Tom Green County

Tom Green County, Texas — key demographics (latest available Census/ACS)

Population size

• 2023 population estimate: ~121,000
• 2020 Census: 120,003

Age

• Median age: ~34 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~16%

Gender

• Male: ~50–51%
• Female: ~49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~43%
• White alone, non-Hispanic: ~48%
• Black or African American alone: ~4–5%
• Asian alone: ~1–2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~1%
• Two or more races: ~3% Note: “Hispanic or Latino” is an ethnicity and overlaps with race categories.

Households

• Total households: ~45,000–46,000
• Persons per household (avg): ~2.55
• Family households: ~66%
• Married-couple families: ~45–47%
• Households with children under 18: ~30–32%
• Living alone: ~28% of households; ~9% are 65+ living alone

Insights

• Stable, slow growth since 2020
• Relatively young age structure with a sizable working-age share
• Large Hispanic community (~43%) and roughly half of residents are non-Hispanic White
• Household sizes slightly below the Texas average but close to U.S. norms

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2023 Population Estimates; 2019–2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year and 2023 ACS 1-year profiles for Tom Green County, TX.

Tom Green County, TX snapshot (2023 est.)

• Population/density: 121,500 residents across ~1,522 sq mi (80 people/sq mi). About 80–85% live in/around San Angelo, concentrating connectivity.
• Estimated email users (all ages): ~90,000.
• Adult email users by age (share of adult users):
  • 18–34: ~34%
  • 35–54: ~37%
  • 55–64: ~16%
  • 65+: ~14%
• Gender split among email users: ~51% female, ~49% male.
• Digital access (ACS/NTIA-derived):
  • Households with a computer: ~94%
  • Households with a broadband subscription: ~87%
  • Smartphone-only internet households: ~15%
  • Typical access modes: cable/fiber in San Angelo; more fixed wireless/satellite at rural edges.
• Trends/insights:
  • Email is near-universal among adults; adoption remains highest in 18–54 cohorts and lower, but substantial, among 65+.
  • Mobile-first behavior is meaningful (smartphone-only ~1 in 6 households), so many residents check email primarily on phones.
  • Urban concentration in San Angelo aligns with higher broadband subscription rates than outlying areas, supporting strong email reach for most households.

Numbers synthesized from county population/ACS computer and broadband subscription benchmarks and U.S./Texas email-use rates to produce localized estimates.

Mobile phone usage in Tom Green County, Texas — 2024 summary

Scale and adoption

• Population and households: ~121,000 residents and ~46,000 households (Census estimates). Predominantly urban (San Angelo is the anchor).
• Adult mobile users: ~89,000 adults use a mobile phone (about 95% of the ~93,000 adults), in line with national mobile-phone ownership but slightly above typical rural-Texas counties.
• Household smartphone access (ACS S2801, 2018–2022, county-level): ~92% of households have a smartphone, or roughly 42,000 households.
• Cellular data at home (ACS S2801): ~80% of households maintain a cellular data plan, or about 36,500–37,000 households.
• Mobile-only home internet (derived from ACS subscription mix): 13% of households rely primarily or exclusively on mobile broadband for home internet (6,000 households), higher than the Texas statewide rate (~11%).
• Wireless-only voice (no landline): 78% of adults live in wireless-only households, modestly above the Texas statewide share (75%), reflecting both affordability dynamics and high mobile substitution.

Demographic patterns of usage

• Age:
  • 18–34: near-universal mobile adoption (~98% any cellphone; ~95% smartphone).
  • 35–64: very high adoption (~96% any cellphone; ~90% smartphone).
  • 65+: lower but rising (~87% any cellphone; ~72–75% smartphone), with noticeable use of larger-screen devices and basic plans.
• Income:
  • Under $25k: higher reliance on mobile-only home internet (≈19–22%, vs county average ~13%), driven by plan affordability and fewer fixed-broadband options.
  • $75k+: strong multi-device households; mobile is additive to fiber/cable, with mobile-only usage ~9–10%.
• Race/ethnicity:
  • Hispanic households (around two-fifths of the county) show parity in smartphone ownership but higher smartphone-only and prepaid plan usage; mobile-only internet in this group runs a few points above the county average (≈15–17%).
• Military and student presence:
  • Goodfellow AFB and local colleges tilt the market toward high smartphone penetration, frequent number portability, and above-average prepaid and BYOD uptake relative to Texas overall.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Network availability:
  • 4G LTE: Countywide outdoor coverage from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon on primary corridors and in San Angelo; indoor coverage weakens in low-density ranchland.
  • 5G: All three carriers provide 5G in San Angelo. T-Mobile mid-band 5G covers most of the urban area and major routes; AT&T and Verizon 5G (including C-band) concentrate in the core city and along high-traffic corridors. Millimeter-wave nodes are sparse and concentrated in dense commercial zones.
• Capacity and backhaul:
  • Capacity is strongest along Loop 306, US-67/US-87, and commercial arterials; backhaul is predominantly fiber-fed in the city with more microwave backhaul in remote sectors, which can constrain peak speeds and uplink during congestion.
• Coverage variation:
  • The northwestern and far southern edges of the county, river bottoms, and some canyons see reduced indoor reliability and slower uplink, particularly during peak evening hours or severe weather.
• Public-safety and resilience:
  • Macro sites in the urban core are comparatively well-hardened; rural sectors remain more susceptible to weather-related outages than the Texas average due to longer feeder runs and fewer redundant routes.

How Tom Green County differs from Texas overall

• Higher mobile substitution:
  • Wireless-only households and mobile-only home internet are both a bit higher (+2–3 percentage points) than the Texas average, reflecting a mix of affordability, transient/military households, and patchy fiber availability outside the city.
• Slightly more prepaid and smartphone-only behavior:
  • The county skews toward prepaid/BYOD and smartphone-only access in lower-income and Hispanic households more than the statewide mix.
• Infrastructure pattern:
  • Strong 5G coverage in the urban core with quicker mid-band rollout relative to nearby rural counties, but a larger urban–rural performance gap than the Texas average due to sparser towers and non-fiber backhaul at the edges.
• Senior adoption gap:
  • The 65+ smartphone gap versus middle-age cohorts is wider locally than statewide, which sustains a market for basic phones and entry-level data plans.

Key figures at a glance (best-available public data and local estimates)

• Adult mobile phone users: ~89,000 (≈95% of adults)
• Households with smartphones: 92% (42,000 of ~46,000 households)
• Households with a cellular data plan: 80% (36,500–37,000)
• Mobile-only home internet: 13% (6,000 households), vs Texas ~11%
• Wireless-only voice households (no landline): ~78% of adults, vs Texas ~75%

Sources and methodology

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2018–2022, table S2801 (household device ownership and internet subscriptions)
• Pew Research Center (adult mobile and smartphone ownership benchmarks)
• FCC mobile coverage maps and carrier public 5G disclosures for availability and spectrum class context
• County-level estimates align ACS household percentages to current population/household counts to produce user and household totals.

Tom Green County, TX social media snapshot (2025)

Population base

• Population: 120,003 (2020 Census). Adults (18+) ≈ 91,000.

Users

• Adult social media users: ≈ 66,000 (modeled at 72% of adults).
• Teen users (13–17): ≈ 7,600 (very high adoption among teens).
• Total users 13+: ≈ 74,000.

Age groups (share who use at least one platform; Pew national rates applied locally)

• 13–17: 95% use social media; platform mix led by YouTube (93%), TikTok (63%), Instagram (62%), Snapchat (~60%).
• 18–29: ~84% use social media; heaviest on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube.
• 30–49: ~81% use social media; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram dominate.
• 50–64: ~73% use social media; Facebook and YouTube lead.
• 65+: ~45% use social media; primarily Facebook and YouTube.

Gender breakdown (modeled)

• Women ≈ 52% of adult social media users; men ≈ 48%.
• Platform skews: women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube and X/Twitter.

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults; percentages are Pew 2024 national usage, applied locally; in parentheses are approximate adult counts in Tom Green County)

• YouTube: 83% (75,500 adults)
• Facebook: 68% (61,900)
• Instagram: 47% (42,800)
• TikTok: 33% (30,000)
• Pinterest: 35% (31,900)
• LinkedIn: 30% (27,300)
• WhatsApp: baseline 29% (26,400); local adjusted estimate ≈ 33% (~30,000) given Tom Green County’s large Hispanic population
• Snapchat: 27% (24,600)
• X (Twitter): 22% (20,000)

Behavioral trends in the county

• Facebook remains the community hub: heavy use of Groups for neighborhood updates, school and sports organizations, Goodfellow AFB family groups, and Marketplace for local buying/selling.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube for how-tos, local sports, church content; TikTok/Reels for short-form entertainment and local business promos.
• Messaging-centric communication: Facebook Messenger is ubiquitous; WhatsApp usage is notably strong among bilingual and Hispanic households.
• Local news and civic info: City/county departments, schools, and media pages drive engagement around weather, road closures, public safety, and events.
• Commerce and recommendations: Small businesses rely on Facebook and Instagram for offers and service discovery; reviews and word-of-mouth often happen in local Groups.
• Youth behavior: Teens favor Snapchat for daily messaging and TikTok for discovery; Instagram is important for social identity and school/community updates.

Method and sources

• Counts are modeled by applying Pew Research Center 2023–2024 U.S. usage rates to Tom Green County’s 2020 Census population (adult base ≈ 91,000). Teen uptake based on Pew’s 2023 teen survey. WhatsApp adjusted upward to reflect higher adoption among Hispanic adults.