Runnels County

Runnels County, Texas — key demographics

Population size

• 10,246 (2020 Census)

Age (ACS 2018–2022)

• Median age: 41.8 years
• Under 18: 23.4%
• 18–64: 56.0%
• 65 and over: 20.6%

Gender (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male: 50.9%
• Female: 49.1%

Racial/ethnic composition (2020 Census)

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): 43.6%
• White, non-Hispanic: 52.7%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 1.2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 0.6%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: 0.4%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 1.5%

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: 3,944
• Average household size: 2.55
• Family households: 66%
• Owner-occupied: 74%
• Renter-occupied: 26%

Insights

• Small, rural county with an older-than-state-average population, high homeownership, and a large Hispanic community. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census; ACS 2018–2022 5-year estimates.

Email usage in Runnels County, Texas (population 10,264; ≈9.8 people per sq. mile, 2020 Census)

• Estimated email users: 7,000–7,500 residents. Basis: ~79% adults (≈8,100) and 86–93% email adoption among adults, consistent with national benchmarks applied to local age structure.
• Age distribution of email users (approximate):
  • 18–34: ~1,950–2,050 users (very high adoption, ≈95–99%)
  • 35–64: ~3,700–3,950 users (high adoption, ≈90–96%)
  • 65+: ~1,700–1,900 users (lower but substantial adoption, ≈75–85%)
• Gender split: Near parity; male and female email usage rates are similar, yielding roughly a 50/50 user split.
• Digital access trends:
  • Household broadband subscription is roughly 70–75%, typical of rural Texas; ~15–20% are smartphone‑only internet users.
  • About 22–27% of households likely lack a home internet subscription, concentrated among older and lower‑income residents.
  • Email engagement is strong on smartphones; reliance on mobile data and fixed wireless is notable outside town centers.
• Local connectivity and density:
  • County spans ≈1,050 square miles; primary hubs Ballinger, Winters, and Miles have better fixed broadband options.
  • Coverage and speeds drop in sparsely populated areas; fixed wireless and satellite fill gaps, influencing email access patterns and frequency.

Runnels County, TX mobile phone usage: statistics, estimates, and how it differs from Texas overall

County context

• Population: 10,878 (2020 Census) spread across Ballinger, Winters, Miles, and rural areas over ~1,057 sq mi
• Rural, older-leaning demographics and lower household incomes than the Texas median shape adoption and plan mix

User estimates (adults unless noted; estimates derived from 2020 Census base and recent Pew Research mobile adoption rates for rural areas)

• Adult mobile phone users: 8,200–8,600 (roughly 95–97% of ~8,600 adults)
• Adult smartphone users: 7,100–7,500 (about 83–87% of adults; rural adoption runs several points below statewide/urban rates)
• 5G‑capable devices among smartphone users: 65–75% (reflects 2023–2024 U.S. device mix; not all are on 5G coverage all the time)
• Teens (13–17) with smartphones: roughly 600–700 (teen adoption in the mid‑90% range applied to local cohort size)
• Households that rely on mobile data as primary home internet: 12–18% (notably higher than Texas’s ~8–12% range, reflecting limited wired options)

Demographic breakdown and behavior signals

• Age: Share of residents 65+ is materially higher than Texas overall (roughly mid‑20s% vs Texas ~13–14%), which pulls down overall smartphone adoption; among 65+, smartphone take‑up is about 60–65% (Pew 2023)
• Income: Lower median household income than the Texas median correlates with higher prepaid/MVNO use, more data‑capped plans, and heavier reliance on Wi‑Fi and messaging apps for calls
• Language/ethnicity: A sizable Hispanic community uses data‑efficient apps (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger) at high rates; family plan penetration is strong but skewed toward cost‑controlled tiers
• Device lifecycle: Handsets remain in service longer than in metro Texas; replacement cycles commonly exceed 3 years, yielding more LTE‑only or entry‑level 5G devices in use

Digital infrastructure and service quality

• Carriers present: AT&T (including FirstNet Band 14), Verizon, and T‑Mobile operate countywide; MVNOs piggyback on those networks
• Coverage profile: Broad low‑band LTE/5G coverage along US‑83/67 and in towns; coverage thins on farm‑to‑market roads and river bottoms. LTE remains the workhorse layer outside towns
• 5G availability: Predominantly low‑band 5G (low capacity, good reach). Mid‑band 5G (higher capacity) is spotty to absent away from population centers; many sessions fall back to LTE
• Capacity and speeds: Typical downlink 20–60 Mbps in towns; often sub‑20 Mbps in fringe areas. This trails Texas’s statewide median (commonly ~90–120 Mbps in 2023–2024 testing) by a wide margin
• Site grid: Sparse macro‑tower spacing typical of West‑Central Texas produces larger cell footprints and more variable indoor service; in‑building coverage is a frequent constraint in metal‑roof structures
• Backhaul: Mix of microwave and limited fiber to towers; constrained backhaul can bottleneck peak‑hour performance even where radio signal is strong
• Fixed broadband interplay: Fiber is limited to select streets in towns; DSL, fixed wireless, and satellite remain common outside them. Mobile hotspots are widely used as a backup or primary link, especially during outages or for newly moved households
• Public safety: FirstNet adoption by agencies improves resilience; priority/preemption benefits are meaningful during weather events but do not lift general consumer capacity

How Runnels County differs from Texas overall

• Adoption: Overall smartphone adoption is several points lower than the Texas average due to an older age mix and more budget‑constrained households
• Plan mix: Higher share of prepaid/MVNO lines and data‑capped plans; lower penetration of premium unlimited tiers common in metro Texas
• Network experience: Median mobile speeds are 30–70% lower than statewide medians; more frequent fallback to LTE and greater variability between town centers and rural stretches
• 5G reality: Coverage is mostly low‑band 5G with limited mid‑band capacity, so the experiential gap vs LTE is smaller than in Texas metros where mid‑band is common
• Mobile dependence: A higher fraction of households rely on mobile data as their primary or only home internet, increasing sensitivity to tower congestion and data caps
• Device turnover: Longer device replacement cycles yield a higher proportion of LTE‑only or entry‑tier 5G phones than the state average

Key takeaways

• Roughly 8.2–8.6k adults in Runnels use a mobile phone, with 7.1–7.5k on smartphones; most smartphones are 5G‑capable, but the lived experience is often LTE‑like due to network mix
• Constraints stem more from infrastructure density and backhaul than simple signal presence; indoor coverage and peak‑hour capacity are the most consistent pain points
• Compared with Texas overall, users face slower speeds, less mid‑band 5G, greater reliance on prepaid and mobile‑only access, and wider urban‑rural performance gaps

Sources underpinning estimates: U.S. Census (2020) for population base; Pew Research Center (2023–2024) for rural smartphone and age‑cohort adoption; FCC Broadband Data Collection maps and carrier public coverage disclosures for 5G/LTE availability and spectrum layers; statewide speed medians from widely reported 2023–2024 mobile benchmarking studies.

Runnels County, TX social media snapshot (estimated from 2024 Pew Research platform adoption, rural U.S. usage patterns, and ACS county demographics)

Overall penetration

• Adults using any social media: 70% of adults
• Primary access: mobile-first; Facebook and YouTube account for the majority of total time spent

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adult population)

• YouTube: 80%
• Facebook: 72%
• Instagram: 38%
• TikTok: 30%
• Pinterest: 32%
• WhatsApp: 24%
• Snapchat: 22%
• LinkedIn: 18%
• X (Twitter): 16%
• Reddit: 14%
• Nextdoor: 8%

Age-group usage (share using any social media; platform skews)

• Teens 13–17: 90%+ use at least one platform; heavy on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat; Facebook mostly for groups/events and school notifications
• 18–29: 90%; YouTube, Instagram, TikTok dominant; Snapchat common for messaging; Facebook used for local ties and Marketplace
• 30–49: 82%; Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram meaningful; TikTok rising; Pinterest strong among parents and DIY
• 50–64: 70%; Facebook overwhelmingly primary; YouTube for tutorials, news, and hobbies
• 65+: 48%; Facebook for family, church, community pages; YouTube for how-to and local content

Gender breakdown (adult social media users)

• Female: 52%
• Male: 48%
• Platform skews: Pinterest and Instagram over-index female; Reddit and X over-index male; Facebook slightly female-leaning; YouTube broadly even but with higher long-form viewing among men

Behavioral trends and local usage patterns

• Community-first behavior: Facebook Groups function as digital town squares for school updates, church and civic events, buy/sell/trade, and local alerts
• Marketplace reliance: Strong use of Facebook Marketplace for vehicles, equipment, tools, livestock-related items, furniture, and services
• Local information diet: Heavy attention to county and city pages, school districts, volunteer fire/EMS, weather and outage updates; resharing within groups is common
• Video habits: YouTube for DIY, farming/ranching, home repair, hunting/fishing, and product reviews; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) growing across under-45s
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default; WhatsApp usage present among bilingual and transnational families; Snapchat used as a messaging layer by younger users
• Engagement timing: Peaks 6–9 p.m. on weekdays; secondary peak weekend mornings for buy/sell; mid-day engagement lower
• Trust signals: Posts from known local people, admins, churches, schools, and volunteer orgs outperform brand pages; user-generated photos and testimonials drive action
• Conversion behavior: Preference for call/text, Messenger DMs, and in-person pickup over web forms; geofenced offers within ~20–40 miles perform best

Notes on methodology

• Percentages reflect best-available estimates for a rural Texas county, applying 2024 Pew U.S. platform adoption to Runnels County’s older-leaning, rural demographic profile from recent ACS data. Platform shares represent the portion of adults using each service at least once, not time share or daily active use.