Mchenry County

McHenry County, North Dakota — key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau)

Population size

• 5,345 (2020 Decennial Census)

Age (ACS 2018–2022)

• Median age: 43.8 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 18 to 64: ~56%
• 65 and over: ~20%

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone (non-Hispanic): ~94–95%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: ~1–2%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Black or African American: <1%
• Asian: <1%

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~2,200
• Persons per household: ~2.35–2.40
• Family households: ~65% of households
• Married-couple households: ~55–57%
• One-person households: ~30% (about half of these age 65+)
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~78–82%
• Housing vacancy rate: ~15–17%

Insights

• Small, stable population with an older age profile than the U.S. overall
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White with small but present Hispanic and American Indian populations
• Household structure is family-leaning but with a substantial share of single-person households; homeownership is high and household sizes are modest

• Scope: McHenry County, North Dakota (rural; population ~5,345; ≈3 residents per square mile).
• Estimated email users: ≈3,900 (about 73% of residents; email use is near-universal among local internet users).
• Age distribution of email users (share of users, est.):
  • 13–17: 6%
  • 18–34: 22%
  • 35–64: 49%
  • 65+: 23%
• Gender split of email users: ≈51% male, 49% female (mirrors population).
• Digital access and usage trends:
  • Household broadband subscription rate: roughly 75–80%, up notably from the mid‑2010s.
  • Device access: high smartphone ownership; about 10–12% of households are smartphone‑only for internet.
  • Fixed broadband (cable/fiber) is concentrated in towns and along main corridors; many remote farms/ranches depend on fixed‑wireless or satellite.
  • Mobile networks: near‑universal 4G LTE along primary roads; expanding 5G around town centers; coverage weakens in sparsely populated sections.
  • Typical speeds: 100+ Mbps where fiber/cable is available; lower and more variable on wireless links.
• Local density/connectivity facts: Very low settlement density and long last‑mile runs raise per‑user infrastructure costs, so adoption and speeds are highest in/near towns (e.g., along the US‑2 corridor) and taper in outlying tracts.

Mobile phone usage in McHenry County, North Dakota (focus on what differs from statewide patterns)

Population baseline

• Total population: 5,345 (2020 Census). Adults (18+): approximately 4,120.

User estimates (2025 modeled estimates derived from county demographics and national rural adoption benchmarks)

• Adults with any mobile phone: ~3,790 (92% of adults).
• Smartphone users: ~3,380 (82% of adults; lower than North Dakota’s ~88–90%).
• Basic/feature-phone users: ~410 (10% of adults; higher than the statewide share).
• Non-users (no mobile phone): ~330 (8% of adults; higher than statewide).
• Platform mix among smartphones: Android 62% (2,095 users), iPhone 38% (1,285 users); Android share is a few points higher than the statewide mix.

Demographic breakdown of usage

• Age-driven differences (estimated smartphone adoption rates):
  • 18–34: ~96% use smartphones.
  • 35–64: ~88%.
  • 65+: ~68% (older population share is higher than the state, pulling down overall adoption).
• Rural household profile effects:
  • Budget-conscious plans and device longevity are more common than in metros, elevating basic-phone and older-device use.
  • Work roles skew toward agriculture and trades, sustaining above-average reliance on voice/SMS and LTE push-to-talk compared with state urban centers.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Coverage layers:
  • 4G LTE is the primary coverage layer countywide, strongest along US‑2, US‑52, and state highways. Off-corridor farm and river-bottom areas see weaker indoor service and occasional dead zones.
  • 5G availability is predominantly low-band (e.g., 600/700/850 MHz) on major corridors; mid-band 5G (e.g., C-band/2.5 GHz) is largely absent inside the county and concentrated in larger cities nearby (e.g., Minot), so county residents often operate on LTE or low-band 5G.
• Carrier landscape:
  • Verizon and AT&T provide the most consistent rural macro coverage; T‑Mobile service is present along highways and towns but thins outside those areas.
  • FirstNet Band 14 (AT&T) is available along primary routes, supporting public-safety and extended-range coverage.
• Spectrum/backhaul:
  • Low-band holdings (700/850/600 MHz) underpin wide-area reach; mid/high-band capacity is limited, which caps peak speeds and indoor performance away from towns.
  • Tower backhaul benefits from North Dakota’s strong rural fiber presence via regional cooperatives, but radio access remains the bottleneck in sparsely populated areas.
• Performance expectations:
  • Typical user experience is LTE/low-band 5G with moderate throughput and higher variability than in ND metros; mid-band 5G capacity and dense small-cell footprints common in cities are not yet characteristic of McHenry County.

How McHenry County differs from North Dakota overall

• Adoption gap: Overall smartphone adoption is lower (~82% vs ~88–90% statewide), driven by an older age structure and more rural living patterns.
• Device mix: Higher basic/feature-phone retention and a higher Android share than the state average.
• Network layer: Greater dependence on LTE and low-band 5G; limited in-county mid-band 5G compared with Fargo–West Fargo, Bismarck–Mandan, and Minot.
• Usage patterns: Heavier reliance on voice/SMS and conservative data use per line; fewer bandwidth-intensive mobile activities than in urban counties.
• Indoors vs outdoors: Indoor coverage challenges are more common in farmsteads and metal buildings; state urban centers increasingly benefit from mid-band 5G and small cells for indoor performance.
• Redundancy strategy: Because many rural households have high-quality fiber or fixed broadband, mobile is frequently a backup connection rather than a primary home internet substitute—opposite the pattern seen in some non-fiber rural states.

Summary insight McHenry County’s mobile market is defined by excellent rural reach on LTE/low-band 5G but modest in-county 5G capacity, a device mix that skews slightly older and more Android, and usage behaviors geared to reliability over peak speed. Compared with North Dakota’s urbanized counties, the county trails in mid-band 5G availability and smartphone penetration, and it shows higher persistence of basic phones and voice-centric use, while benefiting from strong fiber-fed backhaul that stabilizes macro coverage along major corridors.

Social media usage in McHenry County, ND (2024 modeled snapshot)

Headline stats

• Population baseline: 5,345 (2020 Census).
• Adult social media penetration (18+): 84% of residents.

Most-used platforms among adults (share of residents 18+)

• YouTube: 80%
• Facebook: 67%
• Instagram: 38%
• TikTok: 29%
• Snapchat: 28%
• Pinterest: 33%
• LinkedIn: 18%
• X (Twitter): 16%
• Reddit: 15%
• WhatsApp: 12%
• Nextdoor: 6%

Age-group usage (share using any social platform)

• 18–29: 96%
• 30–49: 90%
• 50–64: 78%
• 65+: 61%

Gender breakdown (selected platforms, share using)

• Women: any platform 85%; Facebook 72%; Instagram 42%; Pinterest 49%; TikTok 31%.
• Men: any platform 82%; YouTube 83%; Facebook 62%; Instagram 34%; Reddit 21%; X 19%.

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: local news, school sports, churches, county updates, buy–sell–trade, and Marketplace drive the most recurring engagement.
• YouTube is heavily used for practical content: ag/DIY repairs, outdoor recreation, product research, and how‑tos.
• Younger residents split attention between Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok; Stories/Reels/shorts formats perform best.
• Pinterest is a planning tool (women 25–54): recipes, home projects, crafts, seasonal events.
• Messaging is largely via Facebook Messenger; WhatsApp is niche and more common in cross‑border or extended‑family communication.
• Mobile-first behavior dominates; vertical video and concise captions outperform; link clicks favor Facebook and YouTube.
• Engagement peaks evenings and weekends; winter months see higher session lengths and video completion rates.
• Content featuring recognizable local people, high‑school teams, 4‑H/FFA, and community events reliably over-indexes.
• For paid reach, geotargeting within 10–25 miles of major towns and using event- or offer-based CTAs typically yields the best response.

Method note

• Figures are small-area estimates derived by weighting Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. platform adoption rates by age and gender with McHenry County’s 2020 Census age–sex structure. Expect a ±3–5 percentage‑point margin at the platform level.