Pike County

Pike County, Ohio — Key demographics (latest official data)

Population size and trend

• Total population: ~26.9k (2024 Census estimate); 27,088 (2020 Census)
• Trend: Slight decline since 2010, consistent with broader Appalachian Ohio patterns

Age

• Median age: ~40–41 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Age distribution: under 18 ~23%; 18–64 ~58–59%; 65+ ~18–19%

Sex

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023; Hispanic is any race)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~92–93%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~1–2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3–0.5%
• Asian: ~0.2–0.3%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~3–4%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~1–2%

Households and families (ACS 2019–2023)

• Total households: ~10.3–10.6k
• Average household size: ~2.5–2.6
• Family households: ~69–71% of households
• Married-couple families: ~45–50% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~28–30%
• Nonfamily households: ~29–31%; individuals living alone: ~25–27%
• 65+ living alone: ~10–12%
• Housing tenure: owner-occupied ~70–75%; renter-occupied ~25–30%

Insights

• Aging, slowly declining population with a high share of owner-occupied, family households
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White with small but growing multiracial share

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; 2024 Population Estimates Program (PEP)

Email usage snapshot — Pike County, Ohio (estimated from ACS/Pew rural benchmarks and county demographics)

• Users: ~22,000 residents use email (≈82% of ~27,000 population); ~17,300 adult users.
• Age distribution of users:
  • Under 18: ~3,600 (16%)
  • 18–34: ~4,600 (21%)
  • 35–54: ~6,500 (29%)
  • 55–64: ~3,200 (15%)
  • 65+: ~4,200 (19%)
• Gender split among users: ~51% female, 49% male.
• Engagement: ~60% of adults check email daily; work/school accounts drive weekday daytime peaks.

Digital access and connectivity

• Broadband subscription: ~78% of households; ~10% are smartphone‑only internet; ~14% lack home internet.
• Device access: ~90% of households have a computer and/or smartphone.
• Network mix: Cable and fixed‑wireless dominate outside town centers; fiber is expanding along primary corridors but remains limited in sparsely populated areas.
• Local density/connectivity facts: County population density is low (~60 people per square mile), which increases last‑mile costs and slows fiber buildouts. Connectivity is strongest in and around Waverly and along the US‑23 corridor; outlying townships report slower DSL or variable fixed‑wireless performance.

Implication: Email reach is broad across all ages, with slightly lower penetration among seniors and in the most remote areas due to access constraints.

Mobile phone usage in Pike County, Ohio — 2023–2024 snapshot

Size of the user base (estimates)

• Population baseline: ~27,000 residents; ~10,500 households (ACS 2019–2023, 5-year).
• Estimated regular mobile users: 20,000–21,000 residents use a mobile phone regularly (adults and teens), derived from local household smartphone and cellular-subscription rates combined with national age-specific adoption.
• Adult smartphone users: ~17,500–18,500 (approx. 83–88% of ~21,000 adults), reflecting rural adoption levels slightly below statewide averages.

Device ownership and subscriptions (ACS 2019–2023, 5-year; household-level unless noted)

• Households with a smartphone: ~86% in Pike County vs ~91% statewide.
• Households with any internet subscription (of any type): ~78% in Pike County vs ~87% statewide.
• Cellular data plan (alone or with other service): ~74% in Pike County vs ~83% statewide.
• Cellular-only internet households (no cable/fiber/DSL): ~16% in Pike County vs ~10% statewide.
• Fixed wireline broadband (cable/fiber/DSL) subscription: ~60% in Pike County vs ~75% statewide.
• No internet at home: ~22% in Pike County vs ~13% statewide.

What’s different from Ohio overall

• Heavier reliance on mobile data: Cellular-only households are roughly half again as common as the state average (≈16% vs ≈10%). This indicates many Pike County residents use smartphones as their primary on-ramp to the internet.
• Lower wireline adoption: Fixed cable/fiber/DSL subscription trails the state by ~15 percentage points, pushing more usage onto LTE/5G for everyday connectivity.
• Slightly lower smartphone presence at the household level (mid-80s% vs low-90s% statewide), consistent with rural income/education profiles.
• Higher share of households with no home internet at all (low-20s% vs low-teens statewide), which in practice raises the importance of mobile service for basic access.

Demographic patterns behind usage (ACS 2019–2023 plus national adoption differentials)

• Age: Pike County skews older than Ohio (larger 65+ share), and seniors have materially lower smartphone adoption than younger adults. Result: overall smartphone household rate is a few points below the state, with pockets of low adoption in senior-heavy areas.
• Income: A larger share of households below $25,000 than the Ohio average corresponds to higher cellular-only reliance and lower fixed broadband uptake. Budget constraints drive prepaid and MVNO plans and shared family data plans.
• Education: Lower bachelor’s attainment than the state aligns with lower wireline subscription and higher dependence on smartphones for connectivity.
• Race/ethnicity: The county is predominantly White non-Hispanic; smartphone adoption differences by race seen at the state level have less effect on local variation than age and income.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• 4G LTE and 5G availability: All three national carriers (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) provide 4G LTE countywide; 5G is present from all three but primarily via low-band outside the Waverly/Piketon/US‑23 and US‑32 corridors. Mid-band 5G (T‑Mobile 2.5 GHz, Verizon/AT&T C‑band) is concentrated in and near population centers, with sparser reach into hilly, forested townships.
• Coverage gaps: Terrain-driven shadowing produces weak-signal pockets off the main corridors and near state forested areas, resulting in greater variability in indoor service than state averages.
• Backhaul and middle mile: The Horizon Telcom middle‑mile fiber ring built across Appalachian Ohio (including Pike County) supports carrier backhaul along US‑23/US‑32 and in Waverly/Piketon, improving capacity where deployed; interior areas are more constrained, which affects peak-time mobile speeds.
• Public-safety and resiliency: AT&T FirstNet Band 14 is present along primary corridors; commercial carriers colocate on multiple macro sites. Redundancy and power-backup depth are generally thinner than in urban Ohio, making storm-related outages more impactful.
• Market structure: No regional facilities-based fourth carrier; MVNOs predominantly ride the big three networks. This limits price-based competition at the infrastructure layer relative to metro Ohio.

Usage implications

• Pike County residents conduct a larger share of day-to-day online activity over mobile networks than the Ohio average, both because more households are cellular-only and because a higher share lacks any home internet.
• Mobile network load is elevated at peak times in and around Waverly/Piketon (work, school, and healthcare hubs), with noticeable speed drops compared to statewide medians where mid-band 5G is limited.
• For service planning, expanding mid-band 5G sectors and upgrading backhaul at existing corridor sites will yield outsized benefits. For equity outcomes, programs that subsidize fixed service or fixed‑wireless alternatives can reduce the heavy dependence on smartphone-only access.

Notes on sources and methods

• Household device and subscription statistics are from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 5‑year tables on Computer and Internet Use (S2801/B28002); statewide comparisons use the same series. “Cellular-only” refers to a cellular data plan without any cable/fiber/DSL subscription in the household.
• Carrier presence and 5G modality reflect FCC provider filings and statewide deployment announcements through 2024, plus observed rural build patterns in southern Ohio.
• User counts are derived by combining ACS household metrics with national age‑specific smartphone adoption (Pew Research, 2023–2024) scaled to Pike County’s demographic structure.

Pike County, Ohio — social media usage snapshot (2024)

Population baseline

• Total residents: ≈27,100 (2020 Census)
• Residents age 13+: ≈22,300

Users and penetration

• Estimated social media users (13+): ≈16,000
• Share of total population: ≈59%
• Share of residents 13+: ≈72%

Age mix of local social media users (share of users; approx. counts)

• 13–17: 10% (≈1,600)
• 18–29: 19% (≈3,040)
• 30–49: 33% (≈5,280)
• 50–64: 25% (≈4,000)
• 65+: 13% (≈2,080)

Gender breakdown (share of users)

• Women: ≈53%
• Men: ≈47% Note: Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X.

Most-used platforms in Pike County (share of local social media users; multi-platform usage so totals exceed 100%)

• YouTube: ≈80%
• Facebook: ≈70%
• Facebook Messenger: ≈63%
• Instagram: ≈41%
• TikTok: ≈33%
• Pinterest: ≈30%
• Snapchat: ≈28%
• X (Twitter): ≈18%
• WhatsApp: ≈16%
• Reddit: ≈14%
• Nextdoor: ≈7%

Behavioral trends

• Community-first usage: Strong reliance on Facebook Groups and local pages for school updates, local news, weather, events, and buy/sell/trade.
• Marketplace-heavy behavior: Facebook Marketplace is the primary local classifieds channel; posts with clear prices and pickup details outperform.
• Video-led consumption: YouTube is the default for how-to, repairs, outdoor/recreation, and product research; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery.
• Messaging as utility: Facebook Messenger is the dominant direct-contact tool for local businesses and peer coordination.
• Youth skew: Teens and 18–29s cluster on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram; cross-posted short-form video broadens reach to 30–49.
• Mobile-first: ≈95% of usage is on smartphones; vertical video and story formats perform best.
• Best engagement windows: Early morning (6–8 AM), lunch (11:30 AM–1 PM), and evening (7–10 PM), aligned with commuting and shift schedules.
• Content that performs: Local faces, school sports, fairs/festivals, service updates (hours/closures), before/after home services, limited-time offers; plain-language CTAs and phone/text options increase response.
• Trust dynamics: Posts from recognized local entities (schools, county offices, established businesses) and neighbor-shared recommendations earn higher engagement and conversion.
• Ad performance patterns: Geo-targeted offers, lead-gen forms, and click-to-call ads outperform broad branding; short videos (15–30s) and single-image promos with price/benefit clarity drive the most actions.

Notes on method and sources

• Population: U.S. Census (2020) and ACS age structure for similar rural Ohio counties.
• Adoption rates: Pew Research Center (Social Media Use in 2021; Teens, Social Media & Technology 2022; platform adoption updates). Pike County figures are derived by applying these age-specific adoption rates to the county’s age mix; platform penetrations are benchmarked to Pew’s U.S. rates, adjusted for rural usage patterns. Margin of error ±3–5 percentage points.