Beadle County

To keep this accurate: which data vintage do you prefer?

• 2020 Decennial Census (official count)
• Latest ACS 5-year estimates (2019–2023)
• Census Population Estimates Program (2023/2024 population only)

I can deliver a concise bullet list (population, age distribution, gender split, race/ethnicity, households, average household size) for your chosen source.

Beadle County, SD snapshot (estimates)

• Population: 19,500 across ~1,263 sq mi (≈15 people/sq mi). Huron (14,000) holds most residents, concentrating wired broadband options.
• Estimated email users: ~15,000–16,000. Method: ~85–88% of households report internet subscriptions locally, and >90% of connected adults use email; teens use email mainly for school/logins.
• Age mix of email users:
  • 13–24: ~18–20% (near-universal among high school/college ages via school accounts)
  • 25–44: ~32–34% (work- and commerce-driven)
  • 45–64: ~28–30% (high adoption; daily use)
  • 65+: ~16–18% (lower than younger groups but still majority use email)
• Gender split: roughly even (≈51% male, 49% female in population); email usage rates are comparable by gender.
• Digital access trends:
  • Broadband availability is strongest in Huron (cable/fiber), with rural areas relying more on DSL, fixed wireless, and mobile data.
  • Household internet subscription: ~82–86%; computer ownership ~85–90%; growing share of smartphone-only users in rural blocks.
  • 4G/5G corridors along main routes (US‑14/SD‑37) improve mobile email access; outer farm/ranch areas face longer last‑mile distances and variable speeds.

Notes: Figures derived from ACS/FCC statewide/county patterns and national email adoption benchmarks.

Beadle County, SD – mobile phone usage summary (with county-specific differences vs state)

User estimates

• Population baseline: roughly 19–20k residents across 7–8k households (2020 Census/ACS).
• Mobile users: about 15–17k residents use a mobile phone. This assumes 92–95% adult ownership and high teen adoption, slightly below large-metro rates but buoyed by working‑age immigrants.
• Smartphone share: approximately 84–90% of mobile users (somewhat lower among seniors; near-urban rates in Huron).
• Mobile-only internet households: about 22–30% of households primarily rely on cellular data/hotspots for home internet (vs ≈14–18% statewide). This is one of the clearest county-level deviations.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age: County has a mix of older rural residents and younger families in Huron. Seniors (65+) are less likely to own smartphones or use data-intensive apps, contributing to a modestly lower overall smartphone rate than the state’s largest cities.
• Income/plan mix: Median household income is below the state average. Expect a higher share of prepaid plans and value MVNOs, and more price-sensitive device choices (Android dominates; lower iPhone share than statewide urban areas).
• Immigrant communities: Beadle has a higher foreign-born share than the South Dakota average (notably Hispanic and Southeast Asian/Karen communities centered in Huron). This correlates with heavy use of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and other OTT calling/messaging for international communication, plus demand for multilingual retail/support.
• Youth/households: School-aged families in Huron show high mobile and hotspot use for homework when fixed broadband is absent or costly. Shared family plans are common; some seasonal/agricultural workers use short-term prepaid.

Digital infrastructure points

• Cellular coverage
  • Huron: Strongest coverage and capacity; mid-band 5G available from at least one or two national carriers (T‑Mobile, Verizon). AT&T presence varies; 5G mostly in-town with LTE in outlying areas.
  • Outside Huron: Coverage transitions to low-band 5G/LTE with more dead zones, especially in lower-density farm areas and along less-traveled county roads. Signal boosters and external antennas are commonly used on farms and in metal buildings.
  • Performance: In-town 5G can deliver high hundreds of Mbps under good conditions; rural LTE often dips to low double digits, with occasional sub‑5 Mbps in fringe areas.
• Fixed broadband interplay
  • Huron: Cable and some fiber options available; this supports robust Wi‑Fi offload for mobile users in town.
  • Rural Beadle: Patchwork of co‑op fiber builds and legacy DSL/WISPs; many locations still lack affordable high-speed fixed service, pushing households toward mobile hotspots or cellular-only access.
  • 5G FWA: T‑Mobile (and to a lesser extent Verizon) home internet is present in and around Huron; availability thins with distance from town.
• Buildout outlook
  • State/federal programs (e.g., ConnectSD, BEAD/RDOF) are funding additional rural fiber in 2024–2026. As fiber reaches more farms and small towns, expect a gradual decline in cellular-only households and improved in-home Wi‑Fi for offload.
  • New or upgraded macro sites along US‑14/US‑281 and near population clusters are likely to bring more consistent 5G, but tower spacing will remain wider than in metro SD.

How Beadle differs from South Dakota overall

• Higher reliance on mobile-only internet: notably above the statewide average due to rural last‑mile gaps and affordability constraints outside Huron.
• More prepaid/value plans and Android share: driven by income mix and seasonal/shift-based work; iPhone penetration lags larger SD cities.
• Heavier use of OTT international apps: reflects Beadle’s immigrant communities; statewide rates of such usage are lower.
• Greater in/out-of-town performance gap: Huron has near-urban 5G experiences; rural Beadle has more pronounced signal variability than many SD counties closer to Sioux Falls or Rapid City cores.
• Time-of-day traffic patterns: usage peaks align with meat processing and agricultural shift changes; this can stress sector capacity more than statewide averages at those times.

Notes on method

• Estimates triangulate 2020 Census/ACS household and internet-subscription patterns, Pew Research smartphone adoption benchmarks, FCC mobile coverage maps, and known local demographics (Huron-centered workforce and immigrant communities). Exact county-level mobile-owner counts aren’t directly published; figures are expressed as ranges and should be treated as planning estimates.

Beadle County, SD — social media snapshot (short)

Overall users

• Population: roughly 19–20k residents; about 14.5–15k adults (ACS).
• Adult social media usage: about 80% of adults → ~11.5–12k adult users. Adding teens (13–17), total users likely ~13.5–14k.
• Access: most use mobile; household broadband is around the low-80% range (ACS), with some mobile-only households.

Most-used platforms (share of adults; modeled from recent Pew U.S. data with rural adjustments)

• YouTube: ~81%
• Facebook: ~72%
• Instagram: ~40%
• Pinterest: ~35%
• TikTok: ~30%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• WhatsApp: ~24% (elevated by Spanish- and Burmese/Karen-speaking communities)
• X (Twitter): ~17%
• LinkedIn: ~17%
• Reddit: ~13%
• Nextdoor: ~6%

Age profile (approximate share of residents and dominant platforms)

• Teens 13–17 (≈7–8%): Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram; heavy DM and short-form video.
• 18–29 (≈15–16%): Instagram, TikTok, YouTube; Snap for messaging; Facebook mainly for events/groups.
• 30–49 (≈26–28%): Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram moderate; heavy Marketplace use.
• 50–64 (≈21–23%): Facebook and YouTube; groups, local news, classifieds.
• 65+ (≈16–18%): Facebook first, YouTube second; limited use of others.

Gender breakdown (directional)

• County gender split is roughly even. Among users: women skew higher on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; men skew higher on YouTube, Reddit, X. Local buy/sell/parenting groups skew female; sports/outdoors and tech groups skew male.

Behavioral trends to know

• Facebook is the town square: local news/schools, weather/road alerts, school sports, church/charity events, and especially Marketplace and “buy-sell-trade” groups.
• Events drive spikes: the South Dakota State Fair and seasonal school activities noticeably lift posting, check-ins, and video shares.
• Video first: short-form (Reels/TikTok/Shorts) is the top discovery format for under 40; how-to and equipment videos on YouTube are popular across ages.
• Messaging > posting for youth: teens/20s prefer Snapchat DMs and IG chats over public feeds; Stories over static posts.
• Community/immigrant networks: Spanish- and Burmese/Karen-speaking residents coordinate via Facebook Groups, WhatsApp, and sometimes Viber/Telegram; bilingual posts see strong engagement.
• Commerce and utility: Marketplace, farm/ranch and hunting/fishing groups, and local services listings get high engagement; recommendations sought in groups over review sites.
• Timing: engagement peaks early morning (commute/school), lunch, and 7–10 pm; Marketplace surges on weekends and Sunday evenings.

How to read these numbers

• County-level platform stats aren’t published; figures above are modeled from 2022–2024 Pew Research U.S. platform adoption, adjusted for rural patterns and Beadle County demographics from ACS. Treat them as directional estimates.