local commerce discovery: Facebook and Instagram drive foot traffic to restaurants, boutiques, salons; Stories/Reels and short offers outperform static posts.
• Government/civic info: High engagement with city/county, schools, health systems on Facebook and X; Nextdoor effective for neighborhood-level notices.
• Timing: Peaks around 7–9 a.m., lunch, and 7–10 p.m. CT; Sunday evenings are strong; severe weather drives spikes.
• Content that performs: Hyperlocal pride, events, before/after visuals (home, auto, lawn), giveaways/coupons, high school sports, seasonal topics.
• Recruiting: Facebook and LinkedIn work well for healthcare, government, trades; short-form video boosts applications among under-35.

Method note: Estimates synthesized from Pew Research Center 2024 social platform use, U.S. Census/ACS for population and internet adoption, and rural vs. urban usage differentials typical of Upper Midwest metros.