Orange County

Key demographics – Orange County, Vermont

Population

• 29,277 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~45–46 years
• Under 18: ~18–19%
• 65 and over: ~20–21%

Gender

• Female: ~49–50%
• Male: ~50–51%

Race and ethnicity (2020 Census; alone unless noted; Hispanic can be of any race)

• White: ~95%
• Black or African American: ~0.8%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.5–0.7%
• Asian: ~0.6–0.8%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: ~0.0%
• Two or more races: ~2–3%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~1.5–2%

Households (ACS 5-year, circa 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~12,500–13,000
• Average household size: ~2.3 persons
• Family households: ~60–62% of households
• Nonfamily/individuals living alone: ~35–40% of households

Insights

• Population is small and aging relative to the U.S. average, with about one-fifth age 65+
• Demographics are predominantly White, with modest racial/ethnic diversity
• Household sizes are small, and a substantial share are nonfamily households

Orange County, VT (pop. ≈29,300) — Email usage snapshot

• Estimated adult email users: ≈21,800 (about 93% of ≈24,000 adults).
• Age distribution of adult email users:
  • 18–29: ≈3,230 (15%)
  • 30–44: ≈4,560 (21%)
  • 45–64: ≈7,730 (35%)
  • 65+: ≈6,320 (29%)
• Gender split among users: ≈51% female (≈11,140), 49% male (≈10,700). Usage rates are effectively parity by gender.

Digital access and trends

• Household broadband subscription: ≈84% of households; ≈6% rely on cellphone-only internet; ≈10% lack home internet.
• Connectivity is strongest in valley/transport corridors (I‑89/US‑302; towns like Randolph and Bradford) and weaker in hill/low‑density towns where distances to the last mile are longer.
• Fiber expansion is ongoing via ECFiber and Fidium/Consolidated, materially improving speeds and reliability in many Orange County towns; cable remains the primary alternative in larger villages.
• Mobile LTE coverage is broad along major roads but has gaps in upland areas; 5G is present in select corridors.
• Local density: ≈42 residents per square mile (well below the state average), a key factor behind higher per‑premise build costs and slower universal high‑speed coverage.

Mobile phone usage in Orange County, Vermont (2025 snapshot)

User estimates

• Population baseline: 29,277 (2020 Census).
• Adults (18+): ~23,275 (using Vermont’s adult share ~79.5%).
• Adult cellphone users: ~22,600 (97% of adults; Pew Research Center, 2023).
• Adult smartphone users: ~19,750 (84% of rural adults; Pew, 2023).
• Teen smartphone users (13–17): ~1,780 (95% adoption nationally; Pew, 2023).
• Total unique mobile users (all ages): ~24,000 (about 82% of the population).
• Total smartphone users (all ages): ~21,500 (about 73% of the population).

Demographic breakdown and how it differs from Vermont overall

• Age structure
  • Orange County skews older than the state average, which reduces smartphone penetration and increases basic/feature-phone use.
  • 65+ segment: roughly one-fifth of the county. Applying national 65+ smartphone adoption (~76%) yields ~3,500–3,800 older adult smartphone users; this is a smaller share than in younger counties such as Chittenden.
  • Working-age (35–64) and younger adult (18–34) cohorts mirror national rural patterns: high cellphone ownership (97%) and high smartphone adoption (90%+ for under 65), but slightly below Vermont’s more urbanized counties.
• Income and plan mix
  • Median household income in Orange County is below the statewide median (ACS), which correlates with higher prepaid plan usage and cost-sensitive device choices. This tilts the county modestly toward Android and MVNOs and away from premium postpaid plans compared with metro counties.
• Household connectivity behavior
  • With rapid fiber buildouts (ECFiber and Fidium/Consolidated), households increasingly offload to Wi‑Fi. This reduces mobile data reliance at home more than in parts of Vermont where fiber penetration remains lower, but it also highlights cellular dead zones for on‑the‑road use.

Digital infrastructure and coverage patterns

• Coverage baselines
  • 4G LTE is reliable in town centers and along the I‑89 corridor (Randolph/Bethel area), U.S. 302 (Barre–Bradford), and U.S. 5/CT River towns (Bradford, Fairlee). Interior valleys and ridge roads (e.g., Chelsea, Tunbridge back roads) still experience dead zones and fringe service.
  • 5G availability is primarily low‑band (wide‑area) with limited mid‑band capacity sites. Capacity‑class 5G is concentrated near larger population nodes (Randolph, Bradford) and along major corridors. This is meaningfully behind state leaders like the Burlington area.
• Carrier dynamics
  • Network choice in Orange County remains coverage‑led. Verizon and AT&T maintain broader back‑road reach; T‑Mobile’s 600 MHz build-out has improved highway/town coverage but remains spottier off‑corridor than in Vermont’s metro counties.
  • FirstNet (AT&T Band 14) is present on key sites for public safety; coverage is strongest along highways/towns with gaps in interior terrain—driving continued use of radios and signal boosters by first responders and EMS.
• Infrastructure trends
  • New macro towers remain limited due to terrain, permitting, and economics; most improvements since 2020 have come from sector upgrades, carrier adds, and 5G overlays on existing structures.
  • Dense fiber backhaul (ECFiber and Fidium) enables future mobile capacity upgrades, but radio coverage constraints from terrain still dominate user experience in rural sections.
  • Vermont supports text‑to‑911 statewide; Orange County’s E‑911 encourages Wi‑Fi calling where cellular is weak, a practice more common here than in urban parts of the state.

How Orange County’s usage trends differ from Vermont statewide

• Lower smartphone penetration, driven by an older age mix and income distribution, compared with counties anchored by Burlington, Montpelier/Barre, or Rutland.
• Higher reliance on Wi‑Fi calling and messaging to compensate for persistent cellular dead zones; stronger household Wi‑Fi offload thanks to extensive rural fiber in the county.
• Slower access to mid‑band 5G capacity than the state’s urban corridors, leading to more frequent falls back to LTE for throughput and coverage.
• Device/plan choices skew more toward coverage-first carriers and prepaid/MVNO options than in metro Vermont, reflecting both terrain realities and price sensitivity.

Method notes for estimates

• Population: U.S. Census 2020 county total.
• Adoption rates applied to Orange County’s population structure use Pew Research Center 2023 figures: ~97% of U.S. adults own a cellphone; ~84% of rural adults own a smartphone; ~95% of teens (13–17) have a smartphone. Counts are rounded to reflect estimation.

Social media usage in Orange County, VT (2025 snapshot)

Baseline and overall reach

• Population base: ~29,600 residents (U.S. Census Bureau 2023 est.). Adults (18+): ~24,000.
• Estimated social media users (any platform): ~21,000 residents (applying ~72% U.S. social media penetration to the total population; DataReportal 2024).

Most-used platforms among adults (U.S. 2024 usage rates applied to Orange County’s adult base; users overlap across platforms)

• YouTube: ~83% of adults ≈ 19,900 local adults
• Facebook: ~68% ≈ 16,300
• Instagram: ~50% ≈ 12,000
• Pinterest: ~35% ≈ 8,400
• TikTok: ~33% ≈ 7,900
• Snapchat: ~30% ≈ 7,200
• LinkedIn: ~30% ≈ 7,200
• Reddit: ~22% ≈ 5,300
• X (Twitter): ~22% ≈ 5,300
• WhatsApp: ~21% ≈ 5,000
• Nextdoor: ~19% ≈ 4,600 Note: Percentages are from Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. adult platform usage. Counts are modeled estimates for Orange County’s adult population.

Age groups (how usage clusters; U.S. 2024 patterns applied locally)

• YouTube: very high across ages (≈93% of 18–29; ≈92% of 30–49; ≈83% of 50–64; ≈60% of 65+).
• Facebook: strongest among 30–49 and 50–64 (≈73% and ≈69%); still high for 65+ (≈58%) and 18–29 (≈67%).
• Instagram: youth/younger adults (≈78% of 18–29; ≈59% of 30–49; steep drop after 50).
• TikTok: concentrated under 35 (≈62% of 18–29; ≈39% of 30–49; low after 50).
• Snapchat: predominantly under 30; limited penetration 50+. Local implication: Because Orange County skews older than the U.S. average, expect above-average reliance on Facebook and YouTube and smaller, but growing, footprints for Instagram and TikTok.

Gender breakdown

• Population split: roughly even male/female (Census; Vermont counties typically ~50–51% female).
• Platform tendencies (Pew, national): women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube and Reddit; Instagram and TikTok are broadly balanced with a slight tilt toward women. Locally, expect Facebook and Pinterest audiences to skew female, YouTube and Reddit to skew male, with Instagram/TikTok closer to even.

Behavioral trends observed in similar rural New England counties and evident across Orange County communities

• Community-first usage: Facebook Groups and Pages for town government updates, school news, road closures, weather/outage alerts, and event coordination; high engagement on lost-and-found, mutual aid, and civic issues.
• Local commerce: Facebook Marketplace and community buy/sell groups are primary channels for secondhand goods, tools, vehicles, and seasonal gear; small businesses rely on Facebook and Instagram for promotions and hours.
• Hyperlocal forums: Front Porch Forum (widely adopted across Vermont) is a key venue for neighbor-to-neighbor updates, services, and civic notices; it complements, rather than replaces, mainstream social platforms.
• Video habits: YouTube is the go-to for DIY, homestead, repair, outdoor recreation, and product research; long-form “how-to” content performs best, with Shorts used for quick tips.
• Visual storytelling: Instagram Reels and Stories showcase local food, farms, foliage, trails, and makers; cross-posting to Facebook broadens reach to older residents.
• Short-form growth pockets: TikTok use is expanding among teens and 20–30s, especially for behind-the-scenes farm life, outdoor content, and local events, but overall penetration remains below Facebook/YouTube.
• Messaging behavior: Facebook Messenger is the default for community and business DMs; Snapchat is prevalent among teens/young adults for daily communication; WhatsApp usage is moderate and driven by family/work groups.
• Timing and triggers: Engagement spikes around storms, school schedules, and evenings/weekends; public-safety and utility posts see rapid sharing and comments.

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau (2023 estimates) for population baselines.
• Pew Research Center, “Americans’ Use of Social Media in 2024” for platform-by-platform adult usage (and age/gender tendencies).
• DataReportal: Digital 2024 USA for overall social media penetration (share of total population).
• Local behavioral insights reflect rural New England usage patterns and Vermont’s widespread use of Front Porch Forum.