Haywood County

Haywood County, Tennessee — key demographics

Population size

• Total population: 17,864 (2020 Decennial Census)

Age

• Median age: ~40 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~22%
• 65 and over: ~19%

Gender

• Female: ~51–52% (ACS 2018–2022)

Racial/ethnic composition

• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~55%
• White (non-Hispanic): ~38%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~6–7%
• Other races and multiracial (non-Hispanic, combined): ~2% (Percentages from 2020 Census and ACS; Hispanic is an ethnicity and can overlap with race)

Households

• Total households: ~6,300 (ACS 2018–2022)
• Average household size: ~2.45–2.50
• Family households: ~63% of households
• Married-couple households: ~35–36%
• Households with children under 18: ~25–27%
• Nonfamily households: ~37%
• Living alone: ~32% of households; ~13–14% are 65+ living alone

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022 5-year estimates; Census Bureau QuickFacts.

Haywood County, TN email usage (estimates derived from 2020 Census/ACS and national adoption benchmarks applied locally):

• Population and density: ~17,900 residents; ~34 residents per square mile (rural).
• Estimated email users: ~12,800 residents use email regularly.
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 13–17: ~770 users (≈62% of ~1,250 teens)
  • 18–34: ~3,520 users (≈90% of ~3,900)
  • 35–64: ~5,890 users (≈87% of ~6,760)
  • 65+: ~2,600 users (≈73% of ~3,560)
• Gender split: ~53% female, ~47% male, mirroring county demographics; usage rates are effectively equal by gender.
• Digital access and trends:
  • ~75% of households maintain a home broadband subscription; an additional ~18% of adults are smartphone‑only internet users.
  • Fixed 25/3 Mbps service is available to >95% of locations; ≥100/20 Mbps to roughly ~80%, with gigabit cable/fiber concentrated in Brownsville and along main corridors.
  • Public Wi‑Fi and mobile access play an outsize role due to low population density; most email is checked on smartphones.
  • Ongoing fiber/backhaul buildouts tied to BlueOval City and regional investments are improving speeds and coverage (2023–2025), narrowing the urban‑rural gap.

Mobile phone usage in Haywood County, TN — 2024–2025 snapshot

Key takeaways

• Mobile dependency is higher than the Tennessee average: more households rely on smartphones and cellular data as their primary or only internet connection, largely due to sparse wireline options outside Brownsville/Stanton and recent population/employment shifts around BlueOval City.
• 5G is present in town centers and along I‑40, but capacity and mid‑band coverage thin out quickly in rural areas, keeping LTE as the practical baseline outside the corridor.
• Fixed wireless (5G/LTE home internet) is seeing faster uptake than the state average because it fills gaps where cable/fiber are limited.

User estimates

• Adult smartphone users: approximately 10,500–12,500 residents. Method: applying typical rural-Tennessee smartphone adoption (roughly 80–85% of adults) to Haywood’s adult population size (county population ≈18k; adults ≈75–80%).
• Households using cellular data as their primary home internet: about 12–18% (vs Tennessee ~10–12%). This reflects higher mobile-only reliance in rural West Tennessee and ACS-measured cellular-only subscription rates observed in similar counties.
• Fixed wireless home internet adoption (5G/LTE from mobile carriers): meaningfully above the statewide rate in rural census tracts, driven by recent 5G capacity adds near I‑40/BlueOval City and fewer cable/fiber options outside town centers.

Demographic breakdown of mobile usage (directional, county-appropriate)

• Age:
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone ownership (≈95%); very high mobile data use and app-based communication.
  • 35–64: high ownership (≈85–90%); mix of mobile and home broadband, with above-average mobile-only reliance among renters and shift workers tied to the megasite.
  • 65+: lower but rising ownership (≈60–70% in rural TN); larger share uses voice/text and telehealth apps; adoption accelerates where 5G fixed wireless is marketed as an alternative to DSL.
• Income and housing:
  • Lower-income and renter households have the highest smartphone dependence and the highest probability of mobile-only home internet, a pattern stronger than the Tennessee average due to limited affordable wireline choices in outlying areas.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • In rural West Tennessee, Black and Hispanic residents are more likely than White residents to rely on smartphones as the primary device and to use prepaid or budget plans; this pattern is evident in Haywood and contributes to higher mobile-only rates versus the state average.

Digital infrastructure points

• Coverage and capacity:
  • 5G from the three national carriers covers Brownsville/Stanton, major highways, and the I‑40 corridor; mid‑band (C‑band/2.5 GHz) capacity is strongest along I‑40 and around industrial sites.
  • Outside town centers, users often fall back to LTE with notable cell-edge performance on secondary roads and agricultural areas due to wider site spacing.
• Towers and backhaul:
  • The I‑40 fiber/backhaul corridor anchors regional capacity; tower density increases near Brownsville, Stanton, and the megasite. Rural sectors remain capacity-constrained at peak times compared with Tennessee’s urban counties.
• Wireline competition:
  • Town cores have cable and selective fiber builds; rural tracts still show legacy DSL or no wired broadband, pushing households toward mobile and fixed wireless. Regional fiber expansion is occurring in pockets, with construction tied to state/federal grants and BlueOval City-related investment.
• Fixed wireless:
  • 5G/LTE home internet from national carriers is broadly marketed in and around Brownsville/Stanton and along I‑40, with eligibility expanding as new 5G sectors light up. This is a primary substitute where cable/fiber is absent.
• Public safety and coverage resilience:
  • FirstNet/priority services are available to agencies; coverage benefits from I‑40 corridor investments but remains variable off-corridor.

How Haywood differs from Tennessee overall

• Higher mobile-only internet reliance: County share of households relying on cellular-only service is several points above the state average (estimated 12–18% vs ~10–12%).
• Greater fixed‑wireless uptake: Adoption outpaces the state where cable/fiber are scarce and 5G mid‑band is newly available; this is less pronounced in Tennessee’s metro counties.
• More prepaid/budget plan usage: A larger slice of users choose prepaid or value MVNOs than the statewide mix, reflecting income profiles and intermittent wireline competition.
• Coverage quality gap outside corridors: Mid‑band 5G capacity off the I‑40/industrial corridors lags Tennessee’s urban counties; LTE remains the de facto baseline in many rural blocks.
• Faster near‑term investment cycle: BlueOval City has accelerated tower densification, fiber backhaul, and enterprise-grade 5G in Haywood faster than typical rural counties, narrowing (but not closing) the capacity gap with the state average.

Implications

• Mobile devices are the primary on‑ramp to the internet for a substantial share of Haywood residents, especially younger adults, renters, and lower‑income households.
• Fixed wireless will remain a key bridge technology until rural fiber builds reach more of the county.
• Targeted tower infill and mid‑band upgrades off the I‑40 corridor would yield outsized improvements versus the state baseline because existing rural sectors are capacity-limited.

Sources and methods

• Estimates synthesized from: Pew Research Center (smartphone ownership by age/rurality, 2023), ACS 5‑year S2801 (device ownership and internet subscription types for rural counties, 2019–2023), FCC National Broadband Map (provider footprints and technology types), NTIA Internet Use Survey (device dependence and smartphone-only patterns), and publicly announced carrier 5G deployments in West Tennessee through 2024. County-specific figures are modeled from these datasets using Haywood’s rural profile and known infrastructure patterns; use ACS/FCC tract-level data for precise, point-in-time values.

Haywood County, TN social media snapshot (best-available 2024 estimates, adult population base unless noted)

Overall user stats

• Population: ~18,000 residents; ~13,600 adults (18+)
• Internet access: ~82–86% of households have home internet; smartphone ownership ~80–85% of adults
• Social media penetration: 79% of adults use at least one platform monthly (10,700 adults); ~63% use social media daily

Most-used platforms (share of adults using each platform monthly)

• YouTube: 81%
• Facebook: 69%
• Instagram: 39%
• TikTok: 31%
• Pinterest: 24% (≈41% of women; ≈8% of men)
• Snapchat: 22%
• X (Twitter): 19%
• LinkedIn: 10%
• Nextdoor: 4–5%

Age-group usage (percent using each platform monthly within each group)

• Teens 13–17: YouTube 93%, TikTok 76%, Snapchat 68%, Instagram 66%, Facebook 30%
• Adults 18–29: YouTube 91%, Instagram 72%, TikTok 55%, Snapchat 57%, Facebook 62%
• Adults 30–49: YouTube 88%, Facebook 76%, Instagram 48%, TikTok 32%, Snapchat 23%
• Adults 50–64: YouTube 80%, Facebook 70%, Instagram 30%, TikTok 20%
• Adults 65+: YouTube 66%, Facebook 58%, Instagram 18%, TikTok 10%

Gender breakdown (adult monthly use)

• Women: Facebook 72%, YouTube 80%, Instagram 43%, TikTok 33%, Pinterest 41%, Snapchat 24%, X 17%, LinkedIn 9%
• Men: YouTube 83%, Facebook 66%, Instagram 36%, TikTok 28%, Pinterest 8%, Snapchat 20%, X 21%, LinkedIn 11%
• Social media user mix by gender: ≈54% women, 46% men (reflects slightly higher female adoption of Facebook/Pinterest)

Behavioral trends observed locally in rural West Tennessee counties (applicable to Haywood)

• Facebook is the community hub: high engagement with church events, school athletics, local government updates, and buy/sell/trade groups. Messenger is the default for local business inquiries and peer-to-peer communication.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for tutorials, home/auto repair, farming and outdoor content; short-form (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery for food, retail, and services among under-40s.
• Young audiences fragment across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat; cross-posted short video performs better than static images for 18–34.
• Older audiences (50+) concentrate on Facebook and YouTube; they respond to clear, text-forward creative and community-centered messaging.
• Posting windows with highest engagement: early morning (6–8 a.m.), lunch (11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–9 p.m.); Sunday spikes tied to faith and family content.
• Local news and alerts travel via Facebook shares from regional outlets and public-safety pages; trust is highest for known local figures (pastors, coaches, officials).
• Commerce: Facebook Groups and Marketplace are primary for local buy/sell; short-form video and Facebook Events drive turnout for festivals, sports, and school fundraisers.
• Platform gaps: LinkedIn usage is modest; Nextdoor penetration is low outside a few neighborhoods; WhatsApp is niche except for some family and work groups.

Notes on how to read these figures

• County-level social metrics are modeled from 2024 Pew Research Center platform adoption by age and rural/urban status, U.S. Census/ACS demographics for Haywood County, FCC/NTIA broadband data for Tennessee, and rural-South usage patterns. Percentages refer to share of adults (18+) unless a teen bracket is specified. Figures are rounded to whole percentages for clarity.