Matagorda County

Matagorda County, Texas — key demographics

Population size

• 36,255 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: ~36,100 (U.S. Census estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~37–38 years
• Under 18: ~25%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~48.5–49%
• Male: ~51–51.5%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~49–50%
• White alone, not Hispanic: ~34%
• Black or African American alone: ~12%
• Asian alone: ~2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• White alone (including Hispanic): ~67–68%

Households

• Households: ~13,000 (ACS 5-year)
• Average household size: ~2.7–2.8 persons
• Family households: ~70% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~34–35%
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~74–75%

Insights

• Roughly half of residents are Hispanic/Latino; about one-third are non-Hispanic White.
• Age profile is balanced, with a modest senior share (~17%) and a median age in the upper 30s.
• Household size is slightly above the U.S. average, and homeownership is relatively high.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; Census QuickFacts for Matagorda County, TX)

Matagorda County, TX shows widespread email adoption. Estimated email users: 27,000 residents (≈92% of adults), derived from ACS demographics and Pew email-adoption rates. Age mix of users (approximate counts): 18–29 ≈22% (6,000); 30–49 ≈33% (9,000); 50–64 ≈27% (7,000); 65+ ≈18% (~5,000). Gender split is essentially even among users, mirroring the county’s population (≈50% female, 50% male).

Digital access trends:

• About 80% of households subscribe to home broadband; roughly 15% have no home internet and rely on mobile data or public access.
• Email is frequently accessed via smartphones in rural tracts; subscription and fiber availability are higher in and around Bay City and Palacios than in outlying areas.

Local density/connectivity context:

• Land area ~1,114 sq mi; population density ≈32 residents per sq mi, indicating a largely rural county where last‑mile fixed broadband is costlier, reinforcing mobile and shared-access email use.

Notes: Estimates combine U.S. Census Bureau ACS age structure for Matagorda County with national email-usage rates by age from Pew Research to produce county-level counts and shares.

Mobile phone usage in Matagorda County, TX — 2025 snapshot

Baseline population (U.S. Census 2020)

• Total population: 36,255
• Character: Gulf Coast, largely rural/micropolitan (Bay City, Palacios), with sizable industrial/energy, agriculture, and fishing employment

User estimates (derived from Census age structure for similar rural Texas counties; Pew Research smartphone adoption 2023; CDC/NCHS wireless-only household trends)

• Adults (18+): approximately 27,500–28,000
• Smartphone users: 22,000–24,000 adults (county adoption estimated at 80–86%, slightly below Texas’ big-metro rates)
• “Smartphone-only” internet users (no home broadband, rely on mobile for internet): roughly 5,000–6,000 adults (about 18–22% of adults; higher than the Texas urban average)
• Adults living in wireless-only households (no landline): on the order of 70–74% of adults, modestly below Texas’ high statewide rate but above historical U.S. rural averages

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Ethnicity/race (ACS pattern for the county): roughly half Hispanic/Latino, about one-third non-Hispanic White, ~1 in 8 Black, small but notable Asian (Vietnamese) community centered around Palacios
• Age: older than the Texas median, with a larger share of 50+ residents than major metros
• Implications for mobile:
  • Device mix skews more Android and prepaid than the Texas metro average, influenced by income and age structure
  • Higher dependence on messaging/social apps with strong bilingual use (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger), and on mobile hotspots for homework and job tasks where home broadband is absent or slow
  • Slightly slower turnover to 5G-capable handsets versus urban Texas

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier presence: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon provide countywide LTE with 5G primarily on low-band layers; mid-band 5G (capacity layers) is most reliable in Bay City, along TX-35 and TX-60 corridors, and around Palacios
• Coverage texture:
  • Stronger service in population centers, along major highways, and near industrial sites
  • Noticeable weak spots across marshlands, barrier-island/coastline areas, and wildlife/refuge zones east/southeast of Bay City where tower siting is constrained
• Resiliency: Coastal hurricane exposure has driven carrier hardening and the use of portable cell assets for recovery; short-term outages still occur during severe Gulf weather
• Enterprise/industrial: Energy, port, and agricultural operations use rugged devices, push-to-talk over LTE, and increasingly CBRS/private-LTE for on-site coverage; this is more prominent than in typical Texas inland counties

How Matagorda differs from Texas overall

• Adoption level: High smartphone use, but a few points below large Texas metros due to older age distribution and lower median income
• Internet dependence: Greater share of residents rely on phones as their primary internet connection than the state average, reflecting lower fixed-broadband availability and affordability in rural/coastal tracts
• Network experience: 5G availability exists, but mid-band 5G capacity is patchier and more corridor-centric than in major metros; fringe/coastal zones see more LTE fallback and variable signal quality
• Plan mix: Higher prepaid penetration and budget plans compared with the Texas urban profile; slower upgrade cycles to the newest 5G devices
• Language and apps: More bilingual communication and heavier reliance on WhatsApp/Facebook for community coordination than the state’s average urban counties

Bottom line

• Expect roughly 22–24 thousand adult smartphone users in Matagorda County today, with a materially higher-than-metro share depending on mobile as their primary internet. Service is solid in towns and along TX-35/TX-60, but coastal and marsh areas still create coverage gaps. Compared with Texas statewide, Matagorda shows slightly lower 5G device penetration, more prepaid usage, and more mobile-only internet reliance, driven by its rural/coastal geography, industry mix, and demographics.

Matagorda County, TX social media snapshot (2025)

Scope and baseline

• Population: ~36,300; residents aged 13+: ~30,900
• Monthly social media penetration (any platform, 13+): ≈81% (≈25,000 users)

Most‑used platforms among residents 13+ (monthly; est.)

• YouTube: 78% (~24.1k)
• Facebook: 64% (~19.8k)
• Instagram: 38% (~11.7k)
• TikTok: 32% (~9.9k)
• Pinterest: 30% (~9.3k)
• WhatsApp: 25% (~7.7k)
• Snapchat: 24% (~7.4k)
• X (Twitter): 18% (~5.6k)
• Nextdoor: 9% (~2.8k)

Age profile of local social media users (share of users)

• 13–17: 9% (heavy on TikTok, Snapchat; Instagram strong)
• 18–29: 21% (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube; Snapchat active)
• 30–49: 35% (Facebook and YouTube dominant; Instagram/Reels growing)
• 50–64: 22% (Facebook, YouTube; some Pinterest and WhatsApp)
• 65+: 13% (Facebook first, YouTube second; limited TikTok/Instagram)

Gender breakdown (share of users by platform; est.)

• Overall social media users: Women 51%, Men 49%
• Facebook: Women 56%, Men 44%
• Instagram: Women 54%, Men 46%
• TikTok: Women 58%, Men 42%
• YouTube: Men 56%, Women 44%
• Snapchat: Women 64%, Men 36%
• Pinterest: Women 75%, Men 25%
• X (Twitter): Men 62%, Women 38%
• WhatsApp: ~50% Women, 50% Men

Behavioral trends

• Community-first usage: Facebook Groups and Pages are central for local news, school sports, church activities, buy/sell/Marketplace, fishing/boating reports, and severe weather/emergency updates. Engagement spikes around storms, beach conditions, plant/industrial updates, and school calendars.
• Video preference: High YouTube watch time (how‑to, local events, outdoor/recreation, church streams). Short‑form video (Reels/TikTok) drives discovery; cross‑posting from Instagram to Facebook improves reach.
• Mobile‑led habits: >90% of local usage is mobile; Stories/Reels/shorts and vertical video outperform static posts.
• Messaging layers: Facebook Messenger is near‑universal alongside Facebook; WhatsApp usage is notable in bilingual/Spanish‑speaking households for family, work crews, and group coordination.
• Shopping and local commerce: Heavy reliance on Facebook Marketplace and local buy/sell groups; service providers (contractors, fishing charters, lawn/handyman, beauty) convert via DMs and comments more than website forms.
• Timing: Peak activity occurs early morning (7–9 a.m.), lunch (12–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–10 p.m.); weekends show stronger comment threads and shares.
• Seasonality: Summer tourism and coastal recreation increase search and social chatter around rentals, RV parks, beach access, fishing conditions, and events; hurricane season drives sharp surges in information‑seeking and official‑page follows.
• Content that travels: Weather alerts, local hero stories, school achievements, fishing/hunting results, beach and wildlife photos, and safety/road updates consistently outperform generic promotions.

Notes on figures

• Numbers are rounded, county‑level estimates for 2025 derived by applying current U.S./Texas rural adoption rates and platform user mix to the local 13+ population; platform percentages reflect monthly usage.