Ransom County

Ransom County, North Dakota — key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau, primarily 2018–2022 ACS 5-year estimates; population count also includes 2020 Census):

Population

• Total population: ~5,700 (2020 Census: 5,703)

Age

• Median age: ~46 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 18 to 64: ~56%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity

• White alone: ~94–95%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~1–2%
• Black or African American alone: ~0.3–0.5%
• Asian alone: ~0.2–0.3%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~2–3% Note: Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity and overlaps with race categories.

Households and housing

• Total households: ~2,500
• Average household size: ~2.2 persons
• Family households: ~60% of households
• One-person households: ~30%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~78–80%

Insights

• Small, stable population with an older age profile than the U.S. overall.
• Predominantly White, with small but present racial/ethnic minorities.
• Household structure skews toward smaller, owner-occupied households with a majority of family households.

Ransom County, ND snapshot (pop. ~5,700; land ~862 sq mi; ~6.6 people/sq mi)

• Estimated email users: ~4,490 residents (≈79% of total), using rural U.S. adoption benchmarks applied to local age mix.
• Age distribution of users:
  • 13–17: ~270 (≈6%)
  • 18–34: ~1,090 (≈24%)
  • 35–64: ~2,060 (≈46%)
  • 65+: ~1,070 (≈24%)
• Gender split among users: near parity—about 50% female and 50% male (~2,245 each).

Digital access and trends:

• About 83% of households maintain a home broadband subscription; connectivity concentrates in and around Lisbon, Enderlin, and Fort Ransom, where cable/fiber is increasingly available. Outlying farms more often rely on fixed wireless or legacy DSL.
• Mobile 4G/5G is strongest along main corridors and town centers; fixed‑wireless buildouts have widened coverage in low‑density townships.
• Email is nearly universal among working‑age adults (18–64) and growing among seniors; the 65+ cohort remains less likely to check email daily but adoption is rising as fiber and smartphone penetration expand.

These figures reflect local rural density and infrastructure patterns that shape last‑mile costs and service speeds, yielding strong town‑center connectivity with more variable performance in sparsely populated areas.

Mobile phone usage in Ransom County, North Dakota — key findings

Context and size

• Population: about 5,700 residents; roughly 2,500 households spread across a largely rural area anchored by Lisbon and Enderlin.
• The county skews older than the North Dakota average, with a higher share of residents 65+, which materially influences device adoption and service preferences.

User estimates and adoption

• Estimated mobile phone users: approximately 4,100 residents use a mobile phone regularly, the large majority being adults.
• Household smartphone adoption: about 86% of households have at least one smartphone (roughly 2,150 households), several points below the statewide rate.
• Cellular data plan penetration: about 72% of households maintain a cellular data plan (around 1,800 households).
• Cellular-only internet households (use a cellular plan with no other home internet subscription): roughly 13% (about 330 households), modestly above the state’s largest urban counties but near the rural-county norm.
• Households with no internet subscription: approximately 16% (around 400 households), higher than the North Dakota average.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Older adults (65+): lower smartphone adoption and lower reliance on mobile-only internet than younger cohorts; this segment is overrepresented in Ransom County versus the state, pulling down overall adoption.
• Working-age adults (25–64): near-state-average smartphone adoption; usage is practical and utility-driven (communications, agriculture/logistics apps, banking, telehealth).
• Youth and young adults (15–24): smartphone adoption comparable to state levels, but absolute numbers are small due to the county’s age structure.
• Urban vs. rural within the county: residents in Lisbon and Enderlin show higher 5G availability and higher data usage per line than residents in outlying areas, where signal quality and speeds are more variable.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Macro cellular coverage: countywide 4G LTE coverage is strong along primary corridors (ND-32, ND-27, ND-46) and in town centers; fringe areas and river valleys can see attenuated signal.
• 5G availability: present in and around Lisbon and Enderlin and along main corridors; coverage outside towns is patchier than the state’s metro corridors (Fargo–West Fargo, Bismarck–Mandan).
• Typical performance: in-town 4G/5G download speeds commonly 50–150 Mbps; rural areas frequently 10–40 Mbps with occasional drops below that in low-signal pockets. Uplink speeds are generally lower (3–15 Mbps).
• Carrier landscape: Verizon and AT&T provide the most consistent countywide coverage; T-Mobile service is improving but remains more variable outside towns.
• Backhaul and fiber: regional rural telecom cooperatives have deployed substantial fiber-to-the-home in and around towns and many farmsteads, which reduces the share of purely mobile broadband users relative to many rural counties nationally.

How Ransom County differs from the North Dakota state pattern

• Lower smartphone household penetration: several percentage points below the state average, driven primarily by the county’s older age profile.
• Higher share of households with no internet subscription than the state overall, reflecting both age and income mix, plus pockets with weaker signal quality.
• 5G footprint meaningfully smaller than in North Dakota’s metro counties; upgrades concentrate first in Lisbon/Enderlin and along highways rather than uniformly countywide.
• Cellular-only households are a little more common than in the state’s larger urban counties but not dramatically higher given the availability of local fiber; where fiber is present, households are less likely to rely exclusively on mobile data.

Practical implications

• Mobile network investments that extend 5G and boost LTE capacity just outside town centers will close the biggest user-experience gap versus state norms.
• Outreach and plans tailored to seniors (simplified devices, caregiver-linked services, telehealth bundles) can lift adoption more effectively here than in younger counties.
• Fixed–mobile convergence (home internet via fiber plus mobile) resonates in town centers; in more remote areas, high-gain CPE and coverage-enhancing solutions can mitigate signal variability.

Note: Figures reflect the latest available federal survey and mapping datasets through 2022–2023 combined with county population and household counts to produce user and household-level estimates. Differences cited are directionally consistent with North Dakota’s statewide benchmarks and the county’s demographic/infrastructure profile.

Ransom County, ND — social media usage snapshot (2024)

Scope and basis

• Figures are 2024 modeled estimates for Ransom County using the 2020 Census population baseline (5,703 residents) combined with Pew Research Center’s 2024 platform adoption rates and age-by-platform patterns, adjusted for rural usage. They reflect residents age 13+ unless noted; platform percentages refer to adults (18+), where most reliable benchmarks exist.

Population and user counts

• Total residents: 5,703
• Adults (18+): ~4,450
• Adult social media users: ~3,650 (≈82% of adults)
• Teens 13–17: ~340; teen social users: ~315 (≈92%)
• Total social users 13+: ~3,960

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adult social media users; estimated user counts)

• YouTube: 82% (~2,990)
• Facebook: 69% (~2,520)
• Instagram: 37% (~1,350)
• Pinterest: 30% (~1,090)
• TikTok: 27% (~990)
• Snapchat: 26% (~950)
• LinkedIn: 19% (~690)
• WhatsApp: 18% (~660)
• X (Twitter): 17% (~620)
• Reddit: 13% (~470) Note: Teens in the county are substantially more concentrated on YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram than adults.

Age-pattern highlights (modeled 2024 adoption within each age band)

• 13–17: YouTube ~95%; Snapchat ~75–80%; TikTok ~65–70%; Instagram ~60–65%; Facebook ~30–35%.
• 18–29: Any social ~95%; YouTube ~95%; Instagram ~80%; Snapchat ~70–75%; TikTok ~60–65%; Facebook ~55–60%.
• 30–49: Any social ~90%; Facebook ~75–80%; YouTube ~90%; Instagram ~50–55%; TikTok ~30–40%; Snapchat ~30–35%.
• 50–64: Any social ~78%; Facebook ~70–75%; YouTube ~70–80%; Instagram ~25–35%; TikTok/Snapchat ~15–20%.
• 65+: Any social ~60–65%; Facebook ~55–60%; YouTube ~50–60%; others <20%.

Gender breakdown

• Overall adult social media use: women ~84%, men ~80%.
• Platform skew: Pinterest is markedly female-skewed (~2–3x higher than men); Facebook modestly higher among women; Reddit and X skew male; Instagram and TikTok are near-balanced among younger adults, with a slight female tilt.

Behavioral trends observed in rural Upper Midwest counties of similar size, reflected locally

• Facebook is the community backbone: heavy use of local groups (buy/sell/trade, events, school, youth sports, civic and faith groups) and local news updates; comments and shares spike around severe weather, school activities, agriculture, and hunting/fishing seasons.
• YouTube is utilitarian: how-to/DIY, farm and equipment maintenance, home projects, outdoor and recreational content; longer watch sessions during evenings and weekends.
• Messaging-first among youth: Snapchat is the default for daily communication; TikTok and Instagram drive trends, music, and short-form video discovery.
• Older adults rely on Facebook for social connection and Messenger for family communication; they are less likely to create content and more likely to share/reshare local information.
• Posting and engagement windows: weekday evenings (6–9 p.m.) and weekend mornings show the highest interaction; local event days produce sharp, platform-wide spikes.
• Trust and relevance: local pages, school districts, first responders, and community organizations outperform national pages on engagement per follower due to high perceived relevance.
• Content format: short-form video (Reels/TikTok) gains traction across all but the oldest cohort; photo-led posts remain effective for local announcements; text-only posts underperform unless tied to urgent alerts.

Key sources

• U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Decennial Census; ACS 2018–2022 (age structure baseline).
• Pew Research Center: Social Media Use in 2024; Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023; long-run platform-adoption series. Method note: County estimates are age-adjusted from Pew’s national platform rates with rural adjustments typical of small-population counties in the Upper Midwest.