Mcpherson County

Key demographics – McPherson County, South Dakota

Population

• Total population: 2,411 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: ~2,430 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2023)

Age

• Median age: ~50 years
• Under 18: ~21%
• 65 and over: ~29%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023, 5-year)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~95%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2–3%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: ~1–2%
• Two or more races: ~1%
• Black, Asian, NHPI: <1% combined

Households (ACS 2019–2023, 5-year)

• Occupied households: ~1,060
• Average household size: ~2.2 persons
• Family households: ~61% of households
• Married-couple households: ~53%
• Households with someone 65+: ~40%
• Average family size: ~2.8

Insights

• Very small, predominantly White rural county with an older age profile, high share of seniors, and smaller household sizes.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey (5-year); Vintage 2023 Population Estimates.

• Population and density: McPherson County has about 2,411 residents (2020 Census), with extremely low density (~2 people per square mile), concentrated in and around Eureka and Leola.
• Estimated email users: ~1,700 residents use email regularly. Method: adults ≈80% of population and adult email adoption in rural U.S. ≈85–90%.
• Age distribution (of email users): 18–34 ≈20%, 35–64 ≈45%, 65+ ≈35%. The county’s older age profile lifts the senior share of email users versus urban areas.
• Gender split (of email users): ~51% male, ~49% female, mirroring the county’s slight male majority.
• Digital access trends: About three-quarters of households have a broadband subscription; roughly 10% are smartphone‑only for internet; around 15–20% lack home internet. Fiber/co‐op builds and state/federal programs (e.g., BEAD/RDOF era) are raising fixed broadband availability, while older and remote farm households remain the most disconnected.
• Connectivity facts and implications: Sparse settlement and long last‑mile runs increase per‑premise build costs and leave pockets with weaker mobile data away from highways/towns. Email usage is near‑universal among working‑age residents and growing among seniors, but access gaps still correlate with age, income, and the most remote addresses.

Mobile phone usage in McPherson County, SD — summary and key deviations from state-level patterns

Users and penetration (best available official data and modeled estimates)

• Population baseline: 2,300–2,400 residents (2020 Census count 2,411; ACS 2018–2022 five‑year estimates are slightly lower). About 1,850–1,950 are adults (18+).
• Households: roughly 1,050–1,100; average household size about 2.2.
• Households with a smartphone: approximately 75–80% in McPherson County vs roughly 88–91% statewide (ACS 2018–2022). Point estimate: 78% locally, about 12 percentage points below South Dakota.
• Household broadband subscription (any type): about 68–73% locally vs roughly 82–85% statewide (ACS 2018–2022).
• Households reporting a cellular data plan: about 58–63% locally vs roughly 70–75% statewide (ACS 2018–2022).
• Estimated smartphone users: about 1,600–1,800 residents use a smartphone in McPherson County (point estimate ≈1,700), equating to roughly 70–75% of residents versus about 80–85% statewide. This estimate combines ACS household smartphone rates with local household counts and size.

Demographic breakdown and adoption patterns

• Age is the dominant differentiator. McPherson County’s population skews older (about one‑third 65+ versus roughly one‑sixth statewide). Using ACS age structure and national rural adoption patterns:
  • Adults 18–49: very high smartphone ownership (≈90%+), similar to statewide.
  • Adults 50–64: high but slightly lower than the state (≈85–90% vs ≈90%+ statewide).
  • Adults 65+: materially lower adoption (≈65–75% locally vs ≈75–80% statewide). This implies roughly 400–450 older adults using smartphones and 180–230 older adults not using them.
• Income and education: Lower median household income and lower bachelor’s‑degree attainment (relative to SD overall) correlate with higher basic‑phone retention and slower upgrade cycles. Expect a modestly larger feature‑phone segment among 65+ and fixed‑income households than the state average.
• Household internet mix: Because home broadband subscription is lower, a noticeable minority of households rely on cellular data as their primary connection or go without home internet entirely. No‑subscription households are several points higher than the statewide rate, elevating the importance of mobile access for those users who are online.

Digital infrastructure and service quality

• Coverage footprint: LTE coverage is broad in and around population centers (Eureka, Leola) and along main travel corridors, with thinning coverage and occasional dead zones in low‑density townships and between towns. Indoor coverage can be weak in metal‑clad farm and commercial buildings.
• 5G availability: Predominantly low‑band 5G with limited mid‑band capacity compared with South Dakota’s metro corridors. Practical 5G capacity gains are concentrated near town centers; elsewhere, performance often resembles strong LTE.
• Carrier landscape: Verizon and AT&T tend to provide the most consistent rural coverage; T‑Mobile presence is improving but is still more variable outside towns. FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) is present along key routes and near public‑safety locations.
• Site density and backhaul: The county is large and sparsely populated, with a low macro‑cell density (on the order of single‑digits to low‑teens macro sites across the county) and a mix of microwave and limited fiber backhaul. This lower density/backhaul mix constrains capacity during peak periods compared with statewide averages, which benefit from denser fibered sites around larger cities.

How McPherson County differs from South Dakota overall

• Adoption gap: Smartphone presence per household and per resident runs roughly 10–12 percentage points lower than the state, driven chiefly by the older age structure and lower home broadband penetration.
• More mobile‑centric households among those online: A higher share of connected households lean on cellular connections (hotspots/phone tethering), while the share with no home internet is several points above the state average. This bifurcation (mobile‑reliant vs offline) is more pronounced locally.
• Network capacity, not just coverage, is the limiter: State broadband and 5G maps emphasize coverage availability, but in McPherson County the binding constraint is often capacity and indoor signal quality rather than raw outdoor coverage, diverging from experiences in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and regional hubs.
• Upgrade cadence and device mix: Older demographics and tighter retail access contribute to slower device turnover and a slightly larger basic‑phone segment than the state norm, even as younger cohorts mirror statewide smartphone reliance.

Actionable implications

• Service planning: Expect demand for strong low‑band coverage and carrier aggregation rather than solely millimeter‑wave or dense mid‑band solutions; indoor enhancement (repeaters, small cells) is impactful for farms and small businesses.
• Digital equity: Programs that pair affordable devices with plans and basic digital literacy for older adults will yield outsized gains locally, more so than in the state at large.
• Public safety and critical comms: Prioritize resilient backhaul (fiber where feasible) and backup power at rural sites to mitigate capacity and reliability gaps that have a bigger local impact than in better‑fibred urban counties.

Notes on sources and method

• County‑level ownership and subscription figures are drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022 five‑year estimates (Table S2801 family) and are presented as point estimates within typical ACS margins of error for small rural counties. User counts translate those shares to current household and population baselines. Coverage and infrastructure observations synthesize FCC filings and common rural deployment patterns observed across northern South Dakota.

Social media snapshot for McPherson County, South Dakota

Population baseline

• Total population: ~2,411 (2020 Census)
• Adults (18+): ~1,880

Overall social media reach

• Adults using at least one social platform: 71% (1,330 adults)
• Method note: Estimates modeled from the county’s age structure (ACS/Census) and Pew Research Center 2023–2024 U.S. platform adoption by age; rounded to whole percentages for clarity

Most-used platforms among adults (reach = any use)

• YouTube: ~75%
• Facebook: ~67%
• Instagram: ~37%
• Pinterest: ~36%
• TikTok: ~27%
• Snapchat: ~21%
• X (Twitter): ~17%
• LinkedIn: ~16%

Age distribution of local social media users

• 18–29: ~19% of users
• 30–49: ~30% of users
• 50–64: ~28% of users
• 65+: ~24% of users Interpretation: Despite an older county profile, almost one-quarter of local social media users are 65+, but platform choice skews heavily to Facebook and YouTube in that group.

Gender breakdown (all platforms combined)

• Users: ~50% female, ~50% male
• Skews by platform: Pinterest and Instagram lean more female; YouTube, X, and LinkedIn lean slightly male; Facebook is broadly gender-balanced

Behavioral trends and engagement patterns

• Facebook is the community hub: Heavy use of Groups and Pages for county news, churches, school athletics, farm/ranch updates, auctions, and Marketplace buy/sell. Photo albums and event recaps drive the highest comments/shares among 30+.
• YouTube is utility-first: Strong usage for farm equipment repair, DIY, hunting/outdoors, weather, and local sports highlights. Watch times peak evenings when bandwidth is freer.
• Short-form video growth among under-30: TikTok and Instagram Reels see rising use for sports highlights, trends, and creator-style updates. Cross-posting Reels to Facebook extends reach to older audiences.
• Messaging behaviors: Snapchat is a primary chat tool for teens/young adults; Facebook Messenger dominates for 30+.
• Pinterest planning cycle: High intent around recipes, crafts, home projects, holidays, graduations, and community events; strong female skew.
• News and professional use: X is niche (sports scores, breaking news) among a small subset; LinkedIn usage is modest and concentrated in education, healthcare, and small business owners.
• Timing and cadence: Engagement tends to peak early morning (6–8 a.m.), midday (noon hour), and late evening (8–9 p.m.), aligning with farm and school schedules.
• Format preferences:
  • 50+: Clear text + single photo or simple carousel; links to local media and event info.
  • Under-30: Vertical video (≤30–45 seconds), captions-on, music-native; interactive stickers/polls on Instagram Stories.
• Connectivity realities: Mobile-first behavior; heavier video posts perform better evenings/weekends when home Wi‑Fi is available. Keep video files compressed and under one minute for reliable completion.

Practical targeting notes

• Geographic radius: 25–50 miles around Eureka/Leola captures most county interactions plus spillover from neighboring counties.
• Content that outperforms: Local faces and names, school sports, weather impacts, farm humor, event reminders with dates/logos, and timely service updates (road closures, church schedules).

These figures provide a grounded, county-scaled view using current U.S. adoption patterns adjusted to McPherson County’s older, rural demographic profile.