Dewey County

Here are the latest concise demographics for Dewey County, Oklahoma.

Population

• Total: ~4,350–4,500 (2020 Census ≈4.5k; 2023 estimate ≈4.3k)

Age

• Median age: ~42–43 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Gender

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (percent of total)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~79–83%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~6–8%
• Black: ~1%
• Asian: <1%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~3–5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~7–9%

Households and housing

• Households: ~1,900
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~65% (married-couple ~50–52%)
• One-person households: ~28%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–80%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates).

Dewey County, OK snapshot

• Population: ~4,500; adults ~3,200–3,400.
• Estimated email users: 2,500–2,900 (about 75–85% of adults; >90% of adult internet users). Estimates scale national/rural-OK patterns to local population.

Age distribution of email use (approx.)

• 18–29: 95% use email → 400–500 users
• 30–49: 90–95% → 800–900
• 50–64: 85–90% → 750–850
• 65+: 70–80% → 600–750

Gender split

• Roughly even (~50/50 among users).

Digital access trends

• Household broadband subscription around 70–75%, with many mobile-only households; smartphone adoption is high.
• Fixed broadband availability drops outside towns; satellite and fixed wireless fill gaps.
• Ongoing state/federal investments (e.g., BEAD) are expanding fiber to underserved rural blocks.

Local density/connectivity facts

• Very rural: ~4–5 people per square mile across ~1,000 sq. miles.
• Service is strongest in/near towns (e.g., Seiling, Vici, Leedey) and along major corridors; coverage is patchier in outlying ranchland and along secondary roads.

Below is a practical, county-level snapshot built from rural Oklahoma patterns, ACS/Pew device-ownership trends, and FCC coverage characteristics. Figures are estimates intended to show scale and direction; small-population counties like Dewey rarely have precise, current survey splits.

County context

• Population: roughly 4,500–5,000 residents; older and more rural than Oklahoma overall.
• Largest communities/road corridors: Seiling (US‑270), Vici (OK‑34), Taloga (near Canadian River), Leedey (OK‑34/OK‑47).

User estimates (people and households)

• Mobile phone users (any mobile): about 3,800–4,300 residents.
• Smartphone users: about 3,100–3,600 residents.
• Adults relying on a mobile device as their primary or only internet connection: roughly 22–30% of households (about 400–600 households out of ~1,800–2,000). This “mobile-only” reliance is noticeably higher than the state average.
• Data consumption: lower per-line data use than metro Oklahoma (capacity limits and coverage variability), but higher-than-average tethering/hotspot use for home and farm/ranch work.

Demographic patterns (how usage differs from the state)

• Age
  • Under 35: near-universal smartphone use (≈90–95%), similar to the state.
  • 35–64: high smartphone use (≈85–90%), slightly below state due to coverage/device-cost considerations.
  • 65+: markedly lower smartphone adoption (≈55–65%) than the state; flip phones and basic handsets persist.
• Income and plan type
  • More prepaid plans and budget MVNOs than statewide; households manage costs with smaller data buckets and shared hotspots.
  • “Smartphone-only” internet dependence is higher among lower-income and single-occupant/senior households than the state average.
• Work patterns
  • Agriculture, energy, and field-service jobs drive above-average reliance on voice/SMS, PTT-style apps, and portable hotspots; rugged devices and external antennas are more common than in urban Oklahoma.
• Race/ethnicity and access
  • Native American and Hispanic residents (smaller shares than statewide) show similar or higher mobile reliance when fixed broadband isn’t available, leading to a slightly higher mobile-only share than the state.

Digital infrastructure (what’s on the ground)

• Coverage and capacity
  • Broad low-band LTE and low-band 5G from AT&T and Verizon along highways and towns; T‑Mobile coverage is improving on corridors but remains more variable off-road than in metro areas.
  • Tower density is lower than the state average; capacity can tighten during events, school hours, and harvest seasons.
  • Dead zones persist on ranch roads, in river/creek valleys (e.g., near the Canadian River), and between towns; signal boosters are commonly used.
• 5G reality
  • Low-band 5G is present on major routes; mid-band 5G capacity is spotty and largely town/ corridor-limited; no practical mmWave.
• Home internet substitutes
  • Limited cable footprint and patchy legacy DSL push households toward:
    • Fixed wireless (local WISPs) and LTE/5G home internet.
    • Fiber in pockets (co-op and regional builds around town centers); far less ubiquitous than in metro/suburban Oklahoma.
    • Satellite (including Starlink) adoption higher than the state.
• Public safety
  • FirstNet/AT&T and Band‑14 coverage along primary corridors; rural gaps remain, so agencies maintain multi-carrier devices and radios.

How Dewey County differs most from Oklahoma overall

• Higher mobile-only/phone-as-primary-internet reliance, due to sparse wired options.
• Slightly lower overall smartphone adoption, driven by an older age profile and cost/coverage tradeoffs.
• More prepaid and MVNO usage; longer device replacement cycles.
• Greater dependence on voice/SMS and hotspots for work; lower average video streaming and social-media data use than metro areas.
• Coverage is corridor-centric with more dead zones; capacity upgrades lag state urban centers, so 5G mainly improves reach rather than speeds.

What these trends imply

• Outreach, telehealth, and education services should be optimized for low-bandwidth, mobile-first access.
• Emergency communications planning benefits from multi-carrier redundancy and offline-capable tools.
• Targeted investments with co-ops (fiber infill) and mid-band 5G on existing towers will yield outsized gains versus statewide one-size-fits-all strategies.

Dewey County, OK social media snapshot (estimates)

What we can know with confidence

• Population: ≈4.5k residents; ≈3.3k–3.7k adults (18+).
• Likely social-media users: ≈2.3k–2.8k adults (about 65–75% of adults), in line with rural U.S. adoption rates (Pew 2023–24).

Most‑used platforms among local social users (share of social users, not of total population; ranges reflect rural usage patterns)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 70–75% (Groups and Messenger are core)
• Instagram: 30–40%
• TikTok: 25–35%
• Snapchat: 20–30% (concentrated under 30)
• Pinterest: 25–35% (skews female)
• X/Twitter: 10–20% (weather, sports, news lurkers)
• LinkedIn: 10–15% (oil & gas, healthcare, education professionals)

Age profile and adoption

• Adoption by age (share within each age band who use social):
  • 18–29: ~85–95%
  • 30–49: ~80–85%
  • 50–64: ~65–75%
  • 65+: ~45–55%
• Likely share of active local users by age (county skews older than U.S. overall):
  • 18–29: 15–20%
  • 30–49: 30–35%
  • 50–64: 25–30%
  • 65+: 20–25%

Gender breakdown (directional)

• Overall users: roughly balanced M/F.
• Platform skews: Pinterest and TikTok skew female; Instagram slightly female; X/Twitter and Reddit skew male; Facebook fairly balanced.

Behavioral trends you can expect locally

• Facebook as the community hub: school and high‑school sports, churches, local government and emergency updates, yard sales/Marketplace, missing pets, fundraisers.
• Video, but bandwidth‑aware: short Facebook/Instagram Reels and YouTube how‑to content (farm/ranch repairs, DIY, small‑engine, weather) over long livestreams due to patchy broadband.
• Strong engagement on local pages: schools (Seiling, Vici, Taloga), county emergency management, sheriff’s office, OSU Extension/4‑H/FFA, livestock auctions, hunting/fishing, oilfield jobs.
• Messaging > public posting for many adults: Facebook Messenger dominates; Snapchat for teens/young adults.
• Timing: highest engagement evenings (7–10 pm CT) and weekends; real‑time spikes around severe weather and ballgames.
• Ads that perform: simple creative with people/places locals recognize; “within 25–35 miles” geotargeting; call‑to‑action tied to in‑person events or phone calls; Marketplace listings for tangible goods.

Notes and how to firm up numbers

• These are modeled estimates using rural U.S. usage patterns (Pew Research Center 2023–24) applied to a ≈4.5k county. For precise counts, check:
  • Meta Ads Manager: set location = “Dewey County, Oklahoma” to see Facebook/Instagram potential reach by age/gender.
  • TikTok, Snapchat, and X Ads managers: similar local reach estimates.
  • Follower counts/engagement on key local pages (schools, county EM, sheriff) to benchmark active audiences.