Polk County

Key demographics for Polk County, Oregon

Population

• Total population (2020 Census): 87,433
• Population estimate (July 1, 2023, Census Bureau): ~92,300
• Growth since 2010 Census (75,403): +16%

Age (ACS 2019–2023)

• Median age: ~39 years
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and over: ~20%

Gender (ACS 2019–2023)

• Female: ~50.5%
• Male: ~49.5%

Race and ethnicity (Census/ACS, standard definitions)

• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~14%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~74–75%
• Black or African American alone: ~1%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~2–3%
• Asian alone: ~2%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.5–0.7%
• Two or more races: ~7–8%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Number of households: ~33,000–34,000
• Average household size: ~2.6
• Family households: ~65–67% of households
• Homeownership rate: ~67–69%
• Median household income (2023 dollars, ACS 2019–2023): mid-$70,000s

Notes

• Population totals are from the 2020 Decennial Census and the Census Bureau’s 2023 Population Estimates Program.
• Age, sex, race/ethnicity shares and household indicators are from the American Community Survey (2019–2023 5-year). Percentages are rounded.

• Population context: ≈92,000 residents in Polk County (2023 est.); ≈72,000 adults (18+).
• Estimated adult email users: ≈67,000 (about 92–94% of adults).
• Gender split among email users: ~50% women, ~50% men; usage rates differ by <2 percentage points.

Age distribution of adult email users (est. counts and shares):

• 18–29: ~11,000 (16%)
• 30–49: ~22,000 (33%)
• 50–64: ~17,000 (25%)
• 65+: ~16,000 (24%)

Digital access and trends:

• Households with a computer: ~94%.
• Home broadband subscription: ~89–91%; strongest in Dallas, Monmouth–Independence, and West Salem; lower in rural western/southern areas.
• Mobile-only internet households: ~12–15%, reflecting cost and rural coverage trade-offs.
• Fiber/cable pass most urban addresses; rural gaps are served by fixed wireless and satellite; ongoing incremental fiber buildouts along the Salem–Monmouth/Independence corridor.
• Local density/connectivity: Countywide density ≈120 people/sq mi, but >2,000/sq mi in city cores and <20/sq mi in forested foothills, driving uneven last‑mile options and speeds.

Insights: Email is essentially universal among working‑age adults; seniors participate strongly but are more affected by areas with weaker broadband. Growth in fiber and fixed‑wireless capacity is narrowing the urban–rural gap, while smartphone‑only access remains a meaningful slice.

Mobile phone usage in Polk County, Oregon — 2024 snapshot

User estimates

• Population baseline: approximately 92,000 residents (2023 county estimate). About 75% are adults, yielding roughly 69,000 adults.
• Smartphone users: using recent Pew/ACS adoption rates for similar rural/suburban Oregon counties (≈88–90% of adults), Polk has an estimated 61,000–62,000 adult smartphone users. Including teens (13–17) where adoption is near 90% adds roughly 5,000–6,000 more, putting total smartphone users at approximately 66,000–68,000 countywide.
• Household penetration: Polk has roughly 35,000 households. About 90–93% of households have at least one smartphone, translating to approximately 31,500–32,500 smartphone households.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age
  • 18–24: Overindexed relative to Oregon due to Western Oregon University (Monmouth). Smartphone adoption is effectively universal (≈98–100%) with heavy app-centric and mobile-first behavior. Higher use of unlimited or high-cap data plans than the county average.
  • 25–44: High adoption (≈94–96%), strong reliance on mobile for work comms and navigation along OR‑22 and OR‑99W corridors; above-state uptake of family plans and bundled streaming.
  • 45–64: High but slightly lower than younger cohorts (≈86–90%); greater mix of prepaid and value MVNO plans than statewide norms.
  • 65+: Noticeably below state smartphone adoption (≈65–70% in Polk vs ≈70–75% statewide), with a higher share of basic/feature phones and shared household smartphones. This drags the county’s overall adoption just under the Oregon average.
• Income and rurality
  • Median household income in Polk is modestly below the statewide median, aligning with higher prepaid plan usage and a slightly higher Android share than Oregon’s urban counties.
  • A larger rural population share than Oregon overall leads to more cellular-only internet households and greater dependence on mobile data for home connectivity.
• Ethnicity and language
  • Hispanic/Latino population is modestly above the statewide share (≈15–16% vs ≈14% statewide). This corresponds with higher usage of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and bilingual content, and somewhat higher rates of multi‑SIM/MVNO adoption within families.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage
  • 4G LTE from AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon is strong in population centers (Dallas, Monmouth–Independence, West Salem) and along OR‑22/OR‑99W, with weaker/patchy service in the Coast Range foothills west of Dallas and near sparsely populated timberlands.
• 5G availability
  • T‑Mobile mid‑band 5G covers Dallas, Monmouth–Independence, and main corridors; Verizon C‑band 5G is present in West Salem and Dallas with expanding footprints; AT&T 5G is primarily low‑band countywide with spotty mid‑band.
  • Net result: good 5G in towns and corridors; rural fringes remain LTE‑dependent.
• Speeds and reliability
  • Town centers on mid‑band 5G typically see 100–300 Mbps down, while rural edges of the county often fall to 5–25 Mbps LTE with higher latency. County median mobile speeds are 15–30% lower than Oregon’s statewide median, reflecting Polk’s mixed urban–rural profile.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA)
  • T‑Mobile 5G Home Internet is widely available in Dallas and Monmouth–Independence; Verizon 5G Home is available in parts of West Salem and select Dallas neighborhoods; AT&T Internet Air availability is limited. Polk’s FWA uptake is above state average, mirroring the higher share of cellular-only households.
• Public-safety and resilience
  • FirstNet (AT&T) coverage reaches all major population centers and primary corridors. Terrain-driven shadowing in the western hills creates localized dead zones; carriers deploy additional sectors and small cells incrementally along OR‑99W and within dense blocks near WOU as demand grows.

How Polk County differs from Oregon statewide

• Slightly lower overall smartphone adoption driven by a larger 65+ cohort retaining basic phones, despite near‑universal adoption among students.
• Higher share of cellular-data-only households (≈12–14% in Polk vs ≈8–10% statewide), indicating greater reliance on mobile networks for primary home internet.
• More prepaid/MVNO usage and price-sensitive plan selection than the state average, tied to income mix and rural coverage variability.
• 5G performance gap outside towns: Polk’s mid‑band 5G footprint is meaningfully spottier off main corridors than in Oregon’s metro counties, producing wider speed variability and more frequent fallbacks to LTE.
• Faster-than-state growth in FWA adoption since 2022, as 5G home internet fills gaps where cable/fiber availability is limited.

Key statistics at a glance

• Total smartphone users: approximately 66,000–68,000
• Adult smartphone users: approximately 61,000–62,000
• Households with at least one smartphone: approximately 31,500–32,500 (≈90–93%)
• Cellular-data-only households: approximately 12–14% of households in Polk (above state average)
• Typical 5G speeds in towns: 100–300 Mbps; rural LTE edges: 5–25 Mbps
• Coverage gaps: concentrated in the Coast Range foothills west of Dallas; strong coverage in Dallas, Monmouth–Independence, West Salem, and along OR‑22/OR‑99W

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2018–2022, device and internet subscription tables), Pew Research Center (smartphone adoption), FCC mobile coverage maps (2024), carrier public 5G/FWA availability disclosures, and aggregated speed-test reporting for Oregon.

Polk County, OR social media snapshot (2025)

Overall usage

• Adults using at least one social platform: ~83% of residents 18+ (modeled from Pew Research Center, 2024)

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults who use the platform at least sometimes)

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• TikTok: 33%
• Pinterest: 35%
• WhatsApp: 29%
• Snapchat: 27%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 22%
• Nextdoor: 20%

Age patterns (local expectation based on Polk’s profile and Pew’s 2024 age-by-platform use)

• 18–29: Very high YouTube (90%+), Instagram (78%), Snapchat (65%), TikTok (62%); Facebook is a minority platform (~33%).
• 30–49: Facebook (75%) and YouTube (90%) dominate; Instagram (49%) and TikTok (39%) are secondary; Snapchat (~22%).
• 50–64: Facebook (73%) and YouTube (83%) lead; Instagram (29%), TikTok (17%); higher propensity for neighborhood apps like Nextdoor.
• 65+: Facebook (62%) is primary; YouTube (49%) moderate; Instagram (15%) and TikTok (10%) are low; Nextdoor usage present among homeowners.

Gender breakdown (directional skews consistent with Pew 2024)

• Women: Over-index on Facebook and Instagram; Pinterest is strongly female-skewing (majority of users are women).
• Men: Over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X (Twitter); Reddit in particular is male-skewed.
• No meaningful gender gap in overall likelihood of using at least one social platform; differences are platform-specific.

Behavioral trends observed in similar Oregon small-metro/rural counties and expected locally

• Facebook remains the default local network: Groups and Marketplace drive community info, yard/estate sales, housing, and local business discovery. City, county, and school communications lean heavily on Facebook.
• Short-form video is the engagement engine: Instagram Reels and TikTok outperform static posts for events, food/drink, outdoors, and campus life (Western Oregon University influence increases 18–24 visibility).
• YouTube is the utility channel: How‑to, product research, and public meetings; growing connected‑TV consumption broadens reach for longer local content and ads.
• Nextdoor is used for neighborhood-level issues: public safety notices, lost/found, contractor recommendations; strongest among homeowners 35+.
• Messaging layers matter: WhatsApp adoption is meaningful for family and community groups (notably among multilingual/Latino households); Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger underpin customer service for local businesses.
• Temporal patterns: Engagement typically peaks evenings (6–10 p.m.) and weekends; weekday lunchtime bumps for Instagram/TikTok; school-year calendars shape posting windows around games, performances, and city events.
• Commerce behaviors: Facebook/Instagram drive foot traffic via events and limited-time offers; TikTok/IG Reels influence dining and recreation choices; Pinterest contributes to home/garden planning and seasonal projects.

Method and sources

• Percentages are best-available local estimates for Polk County derived by applying Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use in 2024 platform adoption rates to the county’s demographic profile (ACS 2023). Platform-specific age figures reflect Pew 2024 age splits; behavioral insights align with observed patterns in Oregon small metros and suburban counties.