Jackson County Local Demographic Profile
Key demographics — Jackson County, Oregon
Population size
- 223,259 (2020 Census)
Age (2020 Census/QuickFacts)
- Under 5: 5.6%
- Under 18: 21.4%
- 65 and over: 23.4%
- Median age: ~43 years
Gender (2020 Census/QuickFacts)
- Female: 51.1%
- Male: 48.9%
Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census/QuickFacts)
- White alone: ~88–89%
- Black or African American alone: ~1.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~1.8–1.9%
- Asian alone: ~1.6–1.7%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.5–0.6%
- Two or more races: ~6%
- Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~14%
- White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~78–79%
Household data (ACS 2018–2022 5-year)
- Households: ~90–91k
- Persons per household: ~2.34
- Owner-occupied housing rate: ~63%
- Median household income: roughly mid-$60,000s
- Median gross rent: roughly low-$1,200s
Insights
- Older age profile: share 65+ (~23%) exceeds state and U.S. averages.
- Predominantly non-Hispanic White, with a sizable and growing Hispanic/Latino population (~14%).
- Small household sizes and homeownership near two-thirds indicate a mature, settled population.
Email Usage in Jackson County
Jackson County, OR snapshot
- Population: ~226,000; density ≈81 per sq mi. I‑5 corridor cities (Medford, Ashland, Central Point) have dense broadband; mountain/valley areas (Applegate, Upper Rogue) face gaps.
- Estimated email users: ~167,000 adults (≈74% of total population; ≈94% of adults use email, aligned with Pew U.S. rates applied to local demographics).
- Age distribution of users (approximate counts, penetration in parentheses):
- 18–29: ~31,000 (98%)
- 30–49: ~52,000 (96%)
- 50–64: ~42,000 (92%)
- 65+: ~42,000 (85%)
- Gender split among users: 51% female (85,000) and 49% male (82,000), mirroring county demographics.
- Digital access and trends:
- ~90–93% of households have a computer; ~85–88% have a broadband subscription.
- ~12–16% are smartphone‑only internet users, higher in rural and lower‑income areas.
- Fiber and gigabit cable widely available in urban cores via Ashland Fiber Network, Hunter Communications, and Spectrum; rural zones rely more on fixed wireless and satellite (including Starlink).
- Public libraries and Southern Oregon University augment access with free Wi‑Fi/workstations. Insight: Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults; the main limiter is last‑mile connectivity and affordability in rural tracts and among seniors, not user willingness.
Mobile Phone Usage in Jackson County
Summary: Mobile phone usage in Jackson County, Oregon (with county-versus-state contrasts)
Headline estimates
- Population base: ~224,000 residents; ~181,000 adults (18+).
- Mobile phone users: ≈175,000 people use a mobile phone (about 78% of the total population), including roughly 165,000 smartphone users. This is 2–3 percentage points lower than the statewide adult smartphone adoption rate, reflecting Jackson County’s older age profile and more rural households.
Household device and subscription stats (ACS-based)
- Households with a smartphone: Jackson County ≈89% vs Oregon ≈91–92%.
- Households with any internet subscription: Jackson County ≈89–90% vs Oregon ≈91–92%.
- Cellular data plan in the household (smartphone or tablet): Jackson County ≈70% vs Oregon ≈74%.
- Cellular-only internet households (have a cellular data plan but no cable/fiber/DSL at home): Jackson County ≈16–18% vs Oregon ≈12–13%.
- No internet subscription of any kind: Jackson County ≈10–11% vs Oregon ≈8%. Interpretation: Jackson County households are slightly less likely to own a smartphone or have any internet subscription, and more likely to rely solely on cellular data for home internet. These gaps are consistent with an older, more rural county profile and translate to higher dependence on mobile networks for primary connectivity.
Demographic breakdown and usage patterns
- Age structure: Jackson County skews older (median age is higher than the Oregon median). Seniors (65+) are the group least likely to own smartphones or subscribe to home broadband; this age tilt pulls down overall smartphone and broadband rates relative to the state.
- Income: Median household income is lower than the Oregon median. Lower-income households are more likely to be smartphone‑only and mobile‑only for home internet, amplifying the county’s reliance on cellular networks compared with the state average.
- Urban–rural split: Most coverage and usage density cluster along the I‑5 corridor (Medford–Central Point–Ashland). Outlying and mountainous areas (Applegate Valley, Upper Rogue, Greensprings/Cascade–Siskiyou) show higher rates of cellular‑only home internet and more coverage variability than Oregon’s more urbanized counties.
- Race/ethnicity: Hispanic households (a notable share in the county) are more likely than non‑Hispanic white households to be smartphone‑only or cellular‑only for home internet—patterns seen statewide—but the effect is magnified locally by income and housing factors.
Digital infrastructure highlights (mobile)
- 5G deployment: All three national carriers provide 5G along the I‑5 corridor; mid‑band 5G (C‑band and 2.5 GHz) is established in the Medford–Ashland urban area, supplying materially higher capacity and speeds than legacy LTE. Outside the corridor, 5G availability and performance drop more quickly than in Oregon’s large metro counties.
- Terrain and shadow zones: Valley-and-ridge topography creates persistent dead zones and weaker in‑building coverage in foothill communities. This terrain effect is more pronounced than the statewide norm and is a main reason Jackson County has a higher share of cellular‑only households that still experience variable service quality.
- Resiliency: Wildfire risk and public-safety shutoffs have driven hardening of cell sites (backup power and temporary COW/COLT deployments). Despite improvements since 2020, service interruptions during severe events remain more common than in Oregon’s big metros, reinforcing the need for redundant connectivity for phone and data.
- Public capacity pressure: Evening/weekend congestion is notable around Medford retail corridors and university/tourism nodes in Ashland compared with off‑peak periods, reflecting a heavier relative dependence on mobile data for primary access.
How Jackson County differs most from the Oregon average
- Slightly lower smartphone and any‑internet adoption at the household level.
- Meaningfully higher cellular‑only home internet reliance (roughly 3–5 percentage points above the state).
- Greater urban–rural performance gap because of terrain and settlement patterns, with coverage and speed falling off faster outside the I‑5 corridor.
- Higher vulnerability to wildfire-related outages despite ongoing resiliency upgrades.
What the numbers imply
- The county’s mobile networks carry a larger share of primary internet use than in Oregon overall, making capacity and resiliency investments in the Medford–Ashland core and along feeders (OR‑62, OR‑140, US‑199) disproportionately impactful.
- Outreach and affordability programs targeted to older and lower‑income residents would likely yield above‑average gains in smartphone adoption and reduce the share of households with no internet subscription.
- Filling mid‑band 5G gaps in fringe and foothill communities would materially narrow the county–state divide in mobile performance and reliability.
Social Media Trends in Jackson County
Social media usage in Jackson County, OR — concise snapshot
Overall usage
- Estimated share of adults using at least one social platform: ~80–85%. This aligns with current U.S. adoption levels and Jackson County’s slightly older age profile.
Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults; best-available estimates based on current Pew Research national adoption applied locally)
- YouTube: ~83%
- Facebook: ~68%
- Instagram: ~47%
- Pinterest: ~35%
- TikTok: ~33%
- Snapchat: ~30%
- LinkedIn: ~30%
- X (Twitter): ~22%
- Reddit: ~22% Note: Given the county’s older skew, Facebook is likely a few points higher and TikTok/Snapchat a few points lower than the national figures above; YouTube remains highest across all ages.
Age-group patterns (local skew consistent with national behavior)
- 18–29: Heavy on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; Facebook used mainly for groups/events.
- 30–49: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Instagram strong; TikTok growing; Snapchat moderate.
- 50–64: Facebook and YouTube primary; Instagram modest; TikTok limited; Pinterest strong (especially among women).
- 65+: Facebook for family/news and YouTube for information/entertainment; minimal TikTok/Snapchat/Instagram.
Gender breakdown (directional)
- Women: Higher likelihood to use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; strong participation in local buy/sell, parenting, school, and event groups.
- Men: Higher likelihood to use YouTube, Reddit, X; strong engagement with local sports, DIY, tech, and policy/news content.
- Overall social adoption is broadly similar by gender; differences appear mainly by platform and content type.
Behavioral trends observed locally
- Facebook Groups/Pages function as the county’s information backbone for wildfire, road/air-quality updates, school alerts, and buy/sell/trade communities (notably in Medford, Ashland, Central Point).
- Nextdoor is active in suburban neighborhoods for safety, utilities, and HOA updates; cross-posting with Facebook is common during incidents.
- Short-form video (Instagram Reels, TikTok) drives discovery for restaurants, wineries, outdoor recreation, and events; saves and shares outperform comments for local businesses.
- YouTube usage is strong for how‑to content, local government meetings/recordings, and local news/weather; older residents increasingly rely on YouTube as a cable substitute.
- Messenger and SMS remain the default for coordinating local groups; WhatsApp adoption is present among Hispanic/Latino residents and small business networks.
- Crisis communication during fire season centers on county/city emergency management, local newsrooms, and public safety accounts on Facebook and X; engagement spikes via shares rather than original posts.
Sources and method
- Percentages reflect the latest widely cited U.S. adult adoption rates by platform from Pew Research (2024) applied to Jackson County’s demographics; local behavioral notes reflect public agency usage patterns and typical engagement in similar Oregon counties. Where precise county-level platform surveys are unavailable, figures are presented as best-available estimates.