Sevier County

Sevier County, Tennessee — key demographics (latest Census Bureau estimates; 2020 Census noted where applicable)

• Population:

  • Approximately 101,000 (ACS 2019–2023)
  • 98,380 (2020 Census)

• Age:

  • Median age: about 42 years
  • Under 18: ~21%
  • 65 and older: ~21%

• Gender:

  • Female: ~51%
  • Male: ~49%

• Race/ethnicity:

  • White (non-Hispanic): ~85%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~8%
  • Black or African American: ~1.5–2%
  • Asian: ~1%
  • Two or more races: ~3–4%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: <1% combined

• Households:

  • ~40,000–41,000 households
  • Average household size: ~2.5
  • Family households: ~65% of all households
  • Married-couple families: ~50–52% of all households
  • Households with children under 18: ~27–29%
  • Owner-occupied rate (of occupied units): ~70–75%

Insights: The county has grown since 2020, has a median age in the low 40s with balanced shares of youth and seniors, remains majority White non-Hispanic with a steadily growing Hispanic population, and features relatively small households alongside a notable presence of seasonal/vacation housing.

Sevier County, TN email usage snapshot

• Population and density: 98,380 residents (2020 Census); ~593 square miles of land; ~166 residents per square mile.
• Estimated email users: 76,800 residents use email (roughly 92% of adults; 78% of the total population), derived from national email-adoption rates applied to the county’s age mix.
• Age distribution of users (estimates):
  • 13–17: 5,300 (7%)
  • 18–34: 21,600 (28%)
  • 35–64: 34,700 (45%)
  • 65+: 15,200 (20%)
• Gender split of users: 51% female, 49% male, mirroring county demographics.
• Digital access and trends:
  • Strong fixed broadband and mobile coverage in the Sevierville–Pigeon Forge–Gatlinburg corridor support high email engagement among workers in tourism, retail, and services.
  • Mountainous terrain creates last‑mile gaps in communities outside main corridors, increasing reliance on mobile-only email in those areas.
  • Ongoing fiber and fixed‑wireless buildouts since 2022 are expanding capacity and improving reliability; public Wi‑Fi is prevalent in commercial zones and hospitality venues, reinforcing routine email access for residents and seasonal workers.

Insights: Email is effectively universal among working‑age adults; older adults participate at slightly lower rates but still constitute one in five local email users. Coverage concentration aligns with population density and employment centers.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Sevier County, Tennessee

Context and what’s different from the state:

• Sevier County’s heavy tourism (Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and gateways to Great Smoky Mountains National Park) produces device traffic far above what its resident base alone would suggest. On peak weekends and holidays, the number of active mobile devices in the county routinely multiplies well beyond the resident population, creating congestion patterns that are atypical compared with statewide norms.
• The county’s terrain (mountainous, forested) and large tracts of protected land make radio planning and backhaul placement more challenging than the Tennessee average, with more frequent coverage gaps in valleys and park areas despite strong coverage along main corridors.
• The resident population skews older than the Tennessee average, which slightly lowers smartphone adoption among seniors relative to urban Tennessee counties; simultaneously, there is higher “smartphone-only” reliance among service and hospitality workers and visiting populations.

User estimates (residents and visitors):

• Residents: roughly 100,000–105,000 people as of 2024.
• Estimated resident smartphone users: about 85,000–90,000 adults, reflecting high overall adoption but tempered by an older age profile than the state average.
• Daytime/peak device presence: during peak tourism periods, the active device count commonly rises to several times the resident base, driving notably higher mobile data usage per square mile along the Parkway (US‑441), the Spur, and Dollywood/Pigeon Forge resort areas than typical Tennessee county averages.

Demographic breakdown and implications for usage:

• Age: Sevier County has a higher share of adults 55+ than the Tennessee average. This reduces the 65+ smartphone adoption rate versus more urban counties, but app-driven tourism (tickets, parking, wayfinding) and family travel still produce strong cross‑age device usage in visitor zones.
• Workforce: A large share of employment is in hospitality, retail, and services. That correlates with:
  • Higher reliance on smartphones for shift coordination, payments/tips, and gig work.
  • Greater prevalence of smartphone-only internet access among lower-to-moderate income workers compared with the statewide mix.
• Ethnicity/language: A growing Hispanic/Latino population shows above-average smartphone reliance for messaging, navigation, and remittances. Seasonal workers and visitors also elevate prepaid and eSIM usage relative to the state norm.

Digital infrastructure and performance:

• Coverage: AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile provide 4G LTE and 5G across the main populated corridors (Sevierville–Pigeon Forge–Gatlinburg, TN‑66/US‑441). Coverage diminishes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in remote hollows; calls/data can drop along Newfound Gap Road, Roaring Fork, Greenbrier, and Foothills areas. This contrast with the statewide pattern (generally flatter terrain) is pronounced.
• 5G mix:
  • Broad low-/mid‑band 5G along highways and tourist zones, used to handle high foot‑traffic loads.
  • Targeted small cells and sector splits near attractions and the Parkway to combat capacity crunches during events and peak seasons; this density is higher than the Tennessee county average.
• Backhaul:
  • Fiber-fed macro and small cells concentrated along TN‑66, US‑441, and resort areas; microwave backhaul remains important near steep terrain where fiber routes are constrained by rights‑of‑way and viewshed limitations.
• Capacity constraints:
  • Predictable congestion spikes during evenings, weekends, and holidays; uplink saturation is common around venues due to video/social posting.
  • Carriers routinely deploy temporary cells (COWs/COLTs) for large events; this is more frequent than in typical Tennessee counties.
• Public safety and resiliency:
  • FirstNet coverage is prioritized along main corridors and in towns, but radio dead zones persist in park interiors; agencies rely on land‑mobile radio and satellite in portions of GSMNP.
• Fixed wireless and offload:
  • 5G fixed‑wireless access (FWA) is widely marketed along the main corridors and newer subdivisions, providing home internet and Wi‑Fi offload that helps reduce evening mobile congestion.
  • Tourist districts offer extensive venue Wi‑Fi; however, transient users often stay on cellular, keeping cellular utilization high.

Key takeaways versus Tennessee overall:

• Higher peak-to-average device load due to tourism, with more small‑cell deployments and event-based capacity adds than the state norm.
• More pronounced terrain‑driven coverage variability, especially at the park edges and interior, despite strong corridor coverage.
• Slightly lower senior adoption than urban Tennessee but higher smartphone-only dependence among hospitality workers and visitors, maintaining high overall smartphone penetration and very high per‑area data consumption in tourist zones.

Sevier County, TN — social media usage snapshot (2025)

Scope note: County-specific platform adoption is not directly published by major data providers. Figures below are modeled 2025 estimates for Sevier County residents using 2023–2024 U.S./Tennessee benchmarks (Pew Research Center, DataReportal) weighted to local ACS demographics; treat percentages as best-available estimates grounded in current research.

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

• YouTube: 80–83%
• Facebook: 68–72%
• Instagram: 42–47%
• TikTok: 30–36%
• Pinterest: 30–34%
• Snapchat: 26–31%
• X (Twitter): 18–22%
• LinkedIn: 20–24%
• Nextdoor: 8–12%

User stats (residents)

• Social media penetration (any platform): 84–88% of adults
• Daily users (any platform): 65–70% of adults
• Multi-platform use: 60–65% of users are active on 3+ platforms; 25–30% on 5+ platforms

Age profile of local social users (share of total resident users)

• 13–17: 5–6% (very high TikTok/Snapchat; lower Facebook)
• 18–24: 9–11% (heavy TikTok, Instagram, YouTube; Snapchat core)
• 25–34: 17–19% (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook; TikTok growing)
• 35–44: 18–20% (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube; Pinterest strong among parents)
• 45–54: 16–18% (Facebook, YouTube; Pinterest for home/travel)
• 55–64: 14–16% (Facebook, YouTube primary)
• 65+: 13–15% (Facebook dominant; YouTube for how‑to and local info)

Gender breakdown (local pattern consistent with national usage)

• Overall social users: ~52–53% female, ~47–48% male
• Platform skew:
  • Pinterest: ~70–75% female
  • Instagram and TikTok: 55–60% female
  • Facebook: slight female lean (52–55%)
  • YouTube: slight male lean (52–55%)
  • X/Reddit: male-leaning

Behavioral trends specific to Sevier County

• Tourism-driven content: Visitor-generated posts dominate volume around Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Great Smoky Mountains NP. Short‑form video (Reels/TikTok) featuring hikes, cabins, Dollywood, and seasonal attractions performs best.
• Seasonality and spikes: Engagement surges during spring break, summer travel, fall foliage, and holiday light festivals; weather, road closures, and park updates trigger short-lived but intense local Facebook Group activity.
• Facebook Groups as local hubs: High reliance on community and “things to do/traffic/alerts” groups for real-time info, recommendations, and lost‑and‑found; these groups are key for resident reach.
• Visual planning behavior: Instagram Saves, Pinterest boards, and YouTube playlists are common for itinerary planning (cabins, dining, shows); UGC and review snippets heavily influence booking decisions.
• Family and multigenerational appeal: Content featuring kid‑friendly attractions, accessibility, and parking/logistics over-indexes; Facebook events and ads with clear offers drive conversions for shows and attractions.
• Creator/UGC economics: Local businesses lean on boosted Facebook/Instagram posts, whitelisting creator content, and rights-managed UGC; micro‑influencers in travel/outdoors niche outperform by cost per engagement.
• Timing: Best resident reach is evenings (6–9 p.m.) and weekends; visitor engagement peaks Thursday–Sunday with check‑in/check‑out windows creating Friday and Sunday spikes.

Notes on sources and method

• Baselines from U.S. Census Bureau ACS (local age/sex distribution) and TN household connectivity; platform adoption from 2023–2024 Pew Research Center and DataReportal (USA), adjusted for Southern/rural patterns and Sevier County’s tourism profile.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitation (NPS) informs tourism seasonality effects on content volume and topics.

Use these figures for planning, budgeting, and targeting; refine with first‑party analytics from local pages, ad accounts, and group insights for campaign‑level precision.