Renville County

Renville County, North Dakota — key demographics

Population size

• 2,282 (2020 Decennial Census)

Age

• Median age: ~45 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~25%
• 18–64: ~58%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Male: ~52%
• Female: ~48% (ACS 2018–2022)

Racial and ethnic composition (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone: ~95%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~2%
• Black or African American alone: ~0–1%
• Asian alone: ~0–1%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~2–3%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~980–1,000
• Average household size: ~2.3 persons
• Family households: ~60–65% of households
• Married-couple families: ~50–55% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~25–30%
• Nonfamily households: ~35–40%
• One-person households: ~30–35%
• Householder 65+ living alone: ~12–15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

• Population and density: Renville County had 2,282 residents in the 2020 Census, about 2.6 people per square mile across roughly 890 sq mi—among the most sparsely populated counties in North Dakota.
• Estimated email users: 1,850–2,000 residents use email; ~1,600 use it daily. Method: apply national adult email adoption (90%+) to the county’s adult population.
• Age distribution of email users (estimate, aligned with the county’s older age profile): 18–34 ≈ 20%, 35–54 ≈ 33%, 55–64 ≈ 19%, 65+ ≈ 28%.
• Gender split: approximately even among users (about 51% male, 49% female), mirroring the county sex ratio; no material gender gap in email use.
• Digital access and trends: Rural but improving connectivity. Fiber is available in towns and along main corridors; fixed wireless has expanded across farms and ranches; satellite fills remaining gaps. Mobile LTE/5G reliably covers population centers with weaker performance in remote sections. Household broadband subscription and computer access are high for a rural Great Plains county and have risen over the past 3–5 years, driven by precision agriculture, telehealth, remote work/school, and e-government. Net effect: steady growth in email reliance across all ages, with the sharpest gains among seniors and K–12 households.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Renville County, North Dakota

Scope and baseline

• Population: 2,282 (2020 Census). Sparsely populated, predominately rural, with small towns including Mohall (county seat), Glenburn, Sherwood, and Tolley along corridors such as US-52, ND-5, and ND-28 near the Canadian border.

User estimates (modeled from rural adoption patterns and recent national/state benchmarks)

• Mobile phone users (any handset): 1,900–2,050 residents, or roughly 83–90% of the population.
• Smartphone users: 1,700–1,900 residents, or roughly 75–83% of the population.
• Wireless-only (cell-only) households: approximately 58–65% (slightly below the statewide share due to an older age profile).
• Data-only/IoT lines (farm equipment, grain bins, sensors): higher share than in urban ND, reflecting agriculture-driven M2M use, though absolute counts remain small given the county’s size.

Demographic breakdown (key patterns driving usage)

• Age:
  • 18–34: very high smartphone penetration (approximately 90–95%); heavy app, social, and streaming use; more likely to be wireless-only.
  • 35–64: high smartphone penetration (approximately 85–90%); strong reliance on mobile for work coordination and navigation; hotspotting common where fixed broadband is weaker.
  • 65+: lower smartphone penetration (approximately 65–75%); higher incidence of basic/feature phones and voice/text-centric plans; lower wireless-only rates due to retention of landlines.
• Households with children: more likely to be wireless-only and to maintain multiple lines per household.
• Work profile: agriculture, energy-related services, and public sector roles contribute to above-average use of LTE hotspots, push-to-talk, and rugged devices during planting/harvest and emergency operations.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers present: Verizon, AT&T (including FirstNet), and T-Mobile provide 4G LTE across populated corridors; regional cooperatives act as retail partners and provide backhaul.
• 5G availability: predominately low-band 5G for broad coverage; mid-band 5G is concentrated closer to Minot and major corridors, so many areas still rely on LTE for consistent throughput.
• Coverage characteristics:
  • Strongest, most redundant coverage along US-52 and in/around Mohall and Glenburn.
  • Border proximity (Saskatchewan) introduces cross-border signal spillover near Sherwood, requiring careful roaming controls on some devices.
  • Terrain along the Mouse River valley and sparsely populated sections of ND-5 and county roads can produce dead zones and handoff issues, particularly inside metal buildings and equipment sheds.
• Backhaul and middle-mile: fiber-fed macro sites near towns anchor performance; microwave backhaul serves more remote towers. Local fiber from rural cooperatives underpins both fixed broadband and cellular backhaul.
• Public safety: AT&T FirstNet presence along main corridors; volunteer fire/EMS and county emergency services still rely on a mix of cellular and two-way radio in fringe areas.

How Renville County differs from North Dakota overall

• Slightly lower smartphone penetration and wireless-only household share than the state average due to an older age structure and very low housing density.
• Higher dependence on LTE/4G for everyday reliability; 5G use is growing but remains more coverage-oriented (low-band) than capacity-oriented (mid-band) outside the main corridors, unlike larger ND metros where mid-band 5G is more prevalent.
• Greater share of agricultural and M2M connections relative to total lines, reflecting farm/ranch operations and seasonal work cycles.
• Coverage challenges are more about land-area gaps and indoor penetration in metal structures than about population coverage, which is high where people live; this gap is wider than the statewide pattern.
• Border-adjacent dynamics (roaming risk, signal spillover) are more common than in most ND counties, shaping device settings and plan choices.

Key takeaways

• Expect roughly 1.7–1.9 thousand smartphone users and about 1.9–2.05 thousand total mobile users in Renville County, with adoption robust among under-65s and more mixed among seniors.
• Day-to-day performance is anchored by LTE with expanding but mostly low-band 5G; redundancy and capacity are best along US-52 and in town centers.
• Compared with North Dakota overall, Renville shows slightly lower smartphone and wireless-only adoption, higher agricultural/IoT usage share, and more land-area coverage variability, especially near the border and in the Mouse River valley.

Renville County, ND: social media usage snapshot

What’s measured vs. modeled

• Direct, county-level platform metrics are not published by the platforms or federal agencies. The figures below combine definitive Census demographics with best-available U.S. rural usage rates (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024) to produce local estimates. Ranges reflect likely variance in a small rural county.

User stats

• Population: 2,282 (2020 Census). Roughly 1,700–1,780 adults (18+).
• Adults using at least one social platform: about 1,150–1,300 (≈65–75% of adults).

Most‑used platforms (adults, estimated share using monthly)

• YouTube: 70–80% (broadly used across all ages; slight male tilt)
• Facebook: 60–70% (dominant for local news, groups, buy/sell)
• Instagram: 30–45% (stronger under 40; female‑leaning)
• TikTok: 25–35% (growing; strongest under 35)
• Snapchat: 25–35% (concentrated under 30; used for messaging/stories)
• Pinterest: 25–35% (female‑leaning, projects/recipes/shopping)
• X (Twitter): 15–25% (news/sports; male‑leaning)
• LinkedIn: 15–20% (educators, healthcare, energy/ag business)
• WhatsApp: 10–15% (family/intl ties; niche locally)
• Reddit: 10–20% (male‑leaning; hobby/problem‑solving)
• Nextdoor: <5% (limited rural footprint; Facebook Groups fill the gap)

Age‑group usage (adults)

• 18–29: 90%+ on YouTube; 70–80% Instagram/Snapchat; 50–65% TikTok; ~40–55% Facebook.
• 30–49: 85–90% YouTube; 70–80% Facebook; 50–60% Instagram; 30–40% TikTok/Snapchat.
• 50–64: 70–80% YouTube; 60–70% Facebook; 20–30% Instagram/TikTok; low Snapchat.
• 65+: 50–65% YouTube; 55–65% Facebook; <20% most others.

Gender breakdown (platform skews among users)

• Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest: female‑leaning (Pinterest especially; women ~2–3x more likely than men).
• YouTube, Reddit, X: male‑leaning (YouTube slight; Reddit and X stronger).
• TikTok, Snapchat: relatively balanced overall; Snapchat skews younger female in usage intensity.

Behavioral trends observed in rural Great Plains counties like Renville

• Facebook as the community hub: heavy use of Groups (schools, sports, churches, county agencies), Marketplace, and event coordination; high engagement on weather, roads, auctions, and public‑safety posts.
• Messaging > public posting: Messenger, Snapchat, and Instagram DMs for day‑to‑day coordination, shiftwork, and youth communication.
• Short‑form video growth: TikTok and Instagram Reels for entertainment, local sports clips, DIY, and ag tips; YouTube for how‑to, equipment maintenance, and long‑form news.
• Timing: engagement peaks early morning (6–8 a.m.), lunch (11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–10 p.m.); weekend spikes around local events and sports.
• Information sourcing: Facebook Pages/Groups substitute for local news sites; county and school announcements perform strongly; emergency notifications see outsized reach.
• Commerce: Marketplace and Facebook Groups drive local buy/sell; Pinterest/Instagram influence home, garden, crafts; LinkedIn used mainly for professional credentials and regional job mobility rather than daily networking.

How to read the numbers

• In a county of ~1,700–1,780 adults, each 5 percentage points equals roughly 85–90 people. For planning, treat platform ranges as bands rather than point estimates and prioritize Facebook and YouTube for broad reach, with Instagram/TikTok for under‑40 reach and Snapchat for teens/young adults.