Williamson County

Williamson County, Tennessee — key demographics

Population size

• 247,726 (2020 Census). Continued rapid growth since 2010 (+35% from 183,182 in 2010). 2023 ACS 1-year shows population in the low-260,000s.

Age

• Median age: ~39
• Age distribution (ACS 2023, percent): Under 18: ~28%; 18–24: ~6%; 25–44: ~29%; 45–64: ~24%; 65+: ~13–14%

Gender (ACS 2023)

• Female: ~51%
• Male: ~49%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2023)

• White alone: ~84%
• Black or African American alone: ~5%
• Asian alone: ~7%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~7%
• White, not Hispanic: ~79%

Households and housing (ACS 2023 unless noted)

• Households: ~90–91k
• Average household size: ~2.9
• Family households: ~75% of households; married-couple households: ~63%
• Households with children under 18: ~40%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~78–79%; renter-occupied: ~21–22%

Insights

• One of Tennessee’s fastest-growing, highest-income counties, characterized by family-oriented households, high homeownership, and a relatively young-to-middle-aged population structure.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2023 American Community Survey 1-year).

• Estimated email users: ≈220,000 residents in Williamson County (population ≈263,000).
• Age distribution of email adoption (adults): 18–29 ≈99%, 30–49 ≈99%, 50–64 ≈96%, 65+ ≈90%. Teens (13–17) ≈75–80%.
• Gender split among users: ≈51% female, 49% male, mirroring the county’s sex distribution.
• Digital access trends: Over 96% of households subscribe to broadband and about 97% have a computer; smartphone access is near‑universal. High household connectivity and remote‑work prevalence support very high daily email use across working‑age adults and growing use among older residents.
• Local density/connectivity facts: Population density is roughly 450 people per square mile. Broadband availability at ≥100/20 Mbps reaches well over 95% of homes, with fiber and 5G widely present in population centers (e.g., Franklin, Brentwood) and along major corridors (I‑65). Williamson County ranks among Tennessee’s most connected counties, sustaining above‑average email penetration and engagement.

Williamson County, TN: Mobile phone usage snapshot (2023–2024)

Headline insights different from Tennessee overall

• Mobile is a complement, not a substitute: Far fewer “mobile-only” households than the state average because fixed fiber and cable are widely adopted in Williamson. Households commonly maintain both home broadband and multiple mobile lines, whereas many Tennessee counties rely on cellular as their primary connection.
• Higher device penetration and multi-line plans: Affluence and family composition drive above‑average smartphone ownership per adult and higher lines per household vs. statewide norms.
• Faster, denser 5G: All three national carriers operate dense mid‑band 5G along the I‑65/State Route 840 corridors and in Franklin/Brentwood/Cool Springs, yielding materially higher median speeds and better indoor performance than typical Tennessee counties.
• Lower coverage gaps: Rural dead zones are less prevalent than in much of the state; remaining coverage challenges are in the county’s southern and far-western rural pockets, not in population centers.

User estimates

• Population base: ~260,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimate). Adults (18+): ~200,000.
• Modeled adult smartphone users: ~185,000–195,000 adults actively using a smartphone (roughly 92–96% adult adoption in a high‑income, highly educated suburban county; Pew Research national adult rate ~90% with higher adoption at upper‑income and college‑educated levels).
• Total mobile lines (all ages, personal + work): ~300,000–340,000 active lines countywide. Rationale: multi‑line family plans, work-issued phones in corporate corridors (Cool Springs/Brentwood), and cellular tablets/IoT lines push lines per household and per adult above 1:1.
• Mobile-only internet households: materially below Tennessee’s rate. Statewide, mobile-only households are common in rural/low‑income areas; in Williamson, the prevalence is low because fiber/cable adoption is high.

Demographic drivers that affect usage (county vs. Tennessee)

• Median household income: Williamson ≈ $130,000 vs. Tennessee ≈ $64,000. Higher income correlates with higher smartphone adoption, more premium plans, and more devices per person.
• Education (bachelor’s+): Williamson ≈ 60% vs. Tennessee ≈ 30%. Higher education correlates with higher smartphone and 5G uptake.
• Age structure: Williamson skews slightly younger than the state (smaller 65+ share than Tennessee overall), supporting higher smartphone and 5G adoption and heavier mobile data consumption.
• Household composition: Larger share of multi‑adult-and-children households than the state average supports multi‑line family plans and cellular tablets for students.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Coverage and 5G:
  • All three national MNOs (AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon) provide countywide LTE and broad 5G service across Franklin, Brentwood, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Thompson’s Station, Cool Springs, and along I‑65 and SR‑840.
  • Mid‑band 5G (C‑band/n41) is widely deployed in population centers, delivering strong capacity and indoor performance; limited mmWave appears in high-traffic retail/enterprise zones.
  • FirstNet (AT&T) public‑safety coverage is established; emergency services report strong in‑building coverage in core areas.
• Backhaul and fiber presence:
  • AT&T Fiber and Comcast/Xfinity cover the dense suburbs; United Communications (affiliated with Middle Tennessee Electric) has expanded fiber particularly in southern/rural parts of the county.
  • Robust fiber backhaul underpins dense 5G cell grids in Cool Springs/Brentwood and municipal cores, supporting higher median mobile speeds than the Tennessee average.
• Small cells and capacity:
  • Carriers have placed small cells along major retail/office corridors (Cool Springs Galleria area, McEwen/Carothers corridors, Downtown Franklin) to bolster capacity and indoor coverage.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA):
  • 5G home internet from T‑Mobile and Verizon is broadly marketed in suburban ZIP codes; take‑up exists but is smaller relative to fiber/cable because fixed broadband quality is already high.

Usage patterns vs. state-level

• Data consumption: Above the Tennessee average, driven by remote/hybrid work, streaming, and enterprise mobility in corporate districts.
• Reliance profile: Lower share of residents relying on phones as their only internet; higher share using mobile for on‑the‑go work, navigation, commerce, and two‑factor authentication, with home broadband handling heavy downloads/streaming.
• Device mix: Higher penetration of cellular‑enabled tablets, wearables, and connected‑car lines than state norms; SMBs and enterprises account for a larger share of business lines and IoT endpoints (point‑of‑sale, logistics, security).
• Network experience: Fewer coverage complaints and higher median speeds in suburban cores than typical Tennessee counties; remaining coverage pain points mainly in low‑density southern tracts.

Key quantitative anchors and comparisons

• Households: ~90,000–95,000. Households with any broadband subscription (fixed or cellular): substantially above the Tennessee average; cellular data plan adoption by households is also higher than the state rate, but Williamson’s broadband quality means cellular is additive rather than primary.
• Commute and daytime population: Significant inflow/outflow along I‑65 (Nashville–Franklin–Brentwood). Peak‑hour sector loading is managed with dense site grids and small cells; this yields more consistent 5G performance than many Tennessee corridors with sparser infrastructure.

What this means for planning and operations

• Capacity first, coverage second: Continued small‑cell densification and additional mid‑band spectrum utilization in Cool Springs/Brentwood/Franklin will track demand growth from offices, retail, and new housing in Nolensville, Thompson’s Station, and Spring Hill.
• Indoor solutions matter: Enterprise DAS/CBRS and repeaters in office parks, medical facilities, and schools are impactful because most remaining user‑perceived issues are indoor capacity in peak zones, not outdoor coverage gaps.
• Product mix: Family multi‑line plans, premium unlimited tiers, international roaming add‑ons (affluent travel), and device bundles (watches/tablets) see above‑average penetration compared to the Tennessee mean; mobile-only budget plans have lower relative share.

Sources and notes

• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2023 Population Estimates; ACS 2022/2023 for income, education, household counts.
• Pew Research Center (2023) for national smartphone ownership by income/education/age; local user counts above are modeled by applying these rates to Williamson’s demographic profile.
• FCC Broadband Data Collection (2023–2024) for carrier 4G/5G availability and fixed broadband availability; local observations of small‑cell siting in Franklin/Brentwood/Cool Springs align with carrier build‑outs.
• United Communications and Middle Tennessee Electric public announcements on fiber expansion in southern Williamson County.

All figures reflect 2023–2024 conditions and the most recent federal datasets available, with modeled estimates used where household‑level mobile statistics are not directly published at the county level.

Social media usage in Williamson County, Tennessee (2025 snapshot)

How many adults use social media

• Any social platform (including YouTube): 86% of adults
• Social platforms excluding YouTube: 76% of adults

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

• YouTube: 86%
• Facebook: 71%
• Instagram: 54%
• Pinterest: 38%
• LinkedIn: 35%
• TikTok: 34%
• Snapchat: 29%
• Reddit: 22%
• X (Twitter): 20%
• Nextdoor: 26%

User profile

• Gender among social-media users: 52% women, 48% men
• Age mix of social-media users: 18–29 (18%), 30–44 (34%), 45–64 (32%), 65+ (16%)

Age highlights (share using each platform within the age group)

• 18–29: YouTube 96%, Instagram 84%, Snapchat 78%, TikTok 69%, Facebook 60%
• 30–44: YouTube 90%, Facebook 76%, Instagram 63%, TikTok 46%, LinkedIn 48%, Nextdoor 35%
• 45–64: Facebook 78%, YouTube 85%, Instagram 41%, Pinterest 34%, Nextdoor 31%, LinkedIn 35%
• 65+: Facebook 68%, YouTube 72%, Nextdoor 27%, Instagram 24%, Pinterest 23%, LinkedIn 16%

Gender skews by platform (share of each platform’s users)

• More female: Pinterest (75% women), Facebook (54% women), Instagram (56% women), TikTok (58% women), Nextdoor (60% women), Snapchat (54% women)
• More male: YouTube (55% men), LinkedIn (55% men), Reddit (66% men), X/Twitter (60% men)

Behavioral trends in the county

• Strong neighborhood and family orientation: Heavy participation in Facebook Groups (schools, youth sports, HOAs) and Nextdoor for hyperlocal updates, safety, utilities, and city services.
• Video-first discovery: Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts drive discovery for local restaurants, parks, events, fitness, and youth activities; short-form video outperforms static posts for reach and shares.
• Professional networking above average: LinkedIn usage and engagement notably strong among 30–49 professionals in healthcare, tech, finance, and corporate services; active job-change and hiring content.
• Commerce and home lifestyle: Instagram and Pinterest are key for boutique retail, home decor, renovation, and real estate; visual content and influencer/micro-influencer posts convert well.
• Messaging and DMs: Residents frequently book local services (home, health, kids’ activities) via Instagram and Facebook messaging rather than email or phone.
• Faith and community: YouTube and Facebook Live remain important for church services, school events, and local nonprofits; weekend morning and Sunday engagement spikes are common.
• Sports and news: X/Twitter usage centers on breaking news, weather, traffic, and Tennessee/Nashville sports; daily engagement is lower than Meta and YouTube but high during live events.
• Teen and parent split: Teens cluster on TikTok and Snapchat; purchasing decisions often influenced by parents active on Facebook/Instagram and neighborhood platforms.
• Peak engagement windows: Weekdays 7:00–8:30 a.m., 12:00–1:00 p.m., and 8:00–10:00 p.m.; Saturday mornings perform best for events and family content.

Notes on method

• Figures are 2025 modeled estimates for Williamson County adults based on the county’s age/gender profile (U.S. Census/ACS) and platform adoption patterns by age and gender from recent national studies (e.g., Pew Research Center 2024). Affluent suburban counties like Williamson typically index higher for LinkedIn and Nextdoor and slightly higher overall adoption than national averages.