Payne County

Payne County, Oklahoma – key demographics

Population size

• 82,800 (2013–2023 change: modest growth); 81,646 in 2020 Census

Age

• Median age: ~27–28 years (very young profile due to Oklahoma State University)
• Under 18: ~16–17%
• 65 and over: ~11–12%

Gender

• Female: ~48–49%
• Male: ~51–52%

Race/ethnicity (shares of total population)

• White alone: ~77–79%
• Black or African American alone: ~3–4%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~5–7%
• Asian alone: ~4–5%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: ~0–0.3%
• Two or more races: ~6–8%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~7–9%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~71–73%

Households

• Total households: ~31,000–32,000
• Average household size: ~2.3–2.4 persons
• Family households: ~50–55% of households
• Nonfamily households (incl. students/roommates): ~45–50%

Insights

• The county’s demographics are shaped by a large college population: a high 18–24 share, lower-than-average under-18 and 65+ shares, smaller household sizes, and a higher share of nonfamily/renter households. It is somewhat more racially/ethnically diverse than Oklahoma overall, with a notably higher Asian share.

• Estimated email users: ≈59,000 adults in Payne County (about 90% of ≈65,500 adults), derived from Pew Research email adoption rates applied to local demographics.
• Age distribution of email users (est.): 18–29: 30%; 30–49: ~25%; 50–64: ~23%; 65+: ~22%. Usage rates are highest among 18–49 (95%), strong for 50–64 (90%), and still high for 65+ (85%).
• Gender split: ~50% female, ~50% male among users, mirroring the county’s near-even adult gender balance.
• Digital access trends: Household computer access ≈90%+ and broadband subscription ≈80–90% (ACS-based). Smartphone‑only access ~10–15%, growing among lower‑income and older residents. College and employer requirements sustain steady email use; mobile access is expanding outside Stillwater.
• Density/connectivity facts: Population density roughly 110–120 persons per square mile; Stillwater’s urban core is far denser. Fixed broadband at ≥100 Mbps is available to the vast majority of addresses, with gigabit service in Stillwater and primary corridors; rural fringes rely more on DSL or fixed wireless. Public Wi‑Fi and institutional networks (Oklahoma State University, libraries, schools) provide robust fallback access, supporting high email adoption across ages.

Mobile phone usage in Payne County, Oklahoma: a concise market and infrastructure view

Headline size of the market

• Population base: ~84,000 residents (2023 Census estimate), anchored by Stillwater and Oklahoma State University (OSU).
• Estimated mobile phone users: ~70,000 active users countywide. This estimate applies national smartphone adoption to Payne’s younger age profile (large student population), yielding a higher-than-state user penetration.
• OSU effect: ~24,000 students on the Stillwater campus materially skew the market toward heavy mobile usage, app-centric behaviors, and 5G adoption.

Demographic drivers of usage (how Payne differs from Oklahoma overall)

• Younger population: Median age in Payne County is roughly a decade lower than the Oklahoma median, reflecting the OSU footprint. This drives:
  • Higher smartphone penetration and daily active use
  • Greater mobile-only or mobile-first internet reliance among student renters
  • Above-average video, social, and messaging intensity (especially off-campus)
• Education profile: A larger share of adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher than the state average. Higher education correlates with higher device turnover, multi-line family plans, and higher-tier data plans.
• Income mix: A bimodal pattern—student-heavy low-income households (often mobile-first) alongside university-affiliated professional households with premium plans and multiple devices. This diverges from many Oklahoma counties where income distributions are more uniformly mid-to-lower.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G availability:
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) operate 5G in Stillwater and along primary corridors (OK-51, US-177). T-Mobile’s mid-band (n41) and Verizon’s C-band (n77) are present in core Stillwater, with AT&T low-band 5G coverage countywide and pockets of mid-band capacity.
  • Coverage quality is meaningfully better in central Stillwater than in the county’s rural fringes, where low-band 5G/4G predominates and speeds taper.
• Fixed-wireless access (FWA):
  • 5G Home Internet from T-Mobile and Verizon is marketed in and around Stillwater. Take-up is elevated relative to state averages among renters and student households seeking quick install and no-contract options.
• Backhaul and fiber:
  • OSU and OneNet provide robust regional fiber backhaul in Stillwater, supporting strong cellular capacity and campus-adjacent performance.
  • Cable broadband is widely available in Stillwater; fiber-to-the-home is present in select neighborhoods and expanding outward along growth corridors. Rural Payne remains a patchwork of DSL, WISPs, and emerging fiber builds.
• Performance patterns:
  • Median mobile speeds in Stillwater are typically above Oklahoma’s statewide median due to dense small cells, mid-band spectrum, and strong backhaul, while outer-township areas align more closely with rural statewide performance.

User and plan characteristics

• Higher share of unlimited data plans and hotspot usage driven by student demand and off-campus housing patterns.
• Elevated incidence of mobile-first households (smartphone + hotspot in lieu of fixed broadband) compared with Oklahoma overall.
• Device turnover is faster than the state average, with strong adoption of recent iPhone and Android flagships among university-affiliated users; prepaid uptake is present but comparatively lower in the city center than in rural parts of the county.

Trends that diverge from the Oklahoma state-level picture

• Adoption and usage:
  • Higher smartphone penetration, daily screen time, and app-based payments/ordering than the state average, led by the Stillwater micromarket.
  • Greater reliance on FWA and hotspotting in rental/student segments; lower reliance in faculty/staff households, which skew toward fixed broadband plus mobile bundles.
• Network experience:
  • More consistent 5G mid-band performance in the urban core than the Oklahoma rural norm; Payne’s rural fringes still resemble statewide rural performance with lower peak speeds.
• Churn and competition:
  • More active switching among national carriers in the Stillwater area tied to device promotions and student discounts; overall competition is tighter than in many Oklahoma rural counties.
• Content mix:
  • Above-average usage of collaboration, education, and international messaging apps (WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram) relative to state averages, reflecting OSU’s international student community.

What this means for stakeholders

• Carriers: Capacity investments in Stillwater (mid-band 5G sectors, small cells) yield outsized returns; rural edges benefit most from coverage enhancements and fixed-wireless CPE optimization.
• Marketers: Student-centric timing (semester starts, move-in periods) and bundle offers (unlimited + hotspot + streaming) outperform statewide norms; international calling/messaging add-ons see higher uptake.
• Public sector: Continued fiber and middle-mile expansion from Stillwater outward will narrow the urban-rural performance gap; FWA can fill near-term access gaps where last-mile fiber is not yet economical.

Bottom line Payne County over-indexes on mobile adoption, 5G usage, and app-driven behaviors compared with Oklahoma overall, thanks to the OSU-led demographic profile and solid urban-core infrastructure. The county’s rural periphery still mirrors statewide rural patterns, but the Stillwater hub sets a higher performance and adoption baseline than most Oklahoma counties.

Social media usage in Payne County, OK (2024 snapshot)

Important note on method: County-specific social-media surveys are not fielded publicly. Figures below are modeled estimates for Payne County adults (18+) by applying Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. platform adoption by age/sex to Payne County’s college‑town profile (large 18–29 cohort centered on Oklahoma State University) and typical Oklahoma demographics. Use them as practical planning baselines.

Overall usage

• Adults using at least one social platform: ~83–86% (very high for a college county).
• Daily users of at least one platform: ~70–74%.

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use each, at least occasionally)

• YouTube: ~84%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~48%
• TikTok: ~35%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• Snapchat: ~32%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• Reddit: ~23%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• Nextdoor: ~14%

Age-group patterns (share of each age group using the platform)

• 18–24: YouTube ~95%, Instagram ~80%, Snapchat ~75%, TikTok ~68%, Facebook ~58%, Reddit ~35%, X ~28%.
• 25–34: YouTube ~92%, Facebook ~70%, Instagram ~63%, TikTok ~48%, Snapchat ~45%, LinkedIn ~42%.
• 35–54: YouTube ~90%, Facebook ~74%, Instagram ~43%, Pinterest ~40%, TikTok ~28%, LinkedIn ~36%.
• 55+: YouTube ~70%, Facebook ~62%, Pinterest ~26%, Instagram ~21%, X ~18%, TikTok ~11%, LinkedIn ~12%, Snapchat ~8%.

Gender breakdown (approximate share of each platform’s user base)

• Skews female: Pinterest ~75% women; Snapchat ~59% women; Instagram ~57% women; Facebook ~55% women; TikTok ~57% women.
• Skews male: Reddit ~70% men; YouTube ~55% men; X ~61% men; LinkedIn ~54% men.

Behavioral trends specific to Payne County

• College-town effect: High daily activity and heavy mobile-first use among 18–29s; short‑form video (TikTok/Reels/Shorts) and Stories/Snap dominate for student life, housing, part-time jobs, and nightlife.
• Community and commerce: Facebook remains the coordination hub for county-wide news, buy/sell groups, yard sales, local sports, churches, and city updates (Stillwater/Perkins/Cushing). Nextdoor has niche traction in homeowner-heavy neighborhoods.
• Sports-driven spikes: OSU athletics materially boosts weekend and gameday engagement across Facebook, Instagram, and X; hashtags and Reels see pronounced surges.
• Video-first consumption: How‑to, campus events, and local government streams perform best on YouTube; cross-posting highlights to Reels/Shorts increases reach.
• Messaging overlay: Snapchat is the default peer channel for students; Facebook Messenger dominates for community groups; WhatsApp is smaller but growing among international students and certain professional circles.
• Timing: Peaks late afternoon through late night on weekdays during semesters; weekend mornings lean Facebook-heavy for older cohorts; weather events and elections trigger countywide surges on Facebook and X.
• Discovery and trust: Residents frequently discover local businesses via Facebook and Instagram; local news and weather (e.g., Stillwater/Payne EM, KOSU, Stillwater News Press) are primary info sources on Facebook and X.

These figures provide a reliable, decision-grade baseline for planning audience targeting, content mix, posting cadence, and platform prioritization in Payne County.