Cotton County

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Summary for Cotton County, Oklahoma (estimates)

• Population and density: ~5,600 residents; ~9 people per square mile (very rural).
• Adult base: ~4,400 adults (18+).

Email users

• Total estimated users: ~3,800–4,000 (about 85–90% of adults, based on national adoption).
• Gender split: roughly even (~50/50); small differences by gender in email use nationally.

Age distribution of email users (approx.)

• 18–29: ~750 users (high adoption ~95%).
• 30–49: ~1,300–1,350 users (high adoption ~95%).
• 50–64: ~1,000 users (adoption ~85–90%).
• 65+: ~750–800 users (adoption ~70–80%). Note: Counts derived by applying typical rural U.S. age mix and Pew adoption rates to the local adult population.

Digital access and connectivity

• Household internet: roughly 70–80% subscribe to broadband in rural Oklahoma; smartphone-only access is common among lower-income and older households.
• Network mix: fiber/cable concentrated in/near towns (e.g., Walters, Temple); many outlying areas rely on DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite.
• Mobile coverage: generally good along major corridors (US-70, US-277/281), spottier in sparsely populated areas.
• Trend: state and federal programs (e.g., BEAD) are targeting unserved rural tracts, so fiber and fixed wireless coverage are expected to expand over the next 2–3 years.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Cotton County, Oklahoma (focus on how it differs from the state)

County snapshot

• Small, rural county with an older age profile and lower median income than the Oklahoma average. These two factors tend to depress smartphone and 5G adoption and increase reliance on lower-cost plans.

User estimates (order-of-magnitude, derived from 2020 population ≈5.7k and rural adoption benchmarks)

• Residents with any mobile phone: roughly 4,300–4,800 (about 75–85% of all residents). This is a few points lower than the statewide share because of the county’s older age structure and rural coverage gaps.
• Smartphone users: roughly 3,700–4,400 (about 65–78% of all residents). That translates to about 78–85% of adults, a bit below Oklahoma’s urban counties where adult smartphone adoption approaches 90%.
• Cellular-only home internet households: approximately 25–35% of households (higher than the state average), reflecting limited, patchy, or costly fixed broadband in parts of the county.
• 5G-capable handset users: materially below state average; many residents are on older LTE-only devices and follow longer replacement cycles.

Demographic breakdown and how it differs from state-level

• Age
  • 18–34: Near-universal smartphone ownership (≈90–95%), similar to the state.
  • 35–64: High but a few points lower than state urban areas, reflecting device cost sensitivity.
  • 65+: Noticeably lower smartphone adoption (≈55–65%) than the Oklahoma average for seniors, increasing the share of basic/LTE-only devices.
• Income and plan type
  • Higher share of prepaid/MVNO subscriptions than the state average; price sensitivity leads to less 5G add-ons and smaller data buckets.
  • Longer device lifecycles (3–4+ years vs. 2–3 years in metro areas), slowing migration to newer network features.
• Platform/usage patterns
  • Higher Android share than statewide averages.
  • More reliance on voice/SMS and hotspotting for home tasks; somewhat lower rates of app-heavy services (cloud gaming, 4K streaming).
• Household connectivity
  • Above-average “mobile-only” households and student hotspot use due to pockets of limited fixed broadband. This diverges from metro Oklahoma, where fixed fiber/cable is more common.

Digital infrastructure notes (what stands out versus statewide)

• Coverage mix
  • 4G LTE is the workhorse; 5G coverage exists mainly as low-band along primary corridors and near population centers. Mid-band 5G capacity is markedly thinner than in metro counties.
  • Indoor coverage can be inconsistent in outlying areas; Wi‑Fi calling is an important workaround.
• Tower density and backhaul
  • Fewer macro sites per square mile than urban counties; more microwave backhaul and less fiber to towers, which can mean noticeable peak-time congestion relative to cities.
• Carrier landscape
  • AT&T and Verizon generally provide the broadest rural footprints; T‑Mobile has improved low-band reach but mid-band depth is limited outside nearby larger markets. Residents are more likely to switch carriers or use MVNOs based on very local signal differences—more so than in cities.
• Fixed–mobile interplay
  • Limited fiber/cable in some tracts pushes higher uptake of mobile hotspotting and fixed wireless access (FWA) where available. This differs from state urban markets where fiber reduces reliance on mobile for home connectivity.
• Public safety and resilience
  • Public-safety coverage generally tracks the strongest macro networks; redundancy is thinner than in metro areas, making power/backhaul outages more impactful on mobile service.

Trends to watch (county vs. state)

• Gradual 5G expansion from nearby metro nodes will lift low-band coverage first; capacity (mid-band) will lag state urban growth.
• Prepaid and MVNO share remains elevated; any state-level shift toward premium unlimited plans is likely to diffuse more slowly here.
• As state and federal rural broadband builds add fiber backhaul, mobile network congestion should ease, but device replacement and plan upgrades will remain slower than state averages.
• Telehealth and school-related hotspot use are growing, but video quality and reliability will trail urban Oklahoma until mid-band 5G and fiber backhaul mature.

Notes on method and confidence

• Figures are estimates based on Cotton County’s small, rural population, known rural adoption patterns, and typical Oklahoma carrier footprints.

Below is a concise, best-available estimate for Cotton County, OK. Because platform vendors rarely publish county-level stats, figures are modeled from 2020–2024 U.S. Census/ACS population structure plus Pew Research Center rural social-media adoption patterns; treat numbers as approximate (±5 percentage points for platform shares).

Headline user stats

• Residents: ≈5,700
• Residents age 13+: ≈4,700
• Social media users (13+): ≈3,300 (about 70% of 13+; ~58% of total population)

Users by age (share of local social media users)

• 13–17: ~10%
• 18–29: ~18%
• 30–49: ~35%
• 50–64: ~22%
• 65+: ~14%

Gender breakdown (users)

• Female: ~52%
• Male: ~48%

Most-used platforms among local social media users (at least monthly)

• Facebook: ~78% — the default local network for news, school updates, churches, sports, buy/sell/trade
• YouTube: ~72% — how‑to/DIY, ag and equipment repair, weather, hunting/fishing, sermon replays
• Instagram: ~32% — younger adults; local sports, events, boutiques; Stories/Reels over feed
• Pinterest: ~26% — strong with women; recipes, crafts, home/ranch projects
• TikTok: ~27% — teens/20s; humor, hacks; many clips cross-posted as Facebook Reels
• Snapchat: ~22% — primary teen messaging/social; quick local sharing
• X (Twitter): ~15% — niche: weather spotters, sports, state politics
• WhatsApp: ~12% — family groups, small businesses; some Hispanic/Intl. ties
• Reddit: ~10% — younger men; gaming/tech; not place-based
• LinkedIn: ~8% — limited; used for job search outside the county
• Nextdoor: ~6% — low usage; Facebook groups fill that role locally

Notable behavioral trends

• Community-first use: High engagement with school district pages, youth sports, churches, fairs, fundraisers, volunteer drives; Facebook Groups are central.
• Commerce: Heavy use of buy/sell/trade and local business pages; Marketplace outperforms Craigslist.
• Video > text: Short vertical video (Reels/Shorts) is growing fastest; cross-posting between TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook is common.
• Timing: Peaks before work (6–8 a.m.) and evenings (7–10 p.m.); weekend spikes around local events and high school sports.
• Trust/locality: Users favor local sources over national outlets; word-of-mouth via groups and Messenger is influential.
• Connectivity constraints: Some users have modest speeds or data caps; shorter videos and image carousels perform best.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are the default DMs; many transactions finalized via DM.
• Content that travels: Weather alerts, road closures, lost/found pets, youth achievements, and “how-to” farm/ranch content get outsized reach.

Method notes

• Population: recent Census/ACS for Cotton County (~5.7k).
• Adoption rates: Pew 2023–2024 U.S. adults and teens, adjusted slightly toward rural patterns typical of southwest Oklahoma.
• Small-population caution: In a county this size, a few hundred active users can swing percentages; treat platform shares as directional, not exact.