Panola County

Panola County, Texas — Key Demographics

Population

• Total population: 23,975 (2020 Census)
• 2023 population estimate: ~23,6k (U.S. Census Bureau estimates)

Age

• Median age: ~39.5 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~19%
• Under 5: ~6%

Gender

• Female: ~49.7%
• Male: ~50.3%

Race and Ethnicity (Census categories)

• White alone: ~70%
• Black or African American alone: ~23%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.7%
• Asian alone: ~0.5%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~5%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~9%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~64%

Households and Housing

• Households: ~8.8k (ACS 2018–2022)
• Average household size: ~2.58 persons
• Family households: ~70% of households
• Married-couple families: ~51% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~29%
• Nonfamily households: ~30%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~77%

Insights

• Stable, modestly declining population since 2020.
• Older age structure than the U.S. overall (higher 65+ share), typical of rural East Texas.
• Racial composition is majority White with a sizable Black population and a smaller but growing Hispanic population.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (2023).

Panola County, TX (2020 population 23,796; ≈30 residents per square mile).

Estimated email users: ≈19,500 (≈82% of residents).

Age distribution of email users:

• Under 18: ~3,200 (16%)
• 18–24: ~2,000 (10%)
• 25–44: ~5,700 (29%)
• 45–64: ~5,200 (27%)
• 65+: ~3,300 (17%)

Gender split among email users: Female ≈10,000 (51%); Male ≈9,500 (49%).

Digital access and trends:

• ACS 2018–2022 estimates: ~77% of households have a broadband Internet subscription; ~89% have a computer; ~12% are smartphone‑only connections.
• Roughly 23% of households lack fixed broadband at home, concentrated in rural precincts.
• Low population density and dispersed addresses raise last‑mile costs; connectivity is strongest in and around Carthage, with outlying areas relying more on DSL and fixed‑wireless.
• Email is near‑universal among working‑age adults (≈90–95% adoption within 25–64), with the biggest remaining gap among seniors, though smartphone uptake is narrowing it.
• Continued fiber/cable buildouts and affordability programs are poised to lift adoption over the next 2–3 years.

Summary of mobile phone usage in Panola County, Texas (2024–2025)

Headline estimates

• Population: ~23,500; adults (18+): ~18,200
• Estimated smartphone users: 16,000–17,000 (roughly 68–72% of total population; ~85–90% of adults under 65, ~60–70% of seniors)
• Households with a cellular data plan: ~7,000–7,300 out of ~9,000 households (≈75–80%)
• Cellular-only internet households (no fixed home broadband): 1,800–2,100 (≈20–24%), notably higher than Texas overall (11–14%)

How Panola County differs from Texas overall

• Higher mobile dependence: A substantially larger share of households rely on cellular data as their only home internet, reflecting lower fixed-broadband subscription and availability in rural areas.
• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration: Adult smartphone ownership trails the Texas average (Texas adults ≈88–90% per recent national/state surveys), mainly due to an older age profile and lower household incomes.
• Lower typical mobile speeds: Median mobile downloads in Panola County are commonly in the 30–45 Mbps range outside town centers, below Texas’ urban/suburban medians that often exceed 80–100 Mbps.
• More variability in 5G experience: 5G is available in and around Carthage and along major corridors, but time-on-5G drops quickly off the highways; statewide, 5G availability is more consistent in populated areas.
• Higher prepaid share: A larger proportion of users opt for prepaid and value plans than the Texas average, driven by income and credit mix; this correlates with higher mobile-only household rates.

Demographic usage profile (county-level tendencies)

• Age
  • 18–34: ~92–96% smartphone adoption; heavy app-based messaging and streaming; hotspot use for shared connectivity among renters.
  • 35–64: ~85–92% adoption; frequent mobile banking, telehealth, and navigation use; work-related messaging common.
  • 65+: ~60–70% adoption; voice, messaging, and telehealth are primary use cases; growing smartphone uptake but below state levels.
• Income and education
  • Households under $50k show the highest cellular-only home internet reliance (≈25–35%), elevating mobile data as the primary on-ramp for schoolwork and services.
  • Higher-income households are more likely to combine fixed broadband with unlimited/mobile 5G, using mobile as a backup.
• Race/ethnicity and geography
  • Rural residents outside Carthage exhibit more signal variability and higher dependence on low-band 5G/LTE for coverage.
  • Residents in and near Carthage have measurably better speeds (mid-band 5G availability), narrowing the gap with state norms when on major corridors.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Networks and spectrum
  • AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all provide countywide LTE; 5G coverage clusters around Carthage, US-59 (future I-69/I-369), US-79, and state routes.
  • Low-band 5G (600–850 MHz) underpins broad coverage; mid-band 5G (C-band/2.5 GHz) is more corridor- and town-focused, driving the large in-town vs rural speed gap.
  • FirstNet (AT&T) underlies public-safety coverage; practical benefits include better rural signal resilience and prioritized capacity during incidents.
• Performance patterns
  • Typical rural downloads: ~10–25 Mbps on edge areas; ~30–45 Mbps countywide median; 100+ Mbps bursts are feasible where mid-band 5G is present.
  • Uplink speeds and latency vary widely with distance to towers and backhaul; this affects video calls and telehealth quality outside town centers.
• Infrastructure constraints
  • Coverage gaps persist on wooded county roads away from US-59/US-79, with occasional fallback to 3G/low-band LTE equivalents for voice/low-data use.
  • Backhaul to some rural sites remains microwave-based, limiting capacity growth compared with fiber-fed urban Texas sites.

Usage trends and behaviors

• Mobile-only households use unlimited or high-cap data plans and phone hotspots for laptops and TVs, substituting for fixed broadband; data optimization (SD streaming, off-peak downloads) is common.
• Telehealth, benefits portals, and school LMS apps see higher-than-average mobile access shares, reflecting device-first internet behavior.
• Voice/SMS remain important for senior users; younger cohorts increasingly default to OTT messaging and short-form video, constrained by coverage and data allowances in fringe areas.

Key comparisons to Texas benchmarks

• Smartphone adoption: Panola County slightly lower than Texas adults (county ≈83–88% of adults; Texas ≈88–90%).
• Cellular-only home internet: Panola County ≈20–24%; Texas ≈11–14%.
• Typical mobile speeds: Panola County ~30–45 Mbps median; Texas urban/suburban often ~80–100+ Mbps.
• 5G availability: Consistent in Texas metros; in Panola County, strong along corridors and in Carthage, uneven elsewhere.

What this means for stakeholders

• Carriers: Greatest impact from adding mid-band 5G sectors and fiber backhaul to non-corridor sites; noticeable QoE gains for telehealth and homework.
• Public sector: Mobile adoption can close service-access gaps, but cellular-only households remain vulnerable to congestion and coverage variability; anchor-institution fiber and 5G small-cell nodes near schools and clinics would yield outsized benefits.
• Businesses and healthcare: Optimize mobile sites/apps for low-to-middling bandwidth and intermittent 5G; keep SMS and voice channels robust for senior and fringe-area users.

Sources and methodology

• Estimates triangulated from U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year computer and internet tables), Pew Research Center smartphone adoption trends (2019–2024), FCC Broadband Data Collection mobile coverage filings (2023–2024), and independent speed-testing aggregates for rural East Texas. County-specific counts are modeled from ACS population/households and rural adoption deltas; state comparisons use Texas-wide ACS and widely reported mobile performance ranges.

Panola County, TX social media snapshot (2025 best-available estimate)

Population base

• Total population: ≈23,000
• Adults (18+): ≈18,200
• Social media users (13+): ≈15,500 (≈80% of adults; ≈95% of teens)

User makeup

• By age (share of local social users)
  • 13–17: 8%
  • 18–29: 18%
  • 30–49: 34%
  • 50–64: 24%
  • 65+: 16%
• By gender (share of local social users): women ≈52%, men ≈48%

Most-used platforms (adults, share of adult social users; modeled from Texas/rural usage and Pew 2024)

• YouTube: 82%
• Facebook: 74%
• Instagram: 40%
• TikTok: 31%
• Pinterest: 36%
• Snapchat: 25%
• WhatsApp: 20%
• X (Twitter): 18%
• Reddit: 14%
• LinkedIn: 12%
• Nextdoor: 9%

Teens (13–17) platform profile (share of teen social users; aligns with national teen patterns)

• YouTube ≈95%, TikTok ≈67–70%, Snapchat ≈60–70%, Instagram ≈60–65%, Facebook ≈30–35%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook as the community hub: High engagement with local groups, school sports, church updates, buy/sell/trade, county services, and severe-weather alerts. Marketplace is a primary local commerce channel.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for how-tos, hunting/fishing, trades/oilfield, local event clips; Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels see strong short-form views among under-40.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger dominates for community and family communication; WhatsApp usage is smaller but notable in cross-border family/work networks.
• Small-business presence: Local retailers, restaurants, contractors, salons primarily use Facebook Pages and Groups; Instagram is secondary for visual branding and Reels; boosted Facebook posts outperform other paid options for geo-targeted reach.
• Time-of-day peaks: Evenings (6–9 pm) and weekend mornings; after-school window (3–5 pm) strong for teen/young-adult engagement.
• Demographic skews:
  • Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X.
  • 50+ rely on Facebook for news/community; 18–34 split attention across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat; 13–17 are TikTok/Snapchat-first with YouTube as a constant.
• Local content that performs: High school sports, community events, church activities, hunting season/openers, storm updates, road closures, local history nostalgia posts, and practical tips (home, land, equipment).

Notes on method and reliability

• Figures are county-specific estimates derived from U.S. Census/ACS demographics for Panola County and recent Pew Research Center social media adoption benchmarks, adjusted for rural Texas patterns. Percentages denote platform use among social media users in the indicated group.