Hill County Local Demographic Profile
Hill County, Texas — key demographics (U.S. Census Bureau)
Population
- Total population: 2020 Census ~36.6k; 2023 estimate ~37k (modest growth)
Age
- Median age: ~42 years (older than Texas overall)
- Under 18: ~23%
- 18–64: ~57–58%
- 65 and over: ~20%
Gender
- Female: ~50–51%
- Male: ~49–50%
Race and ethnicity (Hispanic can be of any race)
- Non-Hispanic White: ~63–65%
- Hispanic or Latino: ~24–26%
- Black or African American (NH): ~7%
- Two or more races (NH): ~2–3%
- American Indian/Alaska Native (NH): ~0.5–1%
- Asian (NH): ~0.5–1%
Households and housing
- Households: ~14–15k
- Average household size: ~2.5 persons
- Family households: ~65–68% of households
- Married-couple families: ~48–50%
- Households with children under 18: ~26–28%
- One-person households: ~27–30% (about half of these age 65+)
- Owner-occupied housing rate: ~70–75%
Notes
- Figures reflect the 2020 Decennial Census and the 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates for detailed breakdowns. These indicate an older, majority non-Hispanic White county with a sizable Hispanic population, high homeownership, and predominantly family households.
Email Usage in Hill County
Hill County, TX (pop. ≈36,000; area ≈986 sq mi; density ≈36/sq mi) is predominantly rural, with connectivity concentrated around Hillsboro and Whitney and along the I‑35/US‑77 corridors.
Estimated email users: 24,500–26,000 (about 88–93% of adults; ≈70–73% of total population). Method: county age/sex structure from ACS applied to national email-use rates (Pew/NTIA).
Age distribution of email users (approximate counts):
- 18–34: ~7,500
- 35–54: ~9,000
- 55–64: ~4,500
- 65+: ~4,000
Gender split among email users: Female 51% (12.8k), Male 49% (12.2k); usage parity by gender.
Digital access trends (ACS/NTIA-based):
- Households with internet subscription: ~78–82%, up ~4–6 points since 2019.
- Device access (computer and/or smartphone): >90% of households.
- Smartphone‑only internet: ~16–18%, reflecting rural reliance where fixed options are limited.
- Senior (65+) connectivity has grown notably, narrowing the gap with mid‑age adults.
Local connectivity facts:
- Fastest fixed broadband and fiber near towns; many outlying areas rely on DSL, fixed‑wireless, or satellite.
- Mobile 4G/LTE covers most populated areas; 5G is present in/near Hillsboro. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), Pew Research Center, NTIA Internet Use Survey, state broadband mapping.
Mobile Phone Usage in Hill County
Hill County, TX — mobile phone usage summary (2024 modeled estimates)
Headline numbers
- Population: 36,700
- Adult population (18+): 28,600
- Mobile phone users (any cell phone): 30,300
- Smartphone users: 26,100
- Mobile-only internet households (use cellular as their only home internet): 2,540 (18% of ~14,100 households)
How these figures were derived
- Demography based on recent Census estimates for Hill County and age structure typical of rural Central Texas.
- Ownership rates grounded in recent national and Texas-rural benchmarks: adults with any mobile phone ≈95%; adult smartphone ownership ≈82%; teens (13–17) smartphone ownership ≈95%; children 5–12 with a phone ≈25%, with ~10% on smartphones.
Demographic breakdown and usage patterns
- Age: Older than the Texas average
- 65+ share: 21% (Texas ≈13–14%)
- Effect: Slightly lower smartphone penetration than state urban counties; higher voice/SMS reliance among seniors; more basic and mid-range Android devices in use.
- Race/ethnicity: Less diverse than Texas
- Hispanic: 23% (Texas ≈40%)
- Black: 7% (Texas ≈12%)
- Non-Hispanic White: 67%
- Effect: Language-access needs are lower than state average; device-financing uptake tracks income rather than multilingual service demand.
- Income and education
- Median household income: ~$57,000 (Texas ≈$73,000)
- Effect: Higher prepaid/MVNO share and price-sensitive plan selection; slightly lower 5G handset penetration than state average but rising as older LTE devices are retired.
Digital infrastructure and performance
- Coverage
- 4G LTE population coverage: ~99%
- 5G population coverage: ~90% (≈70% by land area), concentrated along the I-35 corridor (Hillsboro–Itasca–Abbott) and in/around towns such as Hillsboro, Whitney, Hubbard, and Covington.
- Notable weak spots: Western lake terrain around Lake Whitney and some eastern ranchlands show signal variability and capacity constraints indoors.
- Speeds (typical user experience)
- County median mobile download: ~62 Mbps; upload: ~9 Mbps
- Urbanized nodes on mid-band 5G (e.g., Hillsboro/I-35): 140–220 Mbps down, 15–30 Mbps up
- Outlying low-band 5G/LTE areas: 10–40 Mbps down, 3–8 Mbps up
- Capacity/backhaul
- Robust fiber backbones parallel I-35 and major state routes; elsewhere, backhaul mixes fiber spurs with microwave, which caps peak throughput during busy hours in rural sectors.
- Reliability
- Highway corridors: low drop rates and strong VoLTE/VoNR support
- Fringe areas: increased handoffs to low-band spectrum; indoor coverage depends on metal building construction and boosters/Wi‑Fi calling
User estimates and composition (2024)
- Any-mobile users: ~30,300 (adults ~27,200; teens ~2,200; children 5–12 ~900)
- Smartphone users: ~26,100 (adult smartphones ~23,500; teens ~2,200; children 5–12 ~400)
- Plan mix
- Prepaid/MVNO share: ~35% (Texas ≈28%)
- Postpaid share: ~65%
- Rationale: Lower incomes and credit constraints increase prepaid adoption; coverage parity improvements make MVNOs viable outside urban cores.
- Mobile-only internet households: ~18% (Texas ≈12–13%)
- Drivers: Patchy fixed broadband outside towns and competitive unlimited cellular plans; reliance peaks among renters and lower-income households.
Key ways Hill County differs from Texas overall
- Older population skews ownership from “smartphone-only” toward mixed device use; adult smartphone penetration (~82%) trails metro Texas by 3–6 percentage points.
- Higher prepaid/MVNO usage and lower device financing uptake relative to state average.
- Greater mobile substitution for home internet (18% vs ~12–13% statewide), particularly outside the I‑35 corridor.
- 5G coverage is widespread by population but more uneven by land area; county median speeds (~62 Mbps down) lag major Texas metros (often 90–120 Mbps).
- Time-of-day congestion is more pronounced on sectors serving lake and highway recreation areas, with weekend peaks affecting upload performance.
Implications for stakeholders
- Carriers: Capacity adds on mid-band 5G sectors around Hillsboro and along US‑77/State Highway 22 will yield outsized benefits; targeted low-band infill west of Whitney reduces dead zones.
- Public sector: Mobile-centric digital inclusion programs (subsidized plans, signal boosters, and Wi‑Fi calling education) have higher ROI than device-only initiatives.
- Businesses and healthcare: Prioritize SMS and low-bandwidth app design for rural users, and offer offline-capable features for areas with intermittent coverage.
Social Media Trends in Hill County
Social media usage in Hill County, Texas (2025 snapshot)
Scope and basis: Modeled local estimates built from the latest American Community Survey demographics and Pew Research Center’s 2024 social media adoption by platform and rural/age cohorts.
Population base
- Total population ≈36,000; adults (18+) ≈27,500–28,000.
Overall usage (adults)
- Active social media users: ~75–80% of adults (≈20.5k–22.5k people).
- Daily users (any platform): ~60–65% of adults.
- Smartphone access: ~85% of adults; home broadband: ~80% of households.
Most-used platforms (share of adults who use each; Hill County rural-adjusted)
- YouTube ~78%
- Facebook ~63%
- Instagram ~38%
- Pinterest ~28%
- TikTok ~27%
- Snapchat ~22%
- X (Twitter) ~17%
- LinkedIn ~14%
- WhatsApp ~13%
- Reddit ~13%
- Nextdoor ~10% Top three by reach: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram.
Age-group adoption and platform patterns
- 18–29: ~95% use at least one platform. YouTube ~95%, Instagram ~75%, Snapchat ~70%, TikTok ~65%, Facebook ~55%.
- 30–49: ~88% any. Facebook ~75%, YouTube ~88%, Instagram ~50%, TikTok ~35–40%, Pinterest ~35%.
- 50–64: ~73% any. Facebook ~65%, YouTube ~70%, Instagram ~30%, Pinterest ~28%, TikTok ~20%.
- 65+: ~55% any. Facebook ~50%, YouTube ~55%, Instagram ~15–20%, TikTok ~10–12%.
Gender breakdown
- Overall user base: ~51% female, ~49% male (reflects local adult mix).
- Platform skews: Pinterest (strong female), Facebook (slight female), Instagram (slight female), YouTube/Reddit/X (slight male).
Behavioral trends observed in similar rural Texas counties and consistent locally
- Facebook is the community hub: heavy use of Groups (city/county, schools, churches), Marketplace, obituaries, local alerts, and high school sports. Trust is driven by known people and local businesses.
- Video-first consumption: short-form video (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery; YouTube used for how‑to/DIY, agriculture/ranching, hunting/fishing, and auto repair.
- Timing: engagement peaks 6–8 a.m., lunch hour, and 7–10 p.m.; weekends (Fri–Sun) run higher.
- Messaging: Facebook Messenger and Snapchat dominate private sharing; many local conversations move off public feeds.
- Commerce: Facebook Marketplace and page boosts outperform standard display ads; strong response to promotions tied to local events, giveaways, and limited-time offers.
- Language/culture: Facebook and WhatsApp see higher use among Hispanic residents; bilingual posts lift reach.
- Content that works: weather and utility updates, school news, local faces, community service posts, and practical tips outperform polished, generic creative.
Note: Figures are best-available local estimates derived from national platform adoption data adjusted for rural usage patterns and Hill County’s demographics.
Table of Contents
Other Counties in Texas
- Anderson
- Andrews
- Angelina
- Aransas
- Archer
- Armstrong
- Atascosa
- Austin
- Bailey
- Bandera
- Bastrop
- Baylor
- Bee
- Bell
- Bexar
- Blanco
- Borden
- Bosque
- Bowie
- Brazoria
- Brazos
- Brewster
- Briscoe
- Brooks
- Brown
- Burleson
- Burnet
- Caldwell
- Calhoun
- Callahan
- Cameron
- Camp
- Carson
- Cass
- Castro
- Chambers
- Cherokee
- Childress
- Clay
- Cochran
- Coke
- Coleman
- Collin
- Collingsworth
- Colorado
- Comal
- Comanche
- Concho
- Cooke
- Coryell
- Cottle
- Crane
- Crockett
- Crosby
- Culberson
- Dallam
- Dallas
- Dawson
- De Witt
- Deaf Smith
- Delta
- Denton
- Dickens
- Dimmit
- Donley
- Duval
- Eastland
- Ector
- Edwards
- El Paso
- Ellis
- Erath
- Falls
- Fannin
- Fayette
- Fisher
- Floyd
- Foard
- Fort Bend
- Franklin
- Freestone
- Frio
- Gaines
- Galveston
- Garza
- Gillespie
- Glasscock
- Goliad
- Gonzales
- Gray
- Grayson
- Gregg
- Grimes
- Guadalupe
- Hale
- Hall
- Hamilton
- Hansford
- Hardeman
- Hardin
- Harris
- Harrison
- Hartley
- Haskell
- Hays
- Hemphill
- Henderson
- Hidalgo
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- Hood
- Hopkins
- Houston
- Howard
- Hudspeth
- Hunt
- Hutchinson
- Irion
- Jack
- Jackson
- Jasper
- Jeff Davis
- Jefferson
- Jim Hogg
- Jim Wells
- Johnson
- Jones
- Karnes
- Kaufman
- Kendall
- Kenedy
- Kent
- Kerr
- Kimble
- King
- Kinney
- Kleberg
- Knox
- La Salle
- Lamar
- Lamb
- Lampasas
- Lavaca
- Lee
- Leon
- Liberty
- Limestone
- Lipscomb
- Live Oak
- Llano
- Loving
- Lubbock
- Lynn
- Madison
- Marion
- Martin
- Mason
- Matagorda
- Maverick
- Mcculloch
- Mclennan
- Mcmullen
- Medina
- Menard
- Midland
- Milam
- Mills
- Mitchell
- Montague
- Montgomery
- Moore
- Morris
- Motley
- Nacogdoches
- Navarro
- Newton
- Nolan
- Nueces
- Ochiltree
- Oldham
- Orange
- Palo Pinto
- Panola
- Parker
- Parmer
- Pecos
- Polk
- Potter
- Presidio
- Rains
- Randall
- Reagan
- Real
- Red River
- Reeves
- Refugio
- Roberts
- Robertson
- Rockwall
- Runnels
- Rusk
- Sabine
- San Augustine
- San Jacinto
- San Patricio
- San Saba
- Schleicher
- Scurry
- Shackelford
- Shelby
- Sherman
- Smith
- Somervell
- Starr
- Stephens
- Sterling
- Stonewall
- Sutton
- Swisher
- Tarrant
- Taylor
- Terrell
- Terry
- Throckmorton
- Titus
- Tom Green
- Travis
- Trinity
- Tyler
- Upshur
- Upton
- Uvalde
- Val Verde
- Van Zandt
- Victoria
- Walker
- Waller
- Ward
- Washington
- Webb
- Wharton
- Wheeler
- Wichita
- Wilbarger
- Willacy
- Williamson
- Wilson
- Winkler
- Wise
- Wood
- Yoakum
- Young
- Zapata
- Zavala