Bastrop County

Bastrop County, Texas — key demographics (latest Census Bureau estimates; rounded)

Population size

• 115,000 (2023 estimate; up ~18% since 2020)

Age

• Median age: ~38
• Under 18: ~25%
• 18–64: ~62%
• 65 and over: ~13%

Sex

• Female: ~49%
• Male: ~51%

Race/ethnicity (Hispanic = any race)

• Hispanic or Latino: ~45%
• White, non-Hispanic: ~44%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~7%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~1–2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~1%
• Two or more races/Other, non-Hispanic: ~3%

Households and housing

• Households: ~39,000
• Average household size: ~2.9
• Family households: ~73% of households (married-couple families ~50%)
• Households with children under 18: ~36%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~74%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 ACS 1-year (tables DP05, S0101, S1101, DP04) and 2023 Population Estimates Program (PEP). Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Bastrop County, TX email usage (estimates based on ACS/Pew/FCC patterns)

• Estimated email users: 70,000–75,000 residents. Assumes ~105k population, ~77% adults, high internet adoption, and 85–95% of online adults using email; many teens also use email.
• Age distribution and usage:
  • Teens (13–17): ~70% use email; smaller share of total users.
  • 18–24: ~90%+ use email.
  • 25–44: ~95% use email; largest user block.
  • 45–64: ~90%+ use email.
  • 65+: ~75–80% use email; growing slowly.
• Gender split: Approximately even (near 50/50), with minimal differences by sex in email adoption.
• Digital access trends:
  • Home broadband penetration is high in town centers; fiber is expanding but remains patchy outside them.
  • Rural areas rely more on fixed wireless and satellite; smartphone‑only access is common and rising.
  • 5G/strong LTE coverage tracks major corridors; most email access occurs on smartphones.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Part of the Austin–Round Rock MSA; fastest growth along SH 71 and US 290 (Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville).
  • Mixed urban–rural county; population density roughly 110–120 people per square mile, with notably better connectivity in and near towns than in outlying ranchland/wooded areas.

Here’s a concise, planning-oriented snapshot of mobile phone usage in Bastrop County, Texas, with emphasis on how it differs from statewide patterns. Estimates are derived from recent ACS population figures, Pew Research on device adoption, and FCC broadband/coverage datasets through 2023–2024.

User estimates

• Population base: roughly 105,000–115,000 residents; about 75% are adults.
• Mobile phone users: approximately 75,000–80,000 adults (about 95–97% of adults carry a mobile phone, in line with Texas but with a slightly larger share of basic/feature phones among seniors).
• Smartphone users: roughly 67,000–71,000 adults (about 85–90% of adults). The upper bound is a bit lower than Texas’s largest metros due to older and rural segments.
• Mobile-only home internet: about 18–22% of households rely primarily on mobile data or hotspots for home connectivity, higher than the Texas average. This reflects pockets with limited or costly fixed broadband.

Demographic and behavioral notes

• Age: Younger adults mirror statewide smartphone and app usage; older adults in the county are less likely to own smartphones than their peers in major metros, widening the age gap versus the state overall.
• Income and housing: Lower-income and renter households show higher smartphone dependence and prepaid plan uptake than the Texas average.
• Ethnicity and language: A sizable Hispanic population correlates with higher use of WhatsApp and other OTT messaging for family communications and microbusiness; Android share is somewhat higher than the statewide mix, and iOS somewhat lower.
• Plan mix: Prepaid and MVNO plans are more prevalent than statewide (cost sensitivity plus coverage testing across carriers). Multi-line family plans are common among commuting households.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G footprint: Mid-band 5G is present around the city of Bastrop and other population clusters, but low-band 5G and 4G LTE dominate in sparsely populated or heavily wooded areas. This creates a sharper urban-rural performance gradient than the state average.
• Capacity corridors: Network performance tends to be strongest along major travel corridors to/from the Austin metro. Daytime congestion can spike near fast-growing subdivisions and school zones; off-corridor speeds vary more than in most Texas counties adjacent to a big metro.
• Remaining gaps: Several rural census blocks still lack robust fixed broadband options (100/20 Mbps) and rely on mobile or fixed wireless. This drives higher hotspot use and smartphone dependence than the statewide profile.
• Public safety and resiliency: Fire and severe-weather risk elevate the importance of mobile alerts. First responder networks are present, but commercial users still report coverage variability in parks and river-adjacent terrain, which is more pronounced than the statewide norm.

How Bastrop differs from Texas overall

• Higher reliance on mobile as primary internet: Smartphone-dependent households and hotspot use are meaningfully above the state average.
• Plan and device mix: Greater prepaid/MVNO penetration and a tilt toward Android relative to Texas’s largest metros.
• Performance variability: Larger gap between corridor coverage/performance and off-corridor rural areas than is typical statewide.
• Adoption gaps by age and income: Older and lower-income residents lag more on smartphone ownership and advanced app use than counterparts in big-city Texas, even though overall phone ownership is still high.
• Commuter-driven patterns: A sizable share of residents commute toward Austin, producing time-and-location-specific load patterns that differ from many rural Texas counties and more closely resemble exurban usage.

Notes for planners

• Prioritize mid-band 5G infill and additional sectorization where growth is fastest; pair with fixed wireless expansion to reduce smartphone dependence.
• Target digital literacy and device upgrade programs to older and lower-income residents to narrow usage gaps.
• Ensure multilingual outreach for emergency alerts and provider plan options, given high OTT messaging use and prepaid adoption.

Bastrop County, TX social media snapshot (estimates, 2025) Method note: County-level social data aren’t directly published; figures below extrapolate from US Census/ACS population and 2024 Pew/DataReportal platform adoption, adjusted for a suburban–exurban county in Greater Austin.

User stats

• Population: ~110,000. Residents age 13+: ~93,000.
• Social media users (13+): ~75,000–85,000 (≈80–90% of 13+; ≈68–77% of total population).

Age groups (share using at least one platform)

• Teens (13–17): ~92–96%. Heavy on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram.
• 18–29: ~90–95%. Reels/Stories, TikTok; messaging-first sharing.
• 30–49: ~82–88%. Facebook + Instagram core; YouTube for how-to and family content.
• 50–64: ~70–75%. Facebook dominant; growing YouTube, some Nextdoor/Pinterest.
• 65+: ~50–58%. Facebook for family/news; YouTube tutorials; some Nextdoor.

Gender breakdown

• Overall user split: ~51–53% women, ~47–49% men (near county sex ratio).
• Platform skews:
  • More women: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Nextdoor, WhatsApp.
  • More men: YouTube, X (Twitter), Reddit.
  • Rough skews among local users: Pinterest ≈70% women; Reddit ≈65–70% men; YouTube slightly male-leaning; Facebook/Instagram female-leaning.

Most-used platforms in Bastrop County (share of social media users)

• YouTube: 80–85%
• Facebook: 65–70%
• Instagram: 45–50%
• TikTok: 30–35%
• Snapchat: 28–33% (heaviest under 30)
• Pinterest: 30–35% (skews female, home/garden, recipes)
• LinkedIn: 25–30% (boost from Austin-area commuters/remote workers)
• X (Twitter): 20–25% (news, sports, weather)
• WhatsApp: 20–25% (family, bilingual communities)
• Nextdoor: 18–22% (neighborhood alerts, local services)
• Reddit: 18–22% (tech, gaming, hobby forums)

Behavioral trends to know

• Community info flows: Facebook Groups and Nextdoor drive local awareness (school updates, road closures, wildfire/weather alerts, lost-and-found pets, county services).
• Events and commerce: Facebook Events common for festivals and HS sports; strong buy/sell/trade and service referrals. Instagram/TikTok help local eateries, BBQ, outdoor/river guides, salons reach younger adults.
• Visual-first, short-form: Reels/TikTok for quick reviews, openings, and how-to; cross-posting to Facebook Reels is common.
• Bilingual/multicultural: Notable Spanish–English crossover on Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube; Spanish captions improve reach.
• Messaging over posting: Many shares happen via Messenger/WhatsApp/DMs rather than public posts, especially among parents.
• Trust and timing: Local faces and recognizable places (Bastrop State Park, Lake Bastrop, Main Streets in Bastrop/Elgin/Smithville) outperform generic creative. Peak engagement: early morning (6:30–8:30 a.m.), lunch, and evenings (7–10 p.m.); weekends strong for events.
• Utility content wins: How-to, home/land projects, gardening, DIY, hunting/fishing, and preparedness (fire, heat, power) perform well on YouTube and Facebook.
• Civic engagement spikes: Bond elections, property taxes, school board and county commissioners’ issues trigger short surges on Facebook/X; neutral, factual posts see better reception.

Use these ranges for planning rather than as precise counts; for campaigns, validate with page insights, geotargeted ad benchmarks, and local group polling.