Perkins County

Perkins County, South Dakota — key demographics (latest available estimates)

Population size

• Total population: ~2,850 (2023 Census estimate)
• 2020 Census: ~2,980 (indicative of slight decline since 2020)

Age

• Median age: ~46 years
• Age distribution: under 18 ~22–23%; 18–64 ~57–58%; 65+ ~20–21%

Gender

• Male ~51%
• Female ~49%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023, shares may not sum to 100 due to rounding)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~88–90%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~4–6%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~3–4%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2–3%
• Black, non-Hispanic: <1%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: <1%

Household data

• Total households: ~1,200–1,300
• Average household size: ~2.3 persons
• Family households: ~60–65% of households
• Married-couple households: ~50–55% of households
• One-person households: ~28–32%
• Households with children under 18: ~25–30%
• Owner-occupied housing: ~75–80% of occupied units
• Renter-occupied housing: ~20–25%

Notes

• Figures reflect U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2023 population estimates and American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; small-population counties have larger margins of error.

• Population and density: 2,835 residents (2020 Census) across ~2,890 sq mi ≈ 1.0 person/sq mi, among the lowest densities in the U.S.
• Estimated email users: ≈2,000 residents (about 70% of the population), derived from Perkins County’s age structure and national email adoption rates (Pew Research Center).
• Age distribution of email users (share of users, not total population):
  • 13–17: ~6%
  • 18–34: ~22%
  • 35–64: ~52%
  • 65+: ~20%
• Gender split: Approximately even (about 50% female / 50% male), reflecting minimal gender difference in email adoption.
• Digital access trends:
  • ≈83% of households report a broadband subscription (ACS 2018–2022, 5‑year).
  • Device access is high; smartphone use continues to rise, with mobile data commonly used to supplement home internet.
  • Fiber and fixed‑wireless coverage are expanding from town centers; outside Bison and Lemmon, residents more often rely on fixed wireless or satellite, with greater variability in speeds and latency.
• Connectivity insight: Extremely low population density and long last‑mile distances constrain provider competition and infrastructure economics, leading to strong email uptake among working‑age adults but slower, less consistent connectivity in outlying ranchlands.

Perkins County, SD — mobile phone usage (2024–2025 snapshot)

Population and household context

• Population: ~2,830 residents; ~1,180 households (small, fully rural, non-metro county).
• Adult base (18+): ~2,200. These baselines anchor the user estimates below.
• The county skews older than the South Dakota average, with a higher share of 55+ residents and a lower share of 18–34.

Estimated mobile users and adoption

• Adult smartphone users: ~1,800–1,900 (≈80–85% of adults), below the statewide adult rate (≈88–90%).
• Basic/feature phone users: ~180–240 (≈8–11%), above the statewide share (≈4–6%).
• Adults without a personal mobile handset: ~150–220 (≈7–10%), materially higher than statewide (≈3–5%).
• Household cellular-data subscriptions (any mobile plan used for internet): 700–780 households (≈60–66%), modestly below statewide (66–72%).
• Mobile-only home internet (cellular data plan with no fixed broadband): 150–200 households (≈12–17%), notably higher than statewide (7–10%).
• Prepaid share of mobile lines: ≈28–35% in the county vs ≈20–25% statewide, reflecting price sensitivity and variable coverage driving plan churn.

Demographic patterns (how usage differs from state levels)

• Age:
  • 18–34: high smartphone use (≈92–95%), but a smaller population share than state, limiting absolute counts.
  • 35–54: smartphone use ≈88–92%, slightly below state; noticeable mobile-only home internet for family plans.
  • 55–64: smartphone use ≈80–85%, several points below state; higher use of voice/SMS-first workflows for ag and small business.
  • 65+: smartphone use ≈60–70% (state ≈70–78%); basic phone retention and shared devices are more common.
• Income and occupation:
  • Agricultural and ranching households show above-average reliance on mobile hotspots and multi-SIM setups during seasonal work; prepaid/secondary lines are used to manage coverage and cost.
  • Lower-income households lean more on prepaid and handset financing; mobile-only home internet is concentrated here.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • The county’s population is predominantly White non-Hispanic with small Native American and Hispanic/Latino shares. Device adoption gaps track income and age more than race in this county due to small subgroup sizes.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage profile:
  • Verizon: broadest footprint across US-12 and SD-73 corridors and town centers (Bison, Lemmon area), with low-band 5G/LTE; still notable dead zones between sites and in draws/valleys.
  • AT&T: generally solid along primary corridors and towns; patchier between ranch properties; low-band 5G present, mid-band sparse.
  • T-Mobile: improving but more limited outside corridors; low-band 5G along highways and town cores; mid-band 5G NR n41 is spotty or absent outside towns.
• Capacity and speeds:
  • Typical outdoor download speeds in settled areas: ~15–60 Mbps LTE/low-band 5G; drops to single digits in fringe areas. Statewide medians are considerably higher due to urban and interstate corridors reaching >75 Mbps.
  • Uplink often constrained in the hinterlands (<5–10 Mbps), impacting real-time sharing from fields and telehealth upstream needs.
• 5G status:
  • Predominantly low-band 5G (coverage-first) with DSS; limited mid-band capacity layers compared with Sioux Falls–Rapid City axes. Many users see LTE-like performance on 5G.
• Backhaul and tower spacing:
  • Long inter-site distances (often 10–25 miles) and microwave backhaul segments create capacity ceilings. This is the chief driver of lower median speeds vs state.
• Alternative wireless for home internet:
  • Fixed wireless (LTE/5G) is available to a subset of town-adjacent households; availability thins quickly with distance from towers.
  • Satellite (GEO and LEO) fills remaining coverage gaps; uptake is higher than the state average, but many such households still keep a mobile plan for portability and backup.
• Reliability:
  • Weather, power, and backhaul variability contribute to outages that are more frequent and longer than state averages; households often maintain dual-SIM or hotspot fallbacks.

Key ways Perkins County diverges from South Dakota overall

• Lower smartphone penetration and higher basic-phone retention, driven by older age structure and price/capacity sensitivity.
• Significantly higher share of mobile-only home internet households, reflecting limited wired broadband options outside town centers.
• Higher prepaid mix and plan churn as residents optimize for coverage and seasonal work patterns across large ranching areas.
• Lower typical mobile speeds and greater variability due to sparse site grids, low-band 5G dominance, and microwave backhaul reliance.
• Greater incidence of coverage gaps away from highways and towns, reinforcing habits like voice/SMS-first communication, Wi‑Fi calling at home, and device sharing.

What these figures imply for planning and operations

• Capacity, not just coverage, is the binding constraint; mid-band 5G densification near Bison, Lemmon-adjacent areas, and along US‑12/SD‑73 would materially lift user experience.
• Mobile-only households are a durable segment; plans with higher hotspot allowances and reliable uplink will see outsized adoption relative to other SD counties.
• Senior-focused support (simplified devices, hearing-aid compatibility, Wi‑Fi calling setup) has above-average impact due to the age profile.
• Multi-carrier redundancy (dual-SIM phones, business lines across carriers) is more valuable here than statewide because of dead zones and weather-driven outages.

Notes on sources and methods

• Estimates synthesize U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019–2023 (5‑year) for population/households; national/state adoption benchmarks from Pew/NTIA 2023–2024; and FCC mobile coverage filings (2024). County-level adoption splits are modeled by applying rural and age-adjusted adoption rates to Perkins County’s demographic structure. All figures reflect 2024–2025 conditions and are rounded for clarity.

Perkins County, SD social media snapshot (2024, estimated from Pew Research rural benchmarks and recent Census age/sex mix for rural South Dakota)

Overall user stats

• Adult social media penetration: 78% of adults
• Daily use: 70% of adults (roughly 9 in 10 social-media users check daily)
• Average platforms per user: 3
• Posting vs. viewing: ~35% post weekly or more; ~65% primarily consume, react, or share

Most-used platforms (share of adults)

• YouTube: 80%
• Facebook: 72%
• Instagram: 38%
• Pinterest: 32%
• TikTok: 26%
• Snapchat: 22%
• X (Twitter): 16%
• LinkedIn: 14%
• Reddit: 13%
• Nextdoor: 8%

Age-group usage (share of adults in each bracket who use social media)

• 18–29: 95%
• 30–49: 88%
• 50–64: 78%
• 65+: 58%

Gender breakdown (share of adults)

• Women using social media: 80%; men: 76%
• Platform tendencies
  • Women: Facebook 78%, Pinterest 46%, Instagram 42%, TikTok 27%
  • Men: YouTube 84%, Facebook 66%, Instagram 34%, Reddit 20%, X 18%

Behavioral trends observed in rural Great Plains counties like Perkins

• Community-first engagement: High interaction with school, church, ag extension, county and volunteer fire pages; local news/weather and road conditions drive spikes
• Facebook as the hub: Groups and Marketplace are central for buy/sell (farm/ranch equipment, vehicles, household goods) and for local events (4-H, county fair, high school sports)
• Video that’s practical: Strong YouTube use for how‑tos, repairs, and ag content; short Facebook/Instagram Reels outperform longer streams due to bandwidth constraints
• Peak activity windows: Early mornings (6–8 a.m.), lunch (noon hour), and evenings (7–9 p.m.); weekend photo posts get above-average reactions
• Private spaces matter: Many discussions happen in closed Facebook Groups and Messenger; public posting rates are lower than viewing/sharing
• Younger cohort split: Teens/20s skew to Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok for short-form video and DMs; they still retain Facebook for groups, events, and Marketplace
• Lower X/LinkedIn reliance: Limited use for real-time news (X) and professional networking (LinkedIn); most local businesses boost Facebook posts instead of running multi-platform ad campaigns
• Trust dynamics: Content from familiar local people and institutions outperforms national influencers; UGC photos and local shout-outs drive the highest comment rates

Method note: Figures are county-level estimates derived by applying Pew Research Center’s most recent rural U.S. social media adoption rates and platform reach to the age/sex profile typical of rural South Dakota counties of similar size.