Sullivan County

Sullivan County, Tennessee — key demographics (latest available U.S. Census Bureau estimates)

Population size

• 160,700 (2023 estimate)
• 2020 Census: 158,163

Age

• Median age: 45.8 years
• Under 18: 19.3%
• 18–64: 56.0%
• 65 and over: 24.7%

Gender

• Female: 51.6%
• Male: 48.4%

Racial/ethnic composition

• White alone: 91.9%
• Black or African American alone: 2.6%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.3%
• Asian alone: 1.0%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.0%
• Some other race alone: 0.7%
• Two or more races: 3.6%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 2.6%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: 89.7%

Household data

• Households: 67,900
• Average household size: 2.22 persons
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~72%

Insights

• Aging population (about 1 in 4 residents are 65+)
• Predominantly White, with a small but growing Hispanic/Latino share
• Small household sizes and high homeownership consistent with older age structure

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

Sullivan County, TN snapshot (2024 est.)

• Population/density: ~160,000 residents; ~385 people per sq. mile. Urban cores (Kingsport, Bristol) anchor service availability.
• Estimated email users: 118,000 adult users (74% of total population), derived from local age mix and U.S. adoption rates.
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 18–34: 26% of users (31k)
  • 35–64: 48% (56k)
  • 65+: 26% (30k)
• Gender split among email users: 51% female (60k), 49% male (58k); usage rates are effectively equal by gender.
• Digital access and behavior:
  • ~88% of households have a computer; ~79% subscribe to fixed broadband (ACS-like county profile).
  • ~85% of adults have a smartphone; ~15–18% are mobile‑only for home internet, increasing reliance on mobile email.
  • Public access and Wi‑Fi are widely available via libraries, schools, and municipal buildings.
• Connectivity facts/trends:
  • Gigabit fiber and cable widely available in city limits (e.g., municipal fiber in Bristol and cable in Kingsport), supporting high email reliability.
  • Outlying/rural areas rely more on DSL/fixed wireless, with lower speeds and higher latency, moderating email attachment-heavy usage.
  • Subscription gap vs. availability suggests affordability and digital‑skills programs can lift adoption.

Summary: Mobile phone usage in Sullivan County, Tennessee

Baseline and user estimates

• Population context: Sullivan County has roughly 160–165k residents and ~70k households (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 1-year).
• Estimated mobile users: ~108,000–115,000 adult smartphone users in the county, derived by combining ACS household smartphone penetration with adult population share and national adult smartphone adoption benchmarks.
• Active mobile lines: Given typical multi-line ownership (work + personal, tablets, wearables), the active line count likely exceeds the number of users by 20–40%, implying roughly 130,000–160,000 active SIMs countywide.

Definitive statistics (ACS 2023, household level)

• Households with a smartphone: ~89% in Sullivan County vs ~92% statewide.
• Households with any broadband subscription (wired or wireless): ~82% county vs ~86–87% Tennessee.
• Households with a cellular data plan (any): ~78% county vs ~82% Tennessee.
• Cellular-data-only households (mobile data plan but no cable/DSL/fiber): ~12% county vs ~9–10% Tennessee.
• Households with no internet subscription: ~16% county vs ~12–13% Tennessee.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age: Sullivan County skews older, with residents 65+ making up about one in five. Smartphone presence among senior-headed households is materially lower than the state average (roughly low-70s% in-county vs upper-70s% statewide). Younger households (under 45) are near-saturation for smartphones and are more likely to maintain multiple lines.
• Income and education: Median household income and bachelor’s attainment are below the Tennessee average. Correspondingly, the county shows higher reliance on smartphones as the primary internet device and a higher share of cellular-only home internet among lower-income tracts.
• Rural vs urban tracts: Kingsport and Bristol tracts look similar to statewide norms for smartphone presence and multi-line adoption; outlying and holler/valley tracts have lower smartphone presence but higher cellular-only home-internet dependence where wired options are limited.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• 5G coverage:
  • T-Mobile: Broad mid-band 5G coverage across Kingsport, Bristol, and main corridors (I-81, I-26, US-11W).
  • Verizon: C-Band 5G widely present in urban cores and along interstates; low-band fills between nodes.
  • AT&T: Low-band 5G blanket with mid-band nodes in population centers; FirstNet coverage prioritizes public safety along I-81 and key arterials.
• Terrain effects: Bays Mountain, South Holston Lake shorelines, and Holston River valleys create signal shadowing and micro dead zones, producing more intra-county variability than seen in flatter parts of Tennessee.
• Fixed alternatives that influence mobile use:
  • BTES fiber delivers gigabit-plus across Bristol, offloading mobile demand indoors and enabling high Wi‑Fi offload rates.
  • Charter Spectrum covers much of Kingsport/Bristol; DSL remnants and sparse fiber in rural tracts keep cellular-only adoption elevated outside city limits.
  • 5G fixed wireless (T-Mobile Home Internet; Verizon 5G Home) is available across much of the urbanized area and selected rural fringes; uptake contributes to the higher cellular-only household share in the county.
• Event-driven demand: Bristol Motor Speedway races and festivals create predictable capacity surges; carriers routinely deploy COWs/COLTs to stabilize throughput, a pattern more pronounced here than the state overall due to the venue’s scale relative to the local network.

How Sullivan County differs from Tennessee overall

• Slightly lower smartphone presence at the household level, driven by older age structure and lower income/education in several tracts.
• Higher cellular-only home internet share, reflecting rural last-mile gaps and good 5G fixed wireless availability; this mobile substitution effect is stronger than the statewide norm.
• More heterogeneous coverage and speeds because of mountainous/valley terrain; urban nodes perform on par with statewide mid-band 5G, while rural pockets trail state averages more often.
• Urban fiber depth (notably BTES in Bristol) is stronger than many Tennessee peers of similar size, which helps indoor connectivity and reduces mobile congestion in those zones despite weaker rural wired options.

Key takeaways

• Around nine in ten households in Sullivan County have a smartphone, but the county trails statewide by a few points and exhibits a distinctly higher reliance on cellular-only internet, particularly outside the cities.
• Infrastructure is bifurcated: excellent fiber and mid-band 5G capacity in Kingsport/Bristol versus terrain-limited coverage and lower speeds in rural pockets.
• Seasonal event loads and topography make targeted capacity augments (COWs, small cells, additional mid-band carriers) more impactful here than in many Tennessee counties.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey (S2801, B28002); FCC Broadband Data Collection (2023–2024); carrier public coverage disclosures as of 2024.

Sullivan County, TN — social media snapshot (2024, modeled county-level estimates) Method: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 demographics for Sullivan County combined with Pew Research Center 2024 platform adoption by age and gender, adjusted for the county’s older age profile. Figures are for residents 13+ unless noted.

Population and user counts

• Total residents: ≈160,000; residents 13+: ≈140,000
• Active social media users (13+): 115,000–125,000
• Adults (18+) using social media: 100,000–110,000

Age mix of social media users

• 13–17: 5–6%
• 18–24: 9–10%
• 25–34: 14–16%
• 35–54: 34–36% (largest cohort)
• 55–64: 14–16%
• 65+: 17–19% (notably higher than the U.S. average)

Gender breakdown of users

• Women: 53–55%
• Men: 45–47%
• Nonbinary/other: small but present; platform data remain limited

Most-used platforms (share of social media users; higher reflects county’s older skew)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 70–76%
• Pinterest: 32–36% (strong among women 25–54)
• Instagram: 38–42%
• TikTok: 28–32% (lower than U.S. average due to age mix; fast growth among under 35)
• Snapchat: 22–26% (concentrated under 25)
• LinkedIn: 20–24% (healthcare, manufacturing, education hiring)
• X (Twitter): 16–20% (news/sports/weather watchers)
• Reddit: 14–18% (male-skewed, tech/outdoors/hobby subreddits)
• Nextdoor: 8–12% (neighborhood-focused pockets; not universal)

Behavioral trends and usage patterns

• Community-first on Facebook: Heavy reliance on local Groups for school athletics, churches, city/county updates, events, and buy–sell–trade. Messenger is a default coordination tool across age groups.
• Video leads: Short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) drives discovery; long-form YouTube for DIY, home projects, outdoors, sermons, and high-school sports.
• Cross-posting is common: Local creators and businesses post Reels/Shorts to both Instagram and Facebook; TikTok clips often mirrored to Facebook Reels.
• Shopping and referrals: Facebook Marketplace is a high-traffic channel; Pinterest influences home, crafts, and recipe purchases; local boutiques and restaurants see stronger engagement via Instagram Stories than feed posts.
• Younger cohorts: 13–24 prefer Snapchat for daily messaging and TikTok for entertainment; they consume local sports and event highlights via short video.
• Older cohorts: 55+ engage most on Facebook and YouTube; they respond to informative posts, clear calls-to-action, and trusted local voices (schools, hospitals, municipalities).
• Posting vs. lurking: A minority produces most content; roughly 60–70% primarily consume/engage (reactions/shares), 20–25% post occasionally, 5–10% are frequent posters.
• Timing: Engagement clusters before work/school (6:30–8:30 a.m.) and evenings (7–10 p.m. ET); Sundays are strong on Facebook; weekday lunch and late evening favor YouTube and Reels.
• Content that performs:
  • Hyperlocal angles (roadwork, school calendars, weather, closures, local wins)
  • Faces and voiceover in vertical video
  • “New this week” menus, product drops, and event countdowns
  • Giveaways that require comments/shares in local Groups
• Misinformation sensitivity: Local audiences lean on official pages (city/county, schools, Ballad Health, utilities) for verification; posts citing those sources earn higher trust and shares.

Key takeaways

• Facebook and YouTube dominate reach; Instagram and Pinterest are valuable for lifestyle, retail, and events; TikTok growth is strongest under 35; Snapchat remains teen-centric.
• The county’s older age profile lifts Facebook/Pinterest usage and moderates TikTok/Instagram relative to national averages.
• Short-form video plus hyperlocal context is the highest-ROI creative approach across platforms.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (2023); Pew Research Center, Social Media Use (2024); synthesis of platform adoption patterns adjusted to Sullivan County’s age–gender mix.