Harney County

Harney County, Oregon – key demographics

Population size

• 7,495 (2020 Census official count)
• ~7.5K–7.6K in 2023 population estimates; essentially flat to slightly up since 2020

Age

• Median age: about 46–47 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Under 18: ~21–22%
• 18–64: ~56%
• 65 and over: ~22–23%

Gender

• Male: ~51–52%
• Female: ~48–49%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2019–2023)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~83%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~9%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~3–4%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~3–4%
• Black, non-Hispanic: ~0–1%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~0–1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~0%

Households and housing (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~3,100–3,300
• Average household size: ~2.25–2.30
• Family households: ~55–60% of households
• Owner-occupied: ~70–75%; renter-occupied: ~25–30%
• Median household income: mid–$50Ks
• Poverty rate: mid-teens (%)

Insights

• Small, very rural county with an older age profile than Oregon overall.
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White, with meaningful Hispanic/Latino and American Indian representation.
• High owner-occupancy and small household sizes typical of rural Oregon.

Harney County context

• Population ≈7,600 across 10,226 sq mi (largest county in Oregon), density ≈0.74 residents per sq mi. Broadband is concentrated around Burns–Hines; vast ranching areas remain sparsely served.

Email usage

• Estimated users: ≈6,000 residents use email regularly (≈80% of the population), driven by near‑universal adoption among connected adults.
• Age distribution of email users: 13–24: 14%; 25–44: 28%; 45–64: 32%; 65+: 26% (skews older than Oregon overall, reflecting the county’s older age profile).
• Gender split among users: ~50% female, ~50% male.

Digital access and trends

• Households ≈3,200; about 72% have a home broadband subscription; ≈88% have a computer or smartphone.
• About 14% of households rely on cellular data as their primary internet; satellite and fixed wireless are common outside the Burns–Hines corridor.
• Access is improving with recent state/federal investments and incremental fiber expansion along main corridors, but coverage remains uneven in remote tracts; adoption growth is steady yet constrained by distance and infrastructure costs.

Sources: U.S. Census/ACS for population, household, and subscription/device access; Pew Research for email adoption patterns among connected adults.

Mobile phone usage in Harney County, Oregon — summary focused on local realities that diverge from state-level patterns.

Headline takeaways

• User base is small but highly mobile-dependent: approximately 5,300–5,700 adult residents use a mobile phone, with 4,600–5,000 using smartphones. Ownership lags the Oregon average, driven by older age structure, lower incomes, and patchy coverage outside the Burns–Hines area.
• Network is coverage-first, speed-second: 4G/LTE is the practical baseline outside towns, with low-band 5G concentrated in Burns/Hines and along short highway stretches. Mid-band 5G (for high speeds) is largely absent, unlike in Oregon’s metros.
• Rural geography and high federal land share constrain tower density and backhaul, reinforcing a carrier mix that favors Verizon and AT&T; T-Mobile has a smaller footprint.

Population and user estimates

• Population and households: about 7,500–7,700 residents; roughly 3,100–3,300 households. Adult population ~5,800–6,000.
• Mobile phone users: ~5,300–5,700 adults (roughly 90–95% of adults have a cellphone of any kind).
• Smartphone users: ~4,600–5,000 adults (roughly 78–84% of adults), lower than Oregon’s statewide ~85%+.
• Feature-phone or non-smartphone users: ~700–1,100 adults, concentrated among residents 65+, lower-income households, and in remote ranching areas.
• Plan mix: prepaid and single-line plans are meaningfully higher than the state average; multi-line family and premium unlimited plans are less common due to income and limited high-speed 5G value outside Burns/Hines.
• Device lifecycle: upgrade cycles run longer than the state average; older LTE handsets remain in circulation, and Wi‑Fi calling is widely used at home.

Demographic breakdown affecting mobile adoption

• Age: median age is notably higher than Oregon’s (county skew toward 45–50). Smartphone adoption is near universal among 18–44, strong but not universal among 45–64, and significantly lower among 65+ (where basic phones and tablets with Wi‑Fi are more common).
• Income and education: median household income is well below the Oregon median, with a higher share of households near or below poverty. That elevates prepaid usage, price-sensitive plans, and slower device turnover.
• Geography: roughly four out of five residents live in or near Burns and Hines; residents outside this core face more dead zones and lean on satellite or fixed wireless at home, keeping mobile data usage conservative when away from Wi‑Fi.
• Tribal community: Burns Paiute households near Burns/Hines see better coverage than remote ranchlands but still contend with limited 5G capacity and backhaul.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Technology mix
  • 4G/LTE: primary network for the majority of road miles; generally reliable along US‑20/US‑395/OR‑78, with large low-signal areas off-corridor.
  • 5G: mostly low-band 5G around Burns/Hines and short segments of major highways; mid-band 5G (C-band/2.5 GHz) that boosts speeds in metro Oregon is minimal to nonexistent countywide; mmWave is absent.
• Carriers and performance
  • Verizon and AT&T provide the most practical reach; FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) improves public-safety coverage along main corridors and around population centers.
  • T-Mobile has service in Burns/Hines and some corridors but thinner rural reach, making it a minority choice relative to statewide share.
  • Typical speeds: LTE/low-band 5G in towns provide adequate app use and SD/HD streaming; speeds degrade quickly outside town and in basins or canyons. Statewide mid-band 5G speeds common in cities are not the norm here.
• Backhaul and towers
  • Fiber backhaul exists along primary corridors and to anchor institutions; many remote sites rely on microwave.
  • Tower density is low due to terrain, long distances, permitting, and the county’s high proportion of federal land. Power redundancy is improving but outages still cause temporary coverage loss in outlying areas.
• Home internet interplay
  • Starlink and other satellite options have noticeably higher adoption than the state average and are often used as primary broadband. Mobile service is frequently a backup via Wi‑Fi calling.
  • Fixed wireless from local/regional providers supplements service near towns; cable/fiber options are limited compared with Oregon’s metro counties.

Usage patterns that differ from Oregon statewide

• Lower smartphone penetration and higher basic-phone retention, driven by older age and income profile.
• Greater reliance on Verizon/AT&T for rural coverage; T‑Mobile share is smaller than statewide.
• Heavier use of prepaid and cost-capped plans; lower adoption of premium unlimited tiers tied to high-speed 5G benefits.
• More Wi‑Fi calling and conservative mobile data use because of coverage gaps and at-home satellite/fixed‑wireless reliance.
• Seasonal traffic spikes from tourism, hunting, and wildfire operations produce localized congestion uncharacteristic of urban Oregon markets.
• Public-safety connectivity (FirstNet devices and boosters) plays an outsized role compared with metro counties.

Practical implications

• Businesses and agencies targeting Harney County should prioritize Verizon/AT&T support, offline-first app behavior, and Wi‑Fi calling guidance.
• Outreach to 65+ and lower-income residents benefits from simplified plans, device subsidies, and hands-on setup for Wi‑Fi calling and safety alerts.
• For bandwidth-heavy services, expect town-centric performance; plan for degraded experience on ranchlands and BLM roads without external antennas or boosters.
• Near-term network improvements will be incremental fill-in and reliability, not metro-class mid-band 5G capacity, keeping the local experience distinct from Oregon’s urban counties.

Harney County, OR social media snapshot

Context

• Rural county; population about 7.5K (2020 Census) with an older age profile (median age ~47). Rural/older skew modestly lowers social media adoption versus U.S. average.

Overall user stats (adults)

• Any social media use: ~68% of adults (modeled estimate)
• Most-used platforms (share of total adult population, modeled from national + rural/age adjustments):
  • YouTube: ~78%
  • Facebook: ~66%
  • Instagram: ~35%
  • Pinterest: ~30%
  • TikTok: ~27%
  • Snapchat: ~22%
  • LinkedIn: ~12%
  • X (Twitter): ~12%
  • Reddit: ~10%
  • Nextdoor: ~6%

Age-group usage (share of each age group using platform; modeled)

• Teens 13–17: YouTube ~90%+, TikTok ~60%, Snapchat ~60%, Instagram ~60%, Facebook ~25%
• 18–29: YouTube ~90%, Instagram ~75%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~60%, Facebook ~65%
• 30–49: Facebook ~75%, YouTube ~85%, Instagram ~45%, TikTok ~35%, Snapchat ~25%, Pinterest ~35%
• 50–64: Facebook ~70%, YouTube ~70%, Instagram ~25%, TikTok ~20%, Pinterest ~30%
• 65+: Facebook ~55%, YouTube ~45%, Instagram ~15%, TikTok ~10%, Pinterest ~18%

Gender breakdown (among social media users; modeled)

• Overall: ~52–55% women, ~45–48% men
• Notable skews: Pinterest and Facebook lean female; YouTube, Reddit, and X lean male; Instagram leans female among 18–34

Most-used platforms summary (adult penetration, modeled)

• YouTube (78%) and Facebook (66%) are the dominant platforms
• Mid-tier: Instagram (35%), Pinterest (30%), TikTok (27%)
• Niche/low: Snapchat (22%), LinkedIn (12%), X (12%), Reddit (10%), Nextdoor (6%)

Behavioral trends and local patterns

• Community coordination: Facebook Groups/Pages are central for county news, schools, local government updates, wildfire and road alerts, lost-and-found, and event organizing
• Commerce: Facebook Marketplace is the default P2P channel for vehicles, equipment, ranch supplies, and household goods; Instagram is used by small businesses for product highlights and seasonal promos
• Media consumption over posting: Heavy “watch and read” behavior on YouTube and Facebook; lower original posting rates, especially among 50+
• Practical video use: Strong YouTube usage for DIY, ranching/mechanical repair, outdoor skills, hunting/fishing, and equipment reviews
• Short-form video: TikTok and Instagram Reels usage concentrated under 35 for entertainment and trend discovery; some spillover into local tourism/outdoor content
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is widely used across ages; Snapchat is prevalent for under-30 private messaging; WhatsApp usage is limited
• Timing: Engagement clusters early morning and evenings, aligning with ranch/ag and shift-work schedules; weekday evenings see the highest local post/comment volume
• Trust and recommendations: Local Facebook groups and word-of-mouth dominate discovery for services and businesses; reviews and neighbor referrals carry more weight than polished brand creative
• Ads efficacy: Geo-targeted Facebook/Instagram ads and YouTube pre-roll perform best for local reach; X and Reddit deliver limited local scale; Nextdoor coverage is sparse

Data notes and method

• Precise platform-level stats are rarely published at county scale; figures above are modeled from Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 U.S. platform adoption, rural-vs-urban usage differentials, Oregon’s rural age structure, and 2020 Census demographics for Harney County. Expect a ±3–6 percentage-point margin on platform estimates and wider uncertainty for smaller/niche platforms.