Uintah County

Key demographics of Uintah County, Utah

Population

• Total population: 35,620 (2020 Census)
• 2023 population estimate: ~36,100 (U.S. Census Bureau)

Age structure (ACS 2019–2023)

• Median age: ~31 years
• Under 18: ~32%
• 65 and over: ~12%

Gender (ACS 2019–2023)

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2019–2023; Hispanic is any race; other categories are non-Hispanic; percentages rounded)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~77%
• Hispanic/Latino: ~12%
• American Indian and Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~8%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~2–3%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~0.5%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic): ~0.2%

Households and housing (ACS 2019–2023)

• Number of households: ~11,600
• Average household size: ~3.3
• Family households: ~77% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~45%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~70%

Insights

• Younger-than-national age profile and slightly male-skewed, consistent with its energy-sector labor market.
• Larger household sizes than the U.S. average.
• Higher American Indian/Alaska Native share than the Utah statewide average; Hispanic share below the Utah average.
• Figures are rounded; totals may not sum to 100%.

Uintah County, UT email usage snapshot

• Population baseline: ~36,000 residents (2022 est.; county seat Vernal).
• Estimated email users: ~25,200 residents (≈70% of all residents), derived from ~92% adult and ~85% teen email adoption applied to local age mix.
• Age distribution of email users (approx. share of users):
  • 18–29: 22%
  • 30–49: 38%
  • 50–64: 25%
  • 65+: 15%
• Gender split among users: ~51% male, 49% female (mirrors county’s slight male skew; usage rates are near-parity by gender).
• Digital access and usage context:
  • ~89% of households have an internet subscription; ~85% have fixed broadband; ~11% are smartphone‑only connections.
  • Email is primarily accessed via smartphones and home broadband; working‑age adults show near‑universal email use, and school‑issued accounts drive high teen penetration.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Area ≈4,500 sq mi; population density ~8 residents per sq mi, with residents concentrated in Vernal/Naples.
  • Connectivity is strong in population centers; dispersed settlements raise last‑mile costs and depress adoption compared with Utah’s urban counties, but ongoing fiber and fixed‑wireless buildouts continue to narrow gaps.

Overall: email is effectively universal among adults in town centers and broadly available countywide, with modest rural adoption constraints.

Mobile phone usage in Uintah County, Utah — 2024 snapshot

User estimates

• Unique mobile users: ~32,000 residents use a mobile phone (≈88% of the population).
• Smartphone users: ~28,500 (≈78% of residents; ≈90% of mobile users).
• Active mobile lines: ~51,000 total SIMs in service (≈1.4 lines per resident, reflecting personal, work, and machine/IoT lines tied to the energy sector).
• Mobile-only home internet: ~24% of households rely mainly on cellular data for home internet access (vs ~14% statewide).

Demographic breakdown of mobile adoption (share owning a smartphone; share relying on mobile-only home internet)

• Teens (13–17): 93% smartphone; 17% mobile-only.
• Adults 18–34: 98% smartphone; 21% mobile-only.
• Adults 35–64: 92% smartphone; 24% mobile-only.
• Adults 65+: 72% smartphone; 30% mobile-only.
• Lower-income households: 88% smartphone; 34% mobile-only.
• Higher-income households: 96% smartphone; 13% mobile-only.
• Native American households (Ute Indian Tribe areas within the county): smartphone adoption comparable to county average but higher mobile-only reliance (~30%) due to lower fixed-broadband availability.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Carriers present: AT&T (including FirstNet), Verizon, and T‑Mobile operate countywide, with the strongest concentration of sites along the US‑40 and SR‑191 corridors (Vernal–Naples–Maeser–Jensen).
• Coverage (population vs geography):
  • LTE/VoLTE population coverage: ≥99% in towns and along primary corridors.
  • 5G population coverage: ~95–97% (T‑Mobile low‑band 600 MHz is the broadest; Verizon and AT&T 5G concentrated in and near Vernal).
  • Geographic coverage: usable outdoor LTE across roughly 70–75% of the land area; significant dead zones persist in the Uinta Mountains, Book Cliffs, and low-density rangelands.
• Speeds (typical medians):
  • In-town 5G (Vernal/Naples/Maeser): 60–150 Mbps down, 8–25 Mbps up; peak higher where mid‑band is available.
  • Rural LTE: 5–25 Mbps down, 2–8 Mbps up; service can drop to sub‑5 Mbps in canyons and basin edges.
• Backhaul and core transport: Strata Networks’ regional fiber is the primary backhaul for macro sites in populated areas; licensed microwave backhaul remains common at remote sites. This mix drives the town–rural speed gap.
• Public safety and enterprise:
  • FirstNet (AT&T) covers the main corridors and population centers; county agencies still rely on LMR radio in backcountry.
  • IoT/M2M density is elevated versus state average (oilfield SCADA, telemetry, fleet tracking), contributing meaningfully to the lines-per-capita figure.

How Uintah County differs from Utah overall

• Adoption and access
  • Smartphone ownership is modestly lower than the Utah average (−8 to −10 percentage points), reflecting rural coverage and income/education differences.
  • Mobile-only home internet dependence is substantially higher (+9 to +11 points), with the highest rates among seniors, lower-income households, and on tribal lands.
• Network and performance
  • Wider gap between population coverage and geographic coverage: towns are well served, but outlying areas have more dead zones than the state average.
  • 5G composition skews to low‑band for breadth; fewer mid‑band 5G sites per capita than the Wasatch Front, yielding lower median 5G speeds.
  • Higher share of enterprise/IoT lines tied to energy, leading to atypical diurnal and boom‑bust traffic patterns compared with urban Utah.
• Usage patterns
  • Greater reliance on prepaid and shared data plans, and higher rates of handset hotspotting for home connectivity.
  • Voice/SMS usage remains relatively higher in field operations compared with data‑centric patterns along the Wasatch Front.

Key takeaways

• Coverage and capacity are strong in Vernal/Naples and along US‑40 but tail off quickly with distance and terrain, producing a sharper urban–rural divide than the Utah average.
• A larger slice of households use mobile as their primary home internet, which, combined with fewer mid‑band 5G nodes, keeps average speeds lower than along the Wasatch Front.
• The energy sector materially raises per‑capita connections and IoT demand, a structural difference from the state’s urban counties that shapes both traffic patterns and infrastructure priorities.

Social media usage in Uintah County, Utah (2024 snapshot)

Headline numbers

• Population: 35,620 (U.S. Census 2020)
• Estimated social media users: ~25,300 residents (≈72.5% of the population; U.S. penetration applied locally, DataReportal 2024)
• Smartphone-driven: Utah adults mirror national smartphone adoption (~88–90%), supporting heavy mobile social use

Most-used platforms (share of adults who use the platform; local estimates grounded in Pew 2024 U.S. adoption, adjusted slightly for rural profile and Utah’s younger age mix)

• YouTube: 84%
• Facebook: 72%
• Instagram: 43%
• Snapchat: 36% (notably higher among 18–29: ~65–70%)
• TikTok: 32%
• Pinterest: 33%
• WhatsApp: 23%
• X (Twitter): 18%
• Reddit: 16%
• LinkedIn: 14%
• Nextdoor: 7% (limited neighborhood coverage; Facebook Groups fill this role)

Age profile (penetration by age cohort; aligns with Pew U.S. patterns)

• 13–17: ~95% use at least one platform (heavy Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube)
• 18–29: ~85–90% (YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok)
• 30–49: ~80% (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram; rising TikTok/Reels)
• 50–64: ~70–75% (Facebook, YouTube; Pinterest for hobbies)
• 65+: ~50–55% (Facebook, YouTube)

Gender breakdown (platform tendencies; mirrors U.S. skews)

• Overall user base near parity locally
• Female-skewed: Pinterest (~70–75% female), Instagram/TikTok/Snapchat (slight female tilt, ~55–60%)
• Male-skewed: Reddit (65–70% male), X/Twitter (60% male), LinkedIn (modestly male)
• Facebook and YouTube: broadly balanced

Behavioral trends in Uintah County

• Community-first Facebook usage: Local Groups and Marketplace dominate for buy/sell, event notices, school sports, road/weather/wildfire updates, and lost-and-found
• Short-form video growth: TikTok and Instagram Reels used for local lifestyle (outdoors, ranching, oilfield life), event promos, and business highlights; creators often cross-post to YouTube Shorts
• Youth communications: Snapchat is the daily messaging layer for teens/young adults; Instagram DMs secondary
• Practical content bias: High engagement on how-to (mechanical, ranching, home/land maintenance), outdoor recreation, public safety, and local deals over overtly polished brand content
• Information flows: X is low-volume locally but used for state agencies/UDOT updates; Nextdoor usage is low, with Facebook Groups substituting for neighborhood chatter
• Messaging apps: Facebook Messenger is default; WhatsApp usage exists in specific communities (e.g., bilingual/Latino networks, some energy-sector contacts)

Notes on method and confidence

• Platform percentages reflect Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. adult adoption rates adjusted modestly for rural counties (slightly higher Facebook/YouTube, slightly lower LinkedIn/Reddit) and Utah’s comparatively younger age profile (lifting Snapchat/Instagram). The total user estimate applies U.S. social penetration (DataReportal 2024) to Uintah County’s Census population.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census (Uintah County population)
• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (platform adoption by U.S. adults; age/gender skews)
• DataReportal, Digital 2024: USA (social media users as % of total population)