Oconee County

Key demographics — Oconee County, South Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates)

• Population: ~80,900
• Age:
  • Median age: ~46
  • Under 18: ~20%
  • 18–64: ~57%
  • 65 and over: ~23%
• Gender:
  • Female: ~51%
  • Male: ~49%
• Race and ethnicity (mutually exclusive; Hispanic is any race):
  • White, non-Hispanic: ~80%
  • Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~5–6%
  • Asian, non-Hispanic: ~1%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~0.3%
  • Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~0.1%
  • Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~5%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~8%
• Households:
  • Total households: ~34,400
  • Average household size: ~2.35
  • Family households: ~66% of households
  • Married-couple households: ~50% of households
  • Owner-occupied housing rate: ~77%

Insights: Older-than-state-average population with about one in four residents 65+, predominantly White non-Hispanic, and a small but growing Hispanic community; household sizes are modest and homeownership is high.

• Scope and connectivity: Oconee County, SC has about 82,000 residents with roughly 125 people per square mile. According to ACS 2018–2022, about 90–92% of households have a computer and 82–85% subscribe to broadband (cable/DSL/fiber/cellular), slightly below the South Carolina average. Wired broadband is densest along the Seneca–US‑123 corridor; mountainous northern areas remain spottier. Libraries in Seneca, Walhalla, and Westminster provide free Wi‑Fi and devices. Smartphone‑only internet is roughly one in eight households.

• Estimated email users: 58,000–62,000 adults. Derived by applying national adult email adoption (~92%) to Oconee’s adult population while accounting for local internet subscription levels. Daily use is strongest among working‑age adults; seniors use email widely but less intensively.

• Age distribution of email users (approximate counts): • 18–34: ~14.5k • 35–54: ~19.0k • 55–64: ~9.8k • 65+: ~16.8k

• Gender split: Population is about 51% female and 49% male; email adoption shows no meaningful gender gap locally.

• Digital access trends: Ongoing fiber build‑outs and robust mobile coverage are improving access, but lower fixed‑broadband take‑up among 65+ households and rural terrain continue to moderate email intensity in the sparsest tracts.

Mobile phone usage in Oconee County, South Carolina — 2024 snapshot

Key takeaways

• Adult smartphone users: approximately 52,000–55,000 residents, or roughly 83–86% of adults, lower than South Carolina’s major metro areas but broadly in line with rural counties.
• Reliance on mobile data: a meaningfully higher share of Oconee households rely on cellular data as their primary home internet connection than the state average, reflecting a mix of income and terrain-driven broadband constraints.
• Coverage is generally strong in and between towns (Seneca, Walhalla, Westminster) and along US‑123/SC‑28/SC‑11, with persistent weak spots in the mountainous north (Salem, Mountain Rest, Chattooga corridor) and around lake shorelines.

How these figures were derived

• Population baseline: 78,607 (2020 Census); Oconee’s age structure skews older than the state, which reduces overall smartphone penetration but raises mobile‑only internet reliance among lower‑income households.
• Adoption rates: estimates synthesize the county’s age/income mix from Census/ACS with nationally reported smartphone ownership by age (Pew Research Center, 2023) and observed rural/older‑population discounts relative to statewide urbanized areas.

User estimates

• Total adult smartphone users: ≈52,800 (point estimate), based on an adult population near 62,000 and an 85% ownership rate adjusted for Oconee’s older age profile.
• Mobile‑only internet users: materially higher share than the state average; expect low‑ to mid‑teens percent of households relying primarily on cellular data rather than fixed broadband in Oconee, versus a low‑teens share statewide. This is consistent with rural counties where fixed broadband availability and affordability lag.

Demographic breakdown (how Oconee differs from South Carolina overall)

• Age: Oconee has a larger 65+ population share than the state. Because smartphone adoption is lower among seniors, this pulls down the countywide ownership rate by several percentage points versus metro counties (e.g., Greenville, Richland, Charleston).
• Income: Median household income is lower than the state’s urban counties. Lower‑income households are more likely to be smartphone‑dependent and mobile‑only for home internet, pushing Oconee’s mobile‑reliance above the state average.
• Urban/rural mix: Oconee is predominantly small‑town and rural. Rural areas nationally show slightly lower smartphone penetration but higher mobile‑only internet use; Oconee follows that pattern more strongly than the state as a whole.
• Race/ethnicity: Oconee’s population is more heavily non‑Hispanic White than the state average. Statewide, racial gaps in smartphone ownership have narrowed; in Oconee, differences in adoption are driven more by age and income than by race.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Carriers and 5G: AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile all offer countywide LTE; low‑band 5G blankets most population centers and corridors. Mid‑band 5G capacity is concentrated around Seneca and the US‑123 corridor and is spottier north of Walhalla/Westminster.
• Terrain constraints: The Blue Ridge foothills, forest cover, and major lakes (Keowee, Hartwell, Jocassee) create shadowing that leads to localized dead zones and variable indoor service, particularly in Salem, Mountain Rest, and along the Chattooga River.
• Tower siting pattern: Macro sites cluster along highways and near towns; fewer sites and larger inter‑site distances in the northern third of the county lead to lower median speeds and higher volatility than state urban averages.
• Public safety and redundancy: Coverage and capacity typically improve near schools, hospitals, and along primary corridors; away from those, residents are more dependent on Wi‑Fi calling or signal boosters for reliable indoor voice.

How Oconee’s trends diverge from state‑level patterns

• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration than South Carolina’s urbanized average, primarily due to an older age profile.
• Higher share of mobile‑only home internet users than the state average, reflecting affordability tradeoffs and patchy fixed‑line options in rural tracts.
• More pronounced coverage variability than state averages because of terrain, despite broad 5G availability along primary corridors.

Sources and methodology

• U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Decennial Census (population), American Community Survey (age and income structure, Computer and Internet Use tables).
• Pew Research Center (2023): national smartphone ownership by age cohort; applied to Oconee’s age mix to estimate county adoption.
• FCC National Broadband Map (2024) and carrier coverage disclosures: to characterize LTE/5G availability and terrain‑related constraints.

Note: County‑level smartphone ownership is not directly published; figures above are modeled estimates anchored to federal statistics and carrier/network disclosures, with differences versus the state driven by Oconee’s older, more rural demographic profile and terrain.

Social media in Oconee County, South Carolina (short breakdown)

How these figures were derived

• Population and demographics: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 profile for Oconee County (older-than-average county; median age ≈ mid‑40s; slightly more women than men).
• Platform adoption rates: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024. Local estimates apply Pew’s adult adoption rates to Oconee’s adult population structure, so percentages below can be read as the share of adults in Oconee who use each platform.

Most‑used platforms (approximate share of adults)

• YouTube: ~83%
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• TikTok: ~33%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• X (Twitter): ~22%
• Reddit: ~22%
• WhatsApp: ~21%
• Nextdoor: ~20% Notes: Because Oconee skews older, effective local reach will lean higher than average for Facebook and Nextdoor and lower for TikTok/Snapchat among the total adult population, even though platform rates above reflect national adoption.

Age patterns (Pew 2024 adoption by age, indicative of local behavior)

• 18–29: YouTube ~93%, Instagram ~78%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~33%
• 30–49: YouTube ~92%, Facebook ~69%, Instagram ~54%, TikTok ~39%, Snapchat ~24%
• 50–64: Facebook ~73%, YouTube ~83%, Instagram ~28%, TikTok ~24%, Nextdoor ~23%
• 65+: Facebook ~62%, YouTube ~60%, Instagram ~15%, TikTok ~10%, Nextdoor ~20% Implication for Oconee: A larger share of total social users are 50+, so Facebook and YouTube dominate overall reach; Instagram/TikTok index strongly among under‑35s but make up a smaller share of total users than in younger counties.

Gender breakdown (who uses what)

• Overall social media users in Oconee skew slightly female (~52–54%), reflecting county sex ratio and higher female adoption of Facebook and Pinterest.
• Platform skews (Pew 2024):
  • Pinterest: women ≈50% vs men ≈20%
  • Facebook: women higher than men (roughly low‑70s% vs low‑60s%)
  • Instagram and TikTok: slight female tilt
  • YouTube: slight male tilt
  • Reddit: male‑skewed (men ≈30% vs women ≈15%)

Behavioral trends (what people actually do)

• Frequency: Among users, daily use is common—Facebook (70% of users daily), Instagram (60%), TikTok (50–60%), YouTube (50–55%). This sustains always‑on reach for Facebook/Instagram and habitual short‑form video consumption on TikTok/YouTube.
• Community and commerce: Facebook Groups and Marketplace function as the county’s de facto bulletin board for local news, yard sales, services, lost/found pets, and event discovery. Nextdoor usage is meaningful in neighborhood/HOA areas for safety updates and contractor recommendations.
• Information and news: Older adults in Oconee are more likely to get local news via Facebook; YouTube is a major channel for explainer/DIY content (home, garden, lake/outdoors). Pew finds notable portions of U.S. adults regularly get news on Facebook and YouTube, and the older skew locally amplifies this.
• Youth engagement: High school and college‑age residents cluster on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok for socializing, local food/entertainment discovery, and sports highlights; they use Facebook primarily for events or family.
• Shopping and inspiration: Pinterest indexes strongly with women 25–54 for home, crafts, recipes, and seasonal/holiday planning; Instagram Reels/TikTok drive discovery for local boutiques, salons, restaurants, and experiences.
• Professional networking: LinkedIn reach is moderate, used disproportionately by healthcare, education, engineering/manufacturing, and small‑business owners; effective for recruiting and B2B visibility.

Bottom line for Oconee County

• Reach: Facebook and YouTube are the broad‑reach workhorses across all adults; Instagram is essential for under‑40s; TikTok delivers short‑form reach to younger and mid‑age segments but represents a smaller share of total adults than in younger metros; Pinterest is a high‑intent channel for women; Nextdoor is useful for hyperlocal messaging.
• Targeting strategy: To hit the majority of adults, prioritize Facebook/YouTube; to reach growth audiences under 40 or promote lifestyle/retail, add Instagram/TikTok; use Pinterest for home/garden and seasonal campaigns; tap Nextdoor for service areas and neighborhood‑level calls to action.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 (Oconee County profile); Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (platform adoption by age/gender and daily usage patterns). Figures shown are modeled local estimates based on these datasets.