Windham County

Windham County, Vermont — key demographics (most recent Census/ACS)

Population size

• 45,905 residents (2020 Decennial Census)
• ~45.7k (2018–2022 ACS 5-year estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~47.5 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~18–19%
• 18–64: ~58–60%
• 65 and over: ~22–23%

Gender

• Female: ~50–51%
• Male: ~49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS 2018–2022)

• White alone: ~92–93%
• Black or African American alone: ~1–1.5%
• Asian alone: ~1–1.5%
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0.3–0.5%
• Two or more races: ~3–4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~3% Note: Hispanic/Latino overlaps with race categories.

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~20,500–21,000
• Average household size: ~2.1–2.2
• Family households: ~55%
• With children under 18: ~22–25% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~45%
• Living alone: ~35–37% of households; ~15–17% with someone 65+ living alone
• Tenure: ~70–73% owner-occupied; ~27–30% renter-occupied

Insights

• Older age profile than the U.S. overall, with about one in five residents 65+
• Small household sizes and a high share of single-person households
• Predominantly White, with modest racial/ethnic diversity

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Windham County, VT has about 45,900 residents (~57 people/sq mi). Roughly 37,000 are adults; applying current U.S./Vermont adoption rates, an estimated 34,000 adults (≈92%) use email. Gender split among email users mirrors the population: ~51% women, ~49% men.

Age distribution of email users (approx.): 18–29: 17%; 30–49: 30%; 50–64: 28%; 65+: 25%. Usage intensity remains highest among younger adults (near-universal) and strong among seniors (mid‑80s to ~90% adoption).

Digital access and trends:

• Broadband subscriptions are prevalent in roughly 80–85% of households, with steady gains since the mid‑2010s; smartphone‑only internet users account for about 10–12%.
• Connectivity is strongest in population centers (e.g., Brattleboro and the I‑91 corridor) with cable and growing fiber coverage; rural hill towns historically relied on DSL/satellite.
• DVFiber (the regional Communications Union District) is actively deploying countywide fiber‑to‑the‑home, expanding gigabit availability and reducing the rural access gap.
• Public Wi‑Fi and device access via libraries, schools, and municipal hotspots supplement home connections, supporting near‑universal email reach.

Net insight: Email is essentially a universal utility among Windham County adults, with fiber buildout poised to lift speeds and reliability in the remaining underserved pockets.

Mobile phone usage in Windham County, Vermont — 2025 snapshot

Scope and sources

• Figures draw on the 2020 Census and 2018–2022 American Community Survey (ACS) patterns, combined with 2023–2024 national adoption rates by age (Pew Research) and FCC mobile coverage maps. County-level user counts are estimated transparently from these baselines.

User estimates

• Population base: ≈45–46k residents; ≈37–38k adults (18+).
• Mobile phone users (any mobile handset): ≈34–36k adults (roughly 90–95% of adults).
• Smartphone users: ≈31–33k adults (about 82–88% of adults). Method: applied current age-specific smartphone adoption rates to Windham County’s older-leaning age mix.
• Households with a cellular data plan (smartphone/tablet): ≈14–16k of ≈20–21k households, consistent with ACS “cellular data plan” subscription levels observed in rural Vermont counties.
• Smartphone-dependent (no fixed home broadband): about 10–13% of households countywide, higher in lower-income and rental households; materially above the urbanized portions of Vermont but close to or slightly above the statewide average.

Demographic breakdown (adults, share with a smartphone; rounded)

• Ages 18–34: ~92–96% (≈8–9k users). Strong parity with statewide.
• Ages 35–64: ~86–92% (≈16–18k users). Slightly below statewide, reflecting more midlife residents in skilled trades and outdoor occupations where basic/feature phones persist.
• Ages 65+: ~62–70% (≈6.5–7.5k users). Noticeably below statewide; age structure in Windham skews older than Vermont overall, pulling down the county average.
• Income effects: smartphone ownership is near-universal above $75k household income; under $35k, ownership remains high but smartphone-only internet reliance rises to roughly one in five households.
• Housing/tenure: renters show higher smartphone-only reliance than owners; second-home owners are less likely to depend on mobile for primary connectivity.

Digital infrastructure and service quality

• Coverage corridors: I‑91 and US‑5 valley towns (Brattleboro, Putney, Westminster, Rockingham/Bellows Falls) have the most reliable 4G and low‑band 5G from major carriers. In-building performance is generally solid along these corridors.
• Mountain and river valleys: the West River and Deerfield Valley towns (e.g., Newfane, Townshend, Jamaica, Dover/Stratton, Wilmington, Marlboro, Halifax) exhibit patchy service with known dead zones, especially along VT‑30, VT‑9, and VT‑100. FCC maps continue to show census blocks with no carrier advertising “reliable” LTE for all providers in these interior areas.
• 5G availability: low-band 5G is present along I‑91 and in Brattleboro; mid-band 5G is concentrated near town centers and the interstate. Much of the interior remains LTE-only, with fallback to 3G/voice-over-LTE in some hollows.
• Seasonal load: ski/resort peaks (Stratton, Mount Snow/Dover, Wilmington) and summer tourism create weekend and holiday congestion; carriers occasionally add temporary capacity (COWs) during major events.
• Public safety: FirstNet Band 14 sites serve the I‑91 spine and key population centers; coverage into interior hill towns is improving but remains variable, affecting volunteer fire/EMS paging and pushing reliance on land mobile radio outside highways.
• Backhaul/fiber: DVFiber’s ongoing fiber build across Windham County (2023–2025) improves tower backhaul and offers fixed alternatives, reducing smartphone-only dependence where new fiber passes are available.

How Windham County differs from Vermont overall

• Slightly lower smartphone adoption: the county’s older age mix depresses overall smartphone penetration by an estimated 3–5 percentage points versus the Vermont average.
• Higher smartphone-only reliance at the low end of the income distribution: modestly above the statewide share, driven by lower median household income and a higher renter mix in Brattleboro-area tracts.
• More LTE-only territory and dead zones: interior valley and ridge communities have a larger share of blocks without modeled reliable 4G/5G from all three national carriers than the statewide average, while the I‑91 corridor is on par with state performance.
• Greater seasonal volatility in network load: resort-driven peaks produce sharper, short-duration congestion than most Vermont counties, aside from other ski regions.
• Carrier strategy: investments prioritize the I‑91 corridor and town centers; interior coverage gains occur more slowly than the statewide average where terrain and sparse backhaul raise site costs.

Implications and takeaways

• Addressable smartphone market: ~31–33k adult smartphone users today, with room to grow chiefly via 65+ adoption and improved interior coverage.
• Reliability gap: the coverage divide is geographic, not just demographic; targeted infill along VT‑9, VT‑30, and VT‑100 yields outsized improvements.
• Fixed-mobile interplay: fiber expansion by DVFiber and incumbents will lower smartphone-only dependence in served towns while improving cell site capacity; unserved hollows will continue to lean on mobile and satellite.
• Outreach levers: senior-focused device support and Wi‑Fi calling education, plus multi-carrier redundancy for field workers, align with county realities.

Notes on confidence

• Population, age structure, and household counts are based on Census/ACS baselines; mobile usage figures are derived estimates using current U.S. adoption rates by age and rural county subscription patterns in Vermont. Coverage characterizations follow FCC maps and carrier-disclosed footprints as of 2023–2024 and reflect on-the-ground terrain constraints specific to Windham County.

Windham County, VT — social media usage snapshot (2025)

Population and online access

• Residents: ~46,000 (ACS 2023). Median age ~46 (older than U.S. median).
• Broadband at home: ~85–88% of households (ACS VT county range).
• Smartphones: ~87–90% of adults (U.S./VT benchmarks).

Active user base

• Estimated social media users: ~33,000–36,000 (72–78% of total population; roughly 82–88% of adults), aligning local broadband/smartphone access with U.S. adoption.

Gender breakdown (users)

• Women: ~51–53%
• Men: ~47–49% Notes: Women over-index on Facebook and Pinterest; men over-index on Reddit and X.

Age mix (share of local social media users)

• 13–17: ~6–7%
• 18–29: ~16–18%
• 30–49: ~31–33% (largest slice)
• 50–64: ~26–28%
• 65+: ~18–20% Notes: Older-skewing county lifts Facebook/YouTube; slightly dampens TikTok/Snapchat vs. U.S. averages.

Most-used platforms (share of local social media users active monthly)

• YouTube: 78–82%
• Facebook: 68–72%
• Instagram: 42–48%
• Pinterest: 30–36% (strong among women, DIY, crafts)
• TikTok: 26–32% (growing among <35, lower than national due to age skew)
• Snapchat: 20–24% (concentrated in teens/college-age)
• LinkedIn: 22–28% (professional networking; nonprofits/education)
• Reddit: 16–20%
• X (Twitter): 12–16%
• Community platforms: Front Porch Forum (FPF) widely used; many Windham towns see 40–60% of households enrolled and active for hyperlocal updates. Facebook Groups function as parallel neighborhood forums.

Behavioral trends

• Community-first channels: Facebook Groups and Front Porch Forum dominate for town alerts, school updates, road/weather conditions, mutual aid, yard sales, and civic issues.
• Local news/social crossover: Brattleboro- and Deerfield Valley–focused pages drive high engagement; VTDigger articles circulate widely via Facebook.
• Small-business marketing: Instagram (feeds, Stories, Reels) and Facebook are primary for arts, food, makers, wellness, and tourism. Seasonal spikes around foliage, winter sports (Mount Snow/West Dover), and summer events.
• Video consumption: YouTube is ubiquitous for DIY, homesteading, music, and municipal meeting streams; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) rising for events and place-branding.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default; WhatsApp present in some service/tourism worker networks; SMS still common for coordination.
• Content preferences: Practical, hyperlocal, values-driven content (sustainability, local food, outdoor life) outperforms generic ads. Authenticity and community benefit (volunteering, fundraisers) boost shares.
• Timing: Engagement peaks early morning (6–8 a.m.) and evenings (7–10 p.m.); weekend spikes tied to events and weather.

Method notes

• Totals and age/gender base from U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2023) and Vermont broadband adoption; platform shares benchmarked to Pew Research Center (2024–2025) and U.S. usage norms, adjusted for Windham County’s older age profile and documented reliance on community forums (Front Porch Forum). Percentages are county-level estimates consistent with these sources.