Doddridge County

Here are concise, recent demographics for Doddridge County, WV.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 5-year estimates; 2020 Census where noted.

Population

• Total population: ~7,700 (ACS 2019–2023); 7,808 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~45 years
• Under 18: ~20%
• 18–64: ~60%
• 65 and over: ~20%

Gender

• Male: ~53%
• Female: ~47%

Race and ethnicity (alone or in combination unless noted)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~93–94%
• Black or African American: ~1%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%
• Asian: ~0.2%
• Two or more races: ~4%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~1–2%

Households

• Total households: ~3,000–3,200
• Average household size: ~2.4–2.5
• Family households: ~65% of households
• Owner-occupied housing: ~80% (renters ~20%)
• Households with children under 18: ~25–30%

Doddridge County, WV email usage (estimates)

• Population baseline: 7,700–7,900 residents; very rural (24 people per sq. mile).
• Estimated email users: 5,500–6,000 residents. Method: adult share of population x typical U.S. email adoption (roughly 85–90% of adults) plus a portion of teens.
• Age distribution of users:
  • 13–24: ~12–15%
  • 25–44: ~30–34%
  • 45–64: ~32–36%
  • 65+: ~18–22% (slightly lower adoption than younger adults)
• Gender split: Roughly even, mirroring the county’s population. Any male/female difference in email adoption is likely within 1–2 percentage points, per national patterns.
• Digital access trends:
  • Home broadband subscription likely around 70–80% of households; 10–15% are smartphone-only internet users.
  • Fixed broadband and 4G/5G are strongest near towns/US‑50 corridor; hollows and ridgelines see more reliance on DSL, satellite, or fixed wireless.
  • Public access points (library, schools) and employer networks bolster email access for students and workers.
  • Ongoing state/federal-funded fiber buildouts are expanding service, but terrain and low density slow deployment.
• Connectivity context: Rural density and topography create patchy coverage compared with urban WV; where 100/20 Mbps is available, email use is near-universal among connected adults.

Below is a concise, planning-oriented snapshot of mobile phone usage in Doddridge County, WV, with best-available estimates derived from county population, rural adoption patterns, and West Virginia’s known connectivity context. It emphasizes what’s different from statewide patterns.

User estimates (orders of magnitude; rounded)

• Population baseline: ~7,700 residents; ~6,100 adults (18+).
• Mobile phone users (any cell phone): ~6,000–6,400 people (roughly 78–84% of residents). Slightly below statewide share because of the county’s older age structure and terrain-driven coverage gaps.
• Smartphone users: ~5,200–5,700 people (about 68–74% of residents; 78–83% of adults). That’s a few points lower than WV’s urban counties but roughly in line with rural WV.
• Smartphone-only internet users (adults who rely primarily on a smartphone for going online): estimated 18–22% in Doddridge vs. a lower share statewide. Reliance is elevated by limited fixed broadband options in outlying areas.
• Households using cellular as primary home internet (phone hotspot or fixed wireless on licensed spectrum): estimated 12–18% of households, meaningfully higher than WV’s metro counties.

Demographic breakdown and how it shapes usage

• Age: Older-than-state-average median age and a sizable 65+ segment dampen overall smartphone adoption and app intensity. Younger workers in energy-related employment and families along US-50 corridors show near-parity with statewide smartphone take-up.
• Income and work patterns: Household incomes are mixed—higher incomes in energy-linked households support postpaid plans and multi-line bundles, but there is also a notable prepaid segment among fixed-income seniors. Result: a bimodal plan mix more pronounced than the state overall.
• Education and digital skills: Lower bachelor’s attainment than WV’s metro counties corresponds to heavier use of voice/text and Facebook/YouTube over a broad app ecosystem. Device upgrade cycles are longer than in urban WV.
• Race/ethnicity: A largely non-Hispanic White population with small minority communities; no major ethnicity-driven carrier clustering seen, but family/kin networks influence carrier choice to match coverage where relatives live and work.

Digital infrastructure and market characteristics

• Coverage pattern: Service is strong to good along US-50 and around West Union; coverage drops in hollows and ridge-shadowed areas. This topography-driven variability is more pronounced than the WV average.
• Carrier balance: Verizon and AT&T tend to be the default choices outside the towns due to broader rural LTE footprints and FirstNet build-outs along primary corridors. T-Mobile’s coverage has improved but remains spottier off-corridor than in WV’s urban centers.
• 5G availability: Low-band/“nationwide” 5G appears primarily along main corridors and population clusters; mid-band depth is limited. Practical user impact: modest uplifts over LTE, with fallback to LTE common away from US-50—slower 5G uptake than in metro WV.
• Tower density and terrain: Fewer macro sites per square mile than in populous counties; valleys create dead zones. Residents commonly use Wi‑Fi calling and external antennas/boosters—usage of such workarounds is higher than statewide averages.
• Backhaul and fiber: Fiber follows key rights-of-way (e.g., along US-50) and serves schools and anchors, but last-mile fiber remains sparse in many rural roads. This raises mobile reliance for everyday connectivity and homework, a bigger effect here than statewide.
• Public safety and resilience: FirstNet coverage along main routes benefits EMS and county services, but off-route reliability still hinges on a small number of sites—outage risk feels higher than in more tower-dense WV counties.

Trends that differ from state-level

• Higher mobile dependence for home internet: A noticeably larger share of households use cellular data (phone tethering or fixed wireless) as their primary connection compared with WV’s urban counties.
• Greater carrier concentration: Market share skews more heavily to Verizon/AT&T than the WV average, reflecting terrain and rural coverage histories.
• Patchier 5G gains: 5G experiences less consistent than in Charleston/Huntington/Morgantown, with many users seeing LTE-like performance away from corridors.
• Device and plan turnover: Slower upgrade cycles and a larger prepaid slice than state metro areas, but with a countervailing cluster of high-usage plans among energy-sector households.
• Usage profile: Voice/SMS reliability and coverage “reach” matter more than premium 5G speeds; Wi‑Fi calling and signal boosters are used at above-average rates relative to the state.

Implications for planning

• Closing last-mile fiber gaps would reduce smartphone-only and hotspot reliance most effectively in ridge/valley zones.
• New macro sites or small cells targeted at shadowed hollows near county roads would yield outsized reliability gains relative to uniform 5G speed upgrades.
• Programs that bundle affordable handsets, boosters, and digital skills training for seniors could narrow the county’s adoption gap without major network overhauls.
• Carrier-neutral infrastructure sharing along secondary roads could improve T-Mobile parity and overall competition, which lags the state’s urban centers.

Below is a concise, best-available snapshot for Doddridge County, WV. Because platform-level data are rarely published at the county level, the percentages are modeled from Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 U.S. and rural trends, West Virginia patterns, and Census demographics; treat them as directional estimates.

County context

• Population: ~7,900 residents; older-than-average age mix for WV; rural broadband access below national average.
• Connectivity: ~70–75% of households with broadband; mobile-first usage is common.

Estimated social media user base (13+)

• Any social platform: ~4,700–5,100 people (about 60–65% of total residents; roughly 75–85% of adults).
• Smartphone users: ~80–85% of adults.

Age-group usage (share using at least one platform)

• 13–17: 90–95%
• 18–29: 85–90%
• 30–49: 80–85%
• 50–64: 65–70%
• 65+: 40–50%

Gender breakdown (overall and by platform, directional)

• Overall social use: near parity (women ≈ men).
• Platform skews: Facebook and Pinterest skew female; YouTube, Reddit, and X skew male.
  • Facebook users: ~58–60% female
  • Pinterest: ~75–80% female
  • YouTube: slight male tilt
  • Reddit/X: majority male

Most-used platforms in Doddridge (estimated share of residents 13+, monthly)

• YouTube: 60–70%
• Facebook: 55–65%
• Facebook Messenger: 45–55%
• Instagram: 25–35%
• TikTok: 25–30%
• Snapchat: 25–30% (concentrated in teens/20s)
• Pinterest: 20–25% (heavier among women 25–54)
• LinkedIn: 8–12% (lower white-collar share locally)
• X (Twitter): 8–12%
• Reddit: 8–12%
• Nextdoor: <5% (Facebook groups fill the “neighborhood” niche)

Behavioral trends

• Community-first: Heavy engagement with local Facebook groups and pages (schools, sheriff/OEM, volunteer fire departments, churches, 4-H/FFA, youth sports, county fair). Facebook Live often used for public meetings and high school sports.
• Marketplace culture: Strong use of Facebook Marketplace and buy-sell-trade groups for vehicles, equipment, farm/hunting gear, and household items.
• News and alerts: Reliance on Facebook for severe weather, road closures, school closings; regional TV pages (e.g., WDTV/WBOY) see high shares.
• Messaging habits: Messenger is default among adults; Snapchat prevalent among teens for daily coordination; SMS/GroupMe used for teams and leagues.
• Content formats: Short, mobile-friendly video performs best; photo albums for events. Evening peaks (7–10 p.m.) and weekend spikes; usage jumps during storms and local incidents.
• Interests: Hunting/fishing, local sports, faith-based events, oil & gas and CDL job posts, farm/rural living, and regional entertainment.
• Trust cues: Content featuring known local people, recognizable places, and plain-language updates drives higher engagement; skepticism of unfamiliar pages/ads.
• Targeting implications: Best ROI via boosted Facebook posts targeted to Doddridge plus adjacent counties (Harrison, Ritchie, Tyler, Wetzel, Gilmer); keep creative lightweight for variable bandwidth.

Notes on method and sources

• Population/broadband baselines from U.S. Census/ACS for WV and rural counties; social platform adoption modeled from Pew Research Center 2023–2024 national and rural splits. Figures are estimates, not official county-reported metrics.