Washita County

Washita County, Oklahoma — Key demographics

Population

• Total: 10,924 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: 10,784 (Census Population Estimates Program), about -1.3% since 2020

Age

• Median age: 39.9 years
• Under 18: 24.9%
• 18 to 64: 56.1%
• 65 and over: 19.0%

Sex

• Male: 50.3%
• Female: 49.7%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023)

• White alone: 82.1%
• Black or African American alone: 1.8%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 7.2%
• Asian alone: 0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 8.4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 11.5%
• Non-Hispanic White: 72.9%

Households and housing (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: 4,236
• Average household size: 2.54
• Family households: 66.3% of households; average family size: 3.05
• Married-couple families: 53%
• Households with children under 18: 31%
• One-person households: 28%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: 75%

Insights

• Small, slowly declining population with a relatively older age profile (nearly one in five residents 65+)
• Predominantly White, with notable American Indian and Hispanic/Latino communities

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

• Population and density: Washita County has about 10,924 residents (2020 Census) across ~1,003 sq mi, ≈10.9 people per sq mi.
• Estimated email users: ≈7,900 residents use email regularly (≈72% of the population, ≈88% of adults).
• Age profile of email use:
  • 13–17: ~60%
  • 18–34: ~95%
  • 35–54: ~92%
  • 55–64: ~85%
  • 65+: ~70%
• Gender split among email users: ~51% female, ~49% male.
• Digital access and connectivity:
  • ~77% of households have an internet subscription; ~74% have a home broadband plan.
  • ~17% of households are smartphone‑only for internet.
  • About 87% of locations can access fixed broadband at 100/20 Mbps or better; fiber is concentrated in and around Cordell, Burns Flat, and Sentinel, with fixed wireless and satellite covering more remote areas.
  • Typical town download speeds are 100–300 Mbps; many rural stretches see 25–100 Mbps.
• Trends:
  • Household broadband subscription has risen roughly 10 percentage points since 2016.
  • Smartphone‑only access is growing, especially among lower‑income and younger users.
  • Email remains a near‑universal digital tool among connected adults, with highest engagement in working‑age cohorts.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Washita County, Oklahoma

Scope and approach

• County-level, mobile-specific surveys are limited. Figures below use the most recent publicly reported benchmarks from national sources (Pew Research, CDC/NHIS), the ACS “Computer and Internet Use” 5‑year estimates, and FCC mobile coverage/broadband maps, scaled to Washita County’s size and rural profile. Values are presented as defensible estimates with ranges to avoid false precision.

County context

• Population and households: ≈11,000 residents; ≈4,300–4,600 households.
• Rural, older-skewing age profile compared with Oklahoma overall; incomes below the state median in most tracts; dispersed settlement pattern centered on Cordell and Burns Flat.

User estimates

• Adult smartphone users: 6,900–7,600 (≈82–88% of adults). Slightly below Oklahoma’s overall adult smartphone ownership (≈86–90%) due to older age mix and income profile.
• Wireless-only households (no landline): ≈3,200–3,700 (≈72–80% of households). Oklahoma is among the highest wireless-only states; Washita County is at least on par and likely toward the upper end given rurality.
• Households with a cellular data plan (mobile internet subscription): ≈2,900–3,300 (≈65–72% of households). Share using mobile data as primary internet is materially higher than the state average because wired options are thinner outside town centers.
• Feature phone users: ≈7–10% of adults retain non‑smartphones—above the state average—concentrated among seniors and very price‑sensitive users.

Demographic breakdown (directional differences vs statewide)

• Age:
  • 18–34: Near-saturation smartphone ownership (≈95%+), close to state levels; heavy use of mobile video and social apps.
  • 35–64: High adoption (≈87–92%), modestly below state average; frequent use for work coordination, agriculture, oilfield and wind operations.
  • 65+: Lower adoption (≈60–70%), below state average; higher propensity to keep a landline or basic phone; text and voice over data-heavy use.
• Income and education:
  • Lower-income households show higher mobile-only internet reliance than the state average (cost avoidance of wireline plans/equipment).
  • Prepaid plans and budget Android devices are overrepresented relative to state urban markets.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Hispanic/Latino residents (notably in agriculture/energy-adjacent employment) exhibit high smartphone and messaging-app reliance and above-average mobile-only internet use—pattern mirrors statewide trends but is more pronounced locally due to limited fixed broadband in outlying areas.
• Household composition:
  • Single-adult and renter households are more likely to be mobile-only for voice and internet than the statewide mean.

Digital infrastructure points

• Coverage:
  • 4G LTE: Broad coverage across populated areas by the Big 3 (AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile); generally reliable along US‑183 and OK‑152 and in/around Cordell, Burns Flat, Sentinel, and Dill City.
  • 5G low-band: Present from at least one national carrier in most populated zones; provides incremental speed/latency improvement but not uniformly at “mid-band” performance levels countywide.
  • 5G mid-band (C‑band/2.5 GHz): Patchier than metro Oklahoma; found near town centers and high-traffic corridors, with notable falloff between towns due to tower spacing and backhaul limits.
• Capacity and backhaul:
  • Lower tower/site density than the state average; capacity can tighten during events or peak agricultural/energy work periods.
  • Backhaul is mixed: fiber-fed sites in/near towns and at key facilities; microwave/backhaul constraints persist in rural cells, limiting mid-band 5G throughput.
• Fixed broadband interplay:
  • Cable/fiber availability is localized (primarily in town limits); beyond that, DSL remains in pockets and is speed-limited.
  • Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) from T‑Mobile and Verizon is available in portions of the county and is expanding; it captures a higher share of home broadband than in Oklahoma’s metros.
• Emergency and coverage resilience:
  • Tornado/wind exposure makes power redundancy (generators at sites) and microwave diversity important; outage impacts are more pronounced than in metro Oklahoma when a single site goes down.

How Washita County differs from Oklahoma overall

• Higher reliance on mobile for home internet: Mobile-only and FWA shares are meaningfully higher than the state average because of limited wireline choices outside town centers.
• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration: Driven by an older age structure and income effects; gap is concentrated among residents 55+.
• More prepaid/device frugality: A larger share of prepaid lines and budget Androids than state urban areas.
• Coverage quality gap is about capacity, not presence: Populated areas have signal, but mid-band 5G capacity and consistent high-throughput coverage lag metro Oklahoma due to tower spacing/backhaul.
• Wireless-only voice adoption equals or exceeds an already-high statewide baseline: Landline retention is mainly among seniors; most working-age households rely solely on mobile.

Implications and actionable insights

• For carriers: Highest impact from adding/modernizing mid-band 5G sectors and upgrading backhaul on rural macros; small cells or repeaters in town cores and event sites would smooth peak loads.
• For public stakeholders: Encourage fiber backhaul extensions to towers and anchor institutions; target ACP-like affordability programs and device literacy for older adults; prioritize FWA where fiber build economics are weakest.
• For businesses and service providers: Design mobile-first customer engagement; optimize for lower latency variability; provide offline/low-bandwidth modes for apps used in fields and workshops.

Washita County, OK — Social Media Snapshot (2025)

Population baseline

• Total population: 11,916 (2020 Census)
• Estimated 13+ population: ~10,000
• Estimated social media users (13+): ~8,000 (≈80% penetration; rural counties typically run just under national averages)

User mix

• By age (share of social media users):
  • 13–17: ~9%
  • 18–29: ~20%
  • 30–49: ~34%
  • 50–64: ~22%
  • 65+: ~15%
• By gender (share of social media users): Female ~53%, Male ~47%

Most-used platforms (share of local social media users)

• YouTube: ~80%
• Facebook: ~72%
• Facebook Messenger: ~68%
• Instagram: ~38%
• TikTok: ~32%
• Snapchat: ~28%
• Pinterest: ~27% overall (≈40% of women)
• X (Twitter): ~18%
• Reddit: ~14%
• LinkedIn: ~12%
• Nextdoor: ~4% (limited footprint in rural areas)

Age-by-platform tendencies (penetration within each age group)

• Teens (13–17): YouTube ~95%, Snapchat ~75%, TikTok ~70%, Instagram ~65%, Facebook ~40%
• 18–29: YouTube ~90%, Instagram ~70%, TikTok ~60%, Snapchat ~55%, Facebook ~55%
• 30–49: Facebook ~80%, YouTube ~85%, Instagram ~40%, TikTok ~30%, Pinterest ~25%
• 50–64: Facebook ~85%, YouTube ~70%, Pinterest ~35%, Instagram ~25%
• 65+: Facebook ~80%, YouTube ~60%, Instagram/TikTok each ≤15%

Behavioral trends

• Community-first usage: Heavy reliance on Facebook Groups for local news, severe weather updates, school activities/sports, church and civic events, county fair/4H, and buy–sell–trade/Marketplace.
• Information flows: Local admins and long-standing group moderators are key trust anchors; state meteorologists and local emergency pages drive spikes during storm season.
• Content formats: Short-form video (Reels/TikTok) rising among under-40; photo posts and text updates dominate 40+. Live streams of school sports and community events perform strongly.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default for families, clubs, churches; Snapchat is the go-to among teens and college-age for day-to-day coordination.
• Shopping and services: Facebook Marketplace is the primary channel for vehicles, farm/ranch equipment, tools, and home goods; service referrals circulate via Groups more than formal review sites.
• Timing: Engagement peaks evenings (7–10 pm), with secondary spikes at lunch (12–1 pm) and weekends (Sun afternoon). Severe-weather days override normal patterns.
• Platform overlap: Cross-posting between Facebook and Instagram is common among 18–49; X is niche and used mainly for sports and weather; Nextdoor presence is sparse outside town centers.

Notes on method

• Counts and percentages are county-level estimates derived from the 2020 Census population base for Washita County and 2023–2024 Pew Research Center usage rates, adjusted to typical rural adoption patterns in the Plains states. These provide a practical, decision-ready view of current usage and behavior.