Sargent County

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

Population size

• 2020 Census: 3,862
• 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimate: ~3,740 (small-county ACS estimates have MOE)

Age

• Median age: ~47 years
• Under 18: ~21%
• 18–64: ~56%
• 65 and over: ~23%

Gender

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (share of total population)

• White alone: ~94%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~2%
• Black or African American alone: ~0.5%
• Asian alone: ~0.2%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~2.5–3%
• Non-Hispanic White: ~92%

Households

• Total households: ~1,700
• Average household size: ~2.2
• Family households: ~62%
• Average family size: ~2.7
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~80%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey (5-year). Figures rounded for clarity; ACS estimates carry margins of error typical for small populations.

Sargent County, ND email snapshot (2024)

• Population and density: ~3,840 residents; ~4.4 people per square mile.
• Estimated email users: ~2,900 residents (≈88% of those age 13+).
• Age distribution of email users: 13–17: 6%; 18–34: 23%; 35–54: 33%; 55–64: 14%; 65+: 24% (reflects the county’s older-leaning profile).
• Gender split: ≈50% female, 50% male among email users, mirroring overall population.
• Digital access: ~92% of households have a computer; ~89% have any internet subscription; ~84% have fixed broadband at home; ~7% are smartphone-only households.
• Trends and insights: Email usage is near-universal among working-age adults and rising fastest among 65+, though seniors still trail younger cohorts. Broadband subscription and email reliance increased during 2020–2022 and remained elevated. Low population density raises last‑mile costs; towns such as Forman, Milnor, and Gwinner are typically fiber‑served, while dispersed farms more often use fixed wireless. The county is included in North Dakota’s recent BEAD/IIJA buildouts targeting remaining unserved pockets.

Figures are modeled from ACS computer/internet-use indicators, Pew age-based email adoption rates, and North Dakota broadband program reporting.

Mobile phone usage in Sargent County, North Dakota — 2023–2024 snapshot

Executive takeaways

• Small, rural county with near-universal 4G LTE coverage in populated areas and targeted low‑band 5G along major corridors; capacity and indoor performance lag state urban centers.
• Roughly 3.1k–3.4k smartphone users countywide, with higher reliance on cellular data plans for home connectivity than North Dakota overall.
• Age structure skews older than the state, producing a wider gap in smartphone adoption among seniors but high mobile dependence among working adults in agriculture and manufacturing.

User estimates

• Population and households: About 3.8k residents and ~1.6–1.7k households (2020 Census baseline with minimal net change through 2023).
• Adults using any mobile phone: ~3.4k–3.6k individuals (roughly 88–94% of residents age 10+; rural usage is high even where smartphone adoption is lower among seniors).
• Smartphone users: ~3.1k–3.3k (about 80–86% of total population, aligning with rural age‑adjusted adoption).
• Households with a cellular data plan (for internet): ~28–35% of households, higher than the statewide share. Cellular‑only home internet (no wired subscription) is materially more common than the North Dakota average.

Demographic breakdown and contrasts with the state

• Age: Seniors make up a larger share of Sargent County than the state average. Estimated smartphone adoption by age locally:
  • 18–34: ~92–96% (near state levels)
  • 35–64: ~86–92% (slightly below state)
  • 65+: ~65–75% (notably below state) This produces a wider county–state adoption gap concentrated among older adults.
• Income/education: Median household income is modestly below the ND average; cost sensitivity shows up as:
  • Higher Android share than iOS vs statewide mix
  • Greater use of budget plans, prepaid lines, and shared/family plans
• Household profile:
  • Cellular data plan adoption is higher among farm and ex‑urban households than in town centers.
  • Multi‑line family plans are common among households with children; seniors are more likely to retain landlines or use basic/older smartphones.
• Work use:
  • Agriculture and equipment manufacturing drive heavy outdoor mobile use (telemetry, dispatch, mapping, agronomy apps). Daytime device density spikes around Gwinner–Milnor–Forman corridors are more pronounced than the state pattern outside metro areas.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage:
  • 4G LTE: Reported by all three national carriers across virtually all populated roads and towns.
  • 5G: Low‑band 5G from at least one carrier blankets major corridors and town centers; mid‑band 5G capacity is spotty. Large agricultural tracts remain LTE‑only.
  • Border effects: Along the South Dakota line and in low‑lying areas, handoffs and marginal signal are more common than the statewide average, increasing reliance on Wi‑Fi calling.
• Capacity and speeds:
  • Median mobile download speeds are lower than statewide medians due to sparser tower density and limited mid‑band spectrum deployment; upload performance is comparatively stronger in town centers than on county roads.
  • Indoor coverage challenges are elevated in metal‑clad farm and industrial buildings; external antennas and repeaters are more prevalent than in urban ND.
• Providers and backhaul:
  • AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon all serve the county; AT&T’s FirstNet coverage is present on primary routes used by public safety.
  • Fiber backhaul reaches towns and many roadside farmsteads via regional rural carriers; microwave links are still used on outlying sites, which can constrain peak cell capacity compared with fiber‑fed urban ND sites.
• Redundancy and outages:
  • Fewer overlapping macro sites than in metro ND means weather and power events can have outsized impact on single‑tower coverage footprints; businesses commonly keep dual‑SIM or hotspot fallbacks.

Trends that differ from the state level

• Higher share of cellular‑only or cellular‑primary home internet compared with the ND average, reflecting longer drops to fiber/coax and the practicality of modern 5G/LTE plans.
• Wider age‑driven adoption gap: seniors in Sargent County are less likely to have a smartphone than seniors statewide, while working‑age adoption is close to state norms.
• Coverage quality is uniform for basic LTE service but less uniform for 5G capacity, producing a larger urban–rural performance gap than the state’s overall metrics suggest.
• Stronger agricultural/industrial mobile use cases (GNSS corrections, equipment telematics, field diagnostics) raise daytime utilization outside towns more than in most ND counties.

What this means operationally

• For outreach and services, assume SMS reachability for nearly all working‑age adults and most seniors, but plan alternative channels for a meaningful minority of 65+ without reliable smartphones.
• Apps and content should be optimized for LTE conditions and intermittent mid‑band 5G; offline capability and low‑bandwidth modes will see higher engagement than in Fargo–Bismarck metros.
• Where reliability is critical (health, public safety, field operations), dual‑carrier strategies or eSIM failover will outperform single‑carrier deployments in outlying areas.

Sources and basis

• U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Census; ACS 5‑year through 2023) for population, household counts, and household internet patterns
• FCC mobile coverage filings (2023) for LTE/5G availability by provider
• National adoption by age (Pew Research, NHIS wireless‑only trends) applied to the county’s older age profile to produce the usage estimates above

Social media usage in Sargent County, North Dakota (2025 snapshot)

Baseline and reach

• Population: ≈3.8K residents (2023 U.S. Census estimate); ≈3.0K adults
• Connectivity: ≈83–88% of households have a broadband subscription (ACS; rural ND range). Adult internet use ≈85–90%
• Adult social media users: ≈2.4K–2.7K (≈80–85% of adults). Figures are county-level estimates derived from ACS and Pew’s rural-adjusted adoption rates

Most-used platforms (share of Sargent County adults; modeled from 2024 Pew national data with rural adjustments)

• YouTube: 78–82%
• Facebook: 67–72%
• Instagram: 35–40%
• TikTok: 28–33%
• Snapchat: 25–30%
• Pinterest: 30–35% (notably higher among women)
• LinkedIn: 18–22%
• X (Twitter): 18–22%
• Reddit: 12–16%
• Nextdoor: 3–6% (limited due to low-density neighborhoods)

Age-group patterns (county-adjusted to rural norms; percentage ranges reflect share using each platform)

• 18–29: YouTube 90%+, Instagram ~70–80%, Snapchat ~60–70%, TikTok ~55–65%, Facebook ~50–60%
• 30–49: YouTube ~90%, Facebook ~70–80%, Instagram ~45–55%, TikTok ~30–40%, Snapchat ~25–35%
• 50–64: YouTube ~75–85%, Facebook ~70–75%, Instagram ~25–35%, TikTok ~15–25%
• 65+: Facebook ~45–55%, YouTube ~50–65%, Instagram ~10–20%, TikTok ~8–15%

Gender breakdown (directional, based on Pew patterns applied locally)

• Overall social media audience skews roughly balanced, with a slight female tilt
• Platform skew:
  • Facebook: women moderately higher adoption than men (+5–10 percentage points)
  • Pinterest: women ~50% vs men ~20%
  • Instagram and TikTok: women modestly higher (+5–8 points)
  • YouTube: men slightly higher (+3–6 points), but high for both
  • Reddit and X (Twitter): men higher (Reddit men ~25% vs women ~10%; X men modestly higher)

Behavioral trends observed in rural ND counties (applicable to Sargent County)

• Facebook Groups/Pages are the community hub for schools, county/city notices, churches, youth sports, FFA/4-H, county fair, and farm classifieds; Marketplace is a top local commerce channel
• Messenger is widely used for day-to-day coordination; most small businesses accept inquiries via Messenger before email
• YouTube is central for how-to content, ag equipment repair, precision ag tech, weather tracking, and long-form entertainment
• Snapchat remains the default 1:1/1:few chat among high school and college-age residents; streaks drive daily engagement
• TikTok/Reels usage is growing for weather, road conditions, hunting/fishing, farming tips, and local event discovery; short-form cross-posting between TikTok and Instagram is common for businesses and creators
• Instagram is used by boutiques, cafes, and service providers for promotions; Stories are the primary format, with Reels for reach beyond the county
• X (Twitter) is niche but influential for real-time weather (e.g., NWS Bismarck/Grand Forks), highway updates, and ND high school/college sports
• Pinterest is strong for recipes, crafts, quilting, home projects, and seasonal planning; saves often translate to weekend activity
• Seasonal and time-of-day rhythms: evening peaks (7–10 p.m.); strong spikes during severe weather, planting/harvest, school sports seasons, and county events

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau (2023 county population estimates); ACS 1-year/5-year tables for broadband subscription in ND; Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (platform-by-demographic adoption). County figures are modeled estimates applying Pew demographic adoption rates and rural adjustments to Sargent County’s population profile and connectivity levels.