Mercer County

Key demographics for Mercer County, North Dakota (latest available U.S. Census/ACS):

Population

• Total population: ~8,400 (ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate; 2020 Census count: 8,350)
• Population density: ~9 per square mile

Age

• Median age: ~43.5 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18 to 64: ~60%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (mutually exclusive; ACS 2019–2023)

• Non-Hispanic White: ~92%
• American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~3%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~2–3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2%
• Black (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~0–1%

Households

• Total households: ~3,400
• Average household size: ~2.35
• Family households: ~66% of households
• Married-couple families: ~55–57% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~27%
• Nonfamily households: ~34%
• Householder living alone: ~29% (about 11–12% age 65+)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; 2020 Decennial Census (PL 94-171). Figures are rounded for clarity.

• Scope: Mercer County, North Dakota (pop. ≈8,400; land ≈1,100 sq mi; density ≈8 people/sq mi). Largest towns: Beulah (3,100) and Hazen (2,400), concentrating most residential connectivity.

• Email users (estimated): ≈7,200 residents (≈85% of population), based on local broadband adoption and typical U.S. email usage among internet users.

• Gender split (users): ≈52% male, 48% female, mirroring the county’s energy‑sector‑skewed demographics.

• Age distribution of email users (adults 18+):

  • 18–34: ≈1,500 (≈25%)
  • 35–64: ≈3,300 (≈54%)
  • 65+: ≈1,350 (≈22%)
  • Note: Teens (13–17) add roughly 700–800 additional users.

• Digital access and trends:

  • ≈85% of households have a broadband subscription; ≈92% have a computer (ACS 2018–2022).
  • Email is near‑universal among connected adults; growth is strongest among 65+ as smartphone use rises.
  • Beulah/Hazen enjoy cable/fiber availability with typical 100–1000 Mbps offerings; rural townships rely more on fixed wireless and satellite (slower, higher latency).
  • Mobile coverage and 5G continue to expand along main corridors, improving access for smartphone‑first households.

• Insight: High household broadband and clustered population centers support strong email penetration; the main gap is speed/reliability outside Beulah/Hazen, which moderates usage intensity among older and rural residents.

Mobile phone usage in Mercer County, North Dakota (2024–2025 snapshot)

User estimates

• Total population: ~8,400–8,600 residents; households ~3,300–3,450 (Census/ACS 5-year scale).
• Smartphone users: ~6,200–6,600 residents (roughly 72–77% of the total population; 86–90% of adults). This is a model-based estimate applying current rural adoption rates to Mercer’s age mix; it runs a few points below the statewide adult average due to an older population share.
• Mobile-only internet households (no wireline at home, rely on cellular): ~10–12% in Mercer vs ~7–9% statewide. This gap is driven by pockets without affordable fiber/cable and by energy-sector shift workers who prioritize mobility over fixed service.
• Typical lines per person: ~1.2 total mobile connections per resident when including data devices/IoT (e.g., work tablets, hotspots, meters), implying roughly 10,000–10,500 active SIMs countywide; human-use phone lines account for most of these.

Demographic breakdown of use

• Age
  • 18–34: very high smartphone adoption (~94–97%); heavy app, streaming, and location-based use. Comparable to state levels.
  • 35–64: high adoption (~88–92%); above-average use of work messaging, hotspotting, and navigation due to commuting across job sites. Slightly above state in hotspot use.
  • 65+: moderate adoption (~65–72%); text/voice and basic apps dominate, with noticeably lower telehealth/video use than the ND average because of patchier in-home broadband and lower comfort with high-data apps.
• Income and occupation
  • Energy and utility workers show above-average data consumption and a higher likelihood of carrying employer-issued devices; dual-SIM/second-line use is more common than the state average.
  • Lower-income and fixed-income households exhibit higher price sensitivity and a higher propensity to be mobile-only for home internet than the statewide average.
• Geography
  • Towns (Beulah, Hazen, Stanton): adoption and app use near state norms.
  • Outlying rural blocks and river-valley terrain: lower 5G performance and more reliance on low-band LTE; users report more signal variability than the state average.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Network mix
  • Verizon and AT&T provide the most consistent countywide coverage, with extensive low-band LTE and broad low-band 5G. These two carriers capture a larger share of primary lines than statewide averages in ND’s metro corridors.
  • T-Mobile offers solid low-band 5G along main corridors and in towns but has more mid-band gaps in low-density areas than it does at the state level.
• 5G profile
  • Low-band 5G is widespread on highways and in population centers; mid-band 5G capacity is concentrated around Beulah–Hazen and principal routes, with sparser deployment elsewhere than ND’s urban counties.
• Backhaul and fiber
  • Utility and transport fiber rings associated with the county’s power generation and transmission assets provide strong backhaul near plants and substations. FTTP is common in town blocks, while exurban and farmsteads more often rely on fixed wireless or DSL alternatives than the state average.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA)
  • Higher FWA uptake (Verizon/T-Mobile and local WISPs) than statewide, substituting for cable/fiber at the edges of town footprints and in lake/river-adjacent areas.
• Known performance patterns
  • Best performance: Beulah–Hazen, Stanton, ND-200 and primary north–south corridors.
  • Variable/weak spots: bluffs and coulees near the Knife River and Lake Sakakawea arms, and sparse sections between farm/ranch sites where macro spacing is widest.

How Mercer County differs from the North Dakota state picture

• Slightly lower adult smartphone penetration, driven by a larger 65+ share, and a higher fraction of voice/text-first users.
• Greater reliance on Verizon/AT&T for primary coverage, with T-Mobile under-indexing relative to its stronger footprint in ND’s metro counties.
• More mobile-only households and higher FWA substitution for home broadband than the state average, reflecting rural last-mile constraints.
• Mid-band 5G capacity is spottier than in Bismarck–Mandan, Fargo, and Minot; low-band 5G/LTE carries more of the traffic load in Mercer.
• Work-driven mobility: above-average hotspot use, second-line/device prevalence, and daytime traffic peaks aligned with energy-sector shifts.
• Infrastructure is shaped by energy assets: strong fiber/backhaul near plants and along transmission corridors, but faster signal drop-offs away from those nodes than in urbanized parts of the state.

Key takeaways for planning and service

• Demand is healthy but skews toward reliability and coverage breadth over peak 5G speeds; low-band coverage and in-building performance are decisive.
• Pricing and simple plans matter for seniors and mobile-only homes; bundled FWA plus mobile can outperform wireline alternatives at the rural edge.
• Capacity upgrades targeted to Beulah–Hazen and ND-200 corridors will deliver outsized benefits; selective infill near river valleys addresses the county’s most persistent dead zones.

Mercer County, ND — social media usage snapshot (2025)

Population base

• Population: 8,350 (2020 Census; used as the base for estimates)

Overall usage

• Estimated social media users (age 13+): ~5,400 (≈65% of total population)
• Adult penetration (18+): ~72%
• Teen penetration (13–17): ~90%

Age breakdown (share of each age group using at least one social platform; local estimates benchmarked to recent U.S. data)

• 13–17: ~90–95%
• 18–29: ~84%
• 30–49: ~81%
• 50–64: ~73%
• 65+: ~45%

Gender breakdown

• User composition: ~51% female, ~49% male
• Platform skews (among users):
  • Facebook: ~54% female
  • Instagram: near-even
  • Pinterest: ~70% female
  • Reddit: ~60–65% male
  • X (Twitter): ~60% male

Most-used platforms (share of social media users who use each; local estimates aligned to recent Pew U.S. adoption)

• YouTube: ~83%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• TikTok: ~33%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• Reddit: ~22%

Behavioral trends observed in rural counties like Mercer (applicable locally)

• Facebook is the community hub: strong reliance on local Groups (schools, churches, volunteer orgs), event updates, severe-weather info, and Marketplace buy–sell.
• Video leads: YouTube for how‑to, equipment/DIY, outdoor sports (hunting/fishing), and sermons; Facebook native video and Reels used for quick local updates. Connected‑TV YouTube viewing is rising.
• Youth patterns: Snapchat and TikTok dominate teens/early 20s for messaging and short‑form entertainment; cross‑posting to Instagram Reels is common.
• Practical content outperforms: road conditions, closures, local sports highlights, school announcements, utility/energy updates, and job postings drive high engagement.
• Trust and discovery: content from known local entities (county/city pages, schools, local media) is trusted and shared; word‑of‑mouth amplification via private Groups is common.
• Timing: engagement peaks early morning (before work/school) and evenings (post‑dinner), with surges during storms and community events; midday sees lighter activity.
• Advertising: geo‑targeted Facebook/Instagram performs efficiently for events, recruiting, and services; LinkedIn is useful for skilled‑trade/energy sector hiring; Nextdoor footprint is limited outside denser neighborhoods.

Notes on method

• County‑level platform metrics are not directly published by platforms. Figures above are modeled from recent Pew Research Center U.S. usage rates (2023–2024), applied to Mercer County’s population and rural usage patterns, and should be treated as best‑available local estimates.