Lincoln County

Key demographics for Lincoln County, Washington (U.S. Census Bureau; 2020 Census and 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates):

Population

• Total population (2023 est.): ~11,200 (2020 Census: 10,876)

Age

• Median age: ~50 years
• Under 18: ~21%
• 18 to 64: ~54%
• 65 and over: ~25%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race and ethnicity

• White, non-Hispanic: ~87%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~6%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~2%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~0.5%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~0.4%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~0.1%

Households and housing

• Households: ~4,700
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~66% of households
• Married-couple families: ~55% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• Living alone: ~27% of households (including ~12% age 65+ living alone)
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~77%; renter-occupied: ~23%

Notes: Figures are rounded for clarity and reflect the most recent ACS 5-year estimates available alongside the 2020 decennial counts.

• Population and density: 10,876 residents (2020 Census) across ~2,339 sq mi; ~4.6 people per sq mi (very sparse/rural).
• Estimated email users: ~8,300 adults. Based on county age structure and near‑universal email use among working‑age adults and high use among seniors.
• Age distribution of email users (approx. counts):
  • 18–29: 12% (~1,000)
  • 30–49: 27% (~2,250)
  • 50–64: 31% (~2,575)
  • 65+: 30% (~2,475)
• Gender split: 51% male (4,230), 49% female (4,070), mirroring the county’s overall balance.
• Digital access and trends:
  • ~80–82% of households have a home broadband subscription; ~8–10% are smartphone‑only; ~8–10% report no home internet.
  • FCC mapping indicates >90% of residents can access ≥25/3 Mbps fixed service, with growing fiber availability since 2021; adoption lags availability due to rural distances and cost.
  • Email reliance is strong for healthcare, agriculture, and local government services; seniors’ usage continues to rise as telehealth and benefits portals expand.
• Connectivity insights: Extremely low population density makes last‑mile build‑outs costly; pockets with slower speeds persist outside towns like Davenport, Odessa, and Reardan, but overall access and speeds have been improving year over year.

Mobile phone usage in Lincoln County, Washington (2023–2024 snapshot)

User estimates

• Population and households: ≈11,200 residents; ≈4,800 households.
• Adults (18+): ≈8,960.
• Mobile phone users (any handset): ≈8,500 adults (about 95% of adults).
• Smartphone users: ≈7,600 adults (about 85% of adults).
• Households with a cellular data plan (smartphone/tablet hotspot): ≈72% of households (≈3,450 households). Washington statewide is ≈84%.
• Households with no internet subscription: ≈16% in Lincoln County vs ≈7% statewide.
• Wireless-only voice households (no landline): ≈58% in Lincoln County vs ≈70% statewide.

Demographic breakdown (ownership/use patterns)

• By age (adult residents):
  • 18–44: smartphone ownership ≈95%; near-universal mobile phone use.
  • 45–64: smartphone ownership ≈90%; mobile phone use ≈97%.
  • 65+: smartphone ownership ≈70%; mobile phone use ≈90%.
• Implications: The county’s older age profile (share of residents 65+ well above the state average) pulls down smartphone penetration and the share of wireless-only households relative to Washington overall. Younger adults locally mirror statewide adoption, while seniors lag the state by roughly 5–10 percentage points in smartphone ownership.
• Income and plan mix: With median household income below the state median, Lincoln County shows a higher reliance on lower-cost plans and shared data usage within households, and slower device upgrade cycles than metro Washington.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Network availability: All three national operators (AT&T/FirstNet, T-Mobile, Verizon) provide 4G LTE countywide with significant gaps outside towns; 5G is present in and around town centers and along primary corridors (notably US‑2 and I‑90/State Route connectors) but is not continuous in outlying areas. Statewide, 5G coverage is substantially more continuous across populated areas.
• Rural performance pattern: Outside towns and highways, users frequently experience LTE fallback and capacity constraints typical of wide-cell rural layouts. In-town 5G delivers modern performance, but countywide median speeds are markedly below the Washington state median due to lower tower density and larger cell radii.
• Home-internet substitution: Because wired broadband options are comparatively limited in several tracts, a noticeable minority of households use cellular data as their primary or backup home internet connection, even as overall “cellular data plan” adoption remains below the state average.
• Public-safety and reliability: FirstNet coverage follows major corridors and population centers. Power outages and wildfire seasons can temporarily reduce service resiliency in sparsely served areas more than is typical in metro counties.

How Lincoln County differs from Washington state

• Lower smartphone penetration (≈85% of adults vs near 90% statewide) driven by an older population structure.
• Lower share of households with a cellular data plan (≈72% vs ≈84% statewide) and higher share with no internet subscription (≈16% vs ≈7%).
• Smaller proportion of wireless-only voice households (≈58% vs ≈70%), reflecting greater retention of landlines among seniors and in areas with spotty mobile coverage.
• 5G availability is corridor- and town-centric rather than broadly continuous; statewide coverage is far denser.
• Greater practical reliance on cellular service as a stopgap for limited wired broadband in specific rural tracts, but with more variable performance than typical in metro Washington.

Key takeaways

• About 8.5k adults in Lincoln County use a mobile phone, and roughly 7.6k use smartphones.
• Adoption among younger adults matches the state; seniors lag, pulling down overall smartphone and wireless-only rates.
• Mobile infrastructure is present from all major carriers, with solid service in towns and along highways but notable rural gaps; 5G is available where most people live and travel but is not ubiquitous across the county.
• Relative to Washington overall, Lincoln County shows lower mobile adoption metrics, more conservative plan/device choices, and greater sensitivity to infrastructure gaps, all consistent with rural demographics and geography.

Lincoln County, Washington social media usage (2025 snapshot)

Baseline

• Population: 10,900 (2020 Census)
• Adults (18+): ~8,800
• Active social media users (18+): ~6,300 (≈72% of adults)

Most-used platforms (share of adults; multi-platform use means totals exceed 100%)

• YouTube: 70% (~6,200 adults)
• Facebook: 66% (~5,800)
• Instagram: 30% (~2,600)
• Pinterest: 24% (~2,100)
• Snapchat: 20% (~1,800)
• TikTok: 19% (~1,700)
• LinkedIn: 13% (~1,100)
• X (Twitter): 10% (~900)
• Nextdoor: 7% (~600)

Age breakdown (share of adults in each group using at least one social platform)

• 18–29: 90%
• 30–44: 84%
• 45–64: 72%
• 65+: 58%

Gender breakdown

• Overall user base: ~53% female, ~47% male
• Platform skews (female/male share of each platform’s users, approx.):
  • Facebook 58/42; Instagram 55/45; Pinterest 78/22; TikTok 60/40; Snapchat 53/47
  • YouTube 47/53; LinkedIn 45/55; X (Twitter) 38/62

Behavioral trends observed in rural, older-skewing counties like Lincoln County

• Community information flows through Facebook Groups and Pages (schools, road closures, wildfire updates, local government), with strong evening and early-morning engagement.
• Events and fundraisers are organized and discovered via Facebook Events; local businesses rely on Facebook posts, Messenger, and occasional boosted posts for reach.
• Video consumption is high via YouTube; short vertical clips cross-posted to Facebook Reels/YouTube Shorts outperform longer formats on mobile connections.
• Younger residents split time between Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok; cross-posting to Instagram Stories and Reels captures under-35 attention.
• Nextdoor exists but is niche; LinkedIn and X usage are low and skew to a small professional segment.
• Mobile-first usage dominates; inconsistent home broadband means concise posts, captions on videos, and lightweight creatives perform better.
• Peak activity windows: 6–8 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.; weekend mid-day spikes around sports, fairs, and seasonal events.

Notes on method: Figures are 2025 estimates derived from 2020 Census population structure for Lincoln County and Pew Research Center 2024 U.S. platform adoption, adjusted for rural, older demographics typical of the county.