Kingsbury County

Kingsbury County, South Dakota — key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau; ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates unless noted)

Population

• Total population: ~5,200 (stable to slightly growing since 2010; 2020 Census ≈5,200)

Age

• Median age: ~46 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18–64: ~55%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Sex

• Male: ~50%
• Female: ~50%

Race and ethnicity (percent of total)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~94%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: ~1–2%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Black or African American: <1%
• Asian: <1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0%

Households and housing

• Total households: ~2,250
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~62% of households
• Married-couple households: ~50–52% of all households
• Households with children under 18: ~25–27%
• Nonfamily households: ~38%; living alone: ~32% (about 14% age 65+ living alone)
• Homeownership rate: ~75–80%

Insights

• Older-than-national age profile with a larger senior share
• Predominantly non-Hispanic White with limited racial/ethnic diversity
• Small household sizes and high homeownership typical of rural Great Plains counties

Kingsbury County, SD has about 5,200 residents and roughly 6 people per square mile (U.S. Census). Digital access is solid for a rural area: about 91% of households have a computer and about 82% have a broadband Internet subscription; roughly 70% include a cellular data plan, and an estimated 12–15% have no home internet (ACS 2018–2022 S2801). Cellular-only broadband is common for a rural county (roughly mid‑teens percent), reflecting low-density connectivity.

Estimated email users: ≈4,000 county residents. Method: applied Pew Research Center adult email adoption (~92%) to the county’s age profile, with lower adoption among the oldest teens and seniors.

Age distribution of email users (approx.):

• 13–17: ~300
• 18–34: ~900
• 35–64: ~2,000
• 65+: ~800

Gender split among email users mirrors the population: ~51% male, ~49% female (ACS).

Trends: Broadband subscription and smartphone-based access have risen over the past ACS cycles, while fixed-wireline options remain limited outside towns; fixed wireless and cellular data play a growing role. Public anchors (schools/libraries) supplement access for households without subscriptions. Overall, email reach is broad due to high device ownership and increasing broadband uptake despite rural constraints.

Mobile phone usage in Kingsbury County, South Dakota — snapshot and contrasts to statewide patterns

Scale and user estimates

• Population base: 5,187 (2020 Census); roughly 2,200–2,300 households.
• Estimated unique mobile phone users: ~4,200–4,500 residents carry an active mobile handset or line. Method: apply age-specific adoption rates from national/Pew 2023 to the county’s older age mix (higher share 55+ than South Dakota overall).
• Estimated smartphone users: ~3,800–4,200 people. Household-level smartphone availability is in the high-80s to low-90s percent range (ACS 2018–2022 S2801), a few points below the statewide low-90s.
• Wireless-only (no landline) adults: 65–70% of adults, a bit below statewide (70–75%), consistent with an older population (CDC NHIS, applied to county age structure).
• Smartphone-only home internet households: roughly 10–12% (≈230–270 households), slightly higher outside the towns but lower than the national figure for low-income urban counties; statewide South Dakota is around the 8–10% range (ACS S2801/S2802 derived).

Demographic profile and how it shapes usage

• Age: Kingsbury is older than the state average (median age mid-40s vs South Dakota ~38). That depresses overall smartphone penetration and app-based service adoption compared with statewide, but adoption among 65+ has been rising since 2019, narrowing the gap.
• Income and housing: Median household income modestly below the state average; more single-family and farmsteads. This produces:
  • Higher reliance on shared or family plans and longer device replacement cycles than statewide.
  • Above-average use of mobile hotspots for home connectivity in rural areas where wired options thin out.
• Occupation mix: More agriculture and trades than the state average. Practical effects include seasonally higher mobile data use during planting/harvest, greater use of rugged devices, and push-to-talk/dispatch features.
• Race/ethnicity: Predominantly White, with smaller minority shares than the state. Device ownership gaps by race visible statewide are less pronounced here; age and income are the primary differentiators.

Digital infrastructure and coverage (what’s on the ground)

• Carrier footprint: AT&T (incl. FirstNet), Verizon, and T-Mobile serve the county; roaming may supplement coverage at the fringes. 4G LTE outdoor coverage is broad along US‑14, SD‑25, and around De Smet, Lake Preston, and Arlington; interior farm sections and around Lake Thompson see weaker indoor service.
• 5G:
  • Low-band 5G covers the main towns and corridors.
  • Mid-band 5G (fast “5G UC/5G+”) is limited and spotty compared with South Dakota’s metro corridors (Sioux Falls, Rapid City, I‑29/I‑90). As a result, typical 5G speeds in Kingsbury trail statewide medians.
• Backhaul and tower density:
  • Fiber backhaul reaches town sites via regional incumbents and cooperatives; several rural macro sites still rely on microwave hops, which can constrain capacity during busy hours.
  • Sparse tower grid (large inter‑site distances) means single-site outages create larger coverage holes than in urban South Dakota.
• Public safety and resilience:
  • E911 and text‑to‑911 supported; FirstNet coverage concentrated near population centers and highways.
  • Ice/wind events are the principal outage drivers; carriers deploy generators but prolonged utility outages can affect rural sectors disproportionately.

Trends that differ from state-level patterns

• Adoption gap driven by age, but closing: Kingsbury’s overall smartphone take‑up remains a few points below the state average; growth since 2019 is concentrated among 55+ users, who increasingly adopt larger-screen smartphones and basic telehealth/banking apps.
• Higher mobile-as-primary access outside towns: A greater share of rural households rely on cellular (hotspots or phone tethering) for home internet compared with the statewide average, reflecting patchier wired options beyond De Smet/Lake Preston.
• Slower 5G performance uplift: Because mid-band 5G deployments are thinner than in Sioux Falls/Brookings corridors, the county sees smaller year-over-year gains in median mobile speeds than the state overall.
• Device lifecycle is longer: Replacement intervals of 3–4 years are more common than the statewide pattern (closer to 2–3 years in metros), affecting the mix of devices on the network and limiting uptake of 5G-only features.
• Seasonal usage spikes are more pronounced: Agricultural workflows drive sharper spring/fall peaks in voice and data compared with statewide averages.

Key takeaways

• Market size: ~4.2–4.5k mobile users; ~3.8–4.2k smartphone users anchored in a small, older, rural population.
• Coverage: Solid 4G along corridors/towns; 5G mid-band limited, making speeds and indoor coverage less consistent than statewide.
• Behavior: Slightly lower smartphone penetration than South Dakota overall but rising among seniors; above-average mobile dependence for home connectivity in rural areas; longer device cycles; seasonal usage patterns.

Sources and basis: 2020 Census; ACS 2018–2022 tables on devices and internet subscription; FCC carrier coverage filings (2023–2024); CDC NHIS wireless‑only statistics; Pew Research age-based smartphone adoption. County-specific counts are derived by applying these datasets to Kingsbury’s population and age structure.

Social media usage in Kingsbury County, SD (2024 snapshot)

Population base and user stats

• Residents: ≈5,200; Adults (18+): ≈4,000
• Adults using at least one social platform: ≈80% (≈3,200 people)
• Primary device: smartphone (>90% of local social sessions)
• Typical peak activity windows (CST): 6:30–8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., 7:00–9:00 p.m.

Most‑used platforms among adults (share of adult population)

• YouTube: 76%
• Facebook: 72%
• Instagram: 40%
• TikTok: 29%
• Snapchat: 25%
• LinkedIn: 19%
• X (Twitter): 18%
• Reddit: 16%
• Nextdoor: 7%

Age-group usage patterns (share within each age group)

• Ages 13–17: Any platform 95%; YouTube 90%, Snapchat 78%, TikTok 72%, Instagram 66%, Facebook 35%
• Ages 18–29: Any 94%; Instagram 76%, YouTube 90%, Snapchat 65%, TikTok 58%, Facebook 52%, X 33%, Reddit 32%
• Ages 30–49: Any 88%; YouTube 86%, Facebook 73%, Instagram 49%, TikTok 34%, Snapchat 28%, LinkedIn 27%, X 22%
• Ages 50–64: Any 78%; Facebook 76%, YouTube 74%, Instagram 34%, TikTok 21%, X 13%
• Ages 65+: Any 61%; Facebook 69%, YouTube 63%, Instagram 22%, TikTok 13%

Gender breakdown (share among adult men vs. women)

• Women: Facebook 75%, Instagram 45%, TikTok 33%, Snapchat 28%, YouTube 74%, X 16%, Reddit 9%, LinkedIn 18%
• Men: YouTube 79%, Facebook 68%, Instagram 35%, TikTok 25%, Snapchat 22%, X 20%, Reddit 22%, LinkedIn 20%

Behavioral trends and local insights

• Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups and Events for school updates, road conditions, weather alerts, church bulletins, youth and high‑school sports. Marketplace is highly active for vehicles, farm equipment, outdoor gear, furniture, and rentals.
• YouTube is the go‑to for practical how‑tos and ag content: equipment repair, home projects, crop/livestock best practices, and hunting/fishing. Longer watch times on evenings/weekends.
• Instagram use clusters around younger adults and young families: Stories/Reels perform best; local restaurants, boutiques, and events benefit from geotagged visuals and short-form video.
• TikTok is strong with 18–34 for humor, music, seasonal and farm-life clips. Discovery leans on local hashtags; quick-hit, personality-led content outperforms polished ads.
• Snapchat dominates teen communication (private messaging and group chats); ad engagement improves with geofilters/lenses tied to school sports or county events.
• X is niche but sticky for real‑time weather, regional news, and sports; best for alerting and live coverage rather than broad reach.
• LinkedIn is small but useful for healthcare, education, banking, and public-sector recruiting; midday weekday posts perform best.
• Content that earns the most engagement: community recognition, high‑school highlights, farm/ranch life, wildlife and severe-weather footage, local heritage/tourism (e.g., De Smet events), and practical tips. Overly political content depresses engagement and can trigger comment moderation burdens.
• Effective ad tactics: Facebook/Instagram with tight geo‑radius (10–25 miles), event-based boosts, clear “visit/call today” CTAs, and offers redeemable in‑person. Creator-style videos and locally familiar faces drive higher trust and conversions than stock creative.

Method note: Figures are 2024 modeled estimates for Kingsbury County derived from Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. platform adoption (with rural adjustments), ACS county population, and platform ad-reach benchmarks. Percentages refer to share of the adult population unless otherwise specified.