Greenbrier County

Key demographics — Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Population size

• Total population: 32,977 (2020 Decennial Census)
• Latest estimate: ~33,000 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year)

Age

• Median age: ~46–47 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Under 18: ~19%
• 65 and over: ~23%

Gender

• Female: ~50.5–51%
• Male: ~49–49.5%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023; race alone or in combination; Hispanic can be any race)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~92%
• Black or African American: ~3%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%
• Asian: ~0.4%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1–2%

Households and housing

• Households: ~14,000
• Average household size: ~2.2–2.3
• Family households: ~60% of households; married-couple families ~45%
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• One-person households: ~30%
• Owner-occupied housing rate: ~75–78%; renter-occupied: ~22–25%

Insights

• Older age profile than the U.S. overall (median age mid‑40s).
• Predominantly White, with small but present Black, multiracial, and Hispanic populations.
• Smaller household sizes and high owner-occupancy consistent with rural West Virginia patterns.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census (P.L. 94-171) and 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

• Scope: Greenbrier County, WV (population ~33,000; ~1,025 sq. mi.; density ~32–33 people/sq. mi.).
• Digital access (ACS 2018–2022): ~85–87% of households have a computer; ~75–78% have a broadband subscription. Coverage is strongest around Lewisburg/Ronceverte and along I‑64; mountainous areas retain fixed-broadband gaps. 4G/5G generally covers main corridors; mobile-only internet use is common in outlying areas.
• Estimated email users: ~20,000 adults. Method: adult population ~26,500; ≈75–80% are online locally; ≈92% of online adults use email (Pew), yielding ~20K active email users.
• Age distribution of adult email users (est.):
  • 18–29: ~3,000 (15%)
  • 30–49: ~4,800 (24%)
  • 50–64: ~5,600 (28%)
  • 65+: ~6,600 (33%)
• Gender split (est., reflecting county demographics): female ~10,200 (51%); male ~9,800 (49%).
• Trends and insights:
  • Broadband adoption has risen since 2016 but remains below the U.S. average; email usage is near-universal among those online.
  • Older adults form a large share of local email users, reflecting the county’s older age profile.
  • The 2024 lapse of the Affordable Connectivity Program threatens affordability for low‑income households, risking slower growth or slight declines in email use among cost‑sensitive users.

Mobile phone usage profile for Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Core size and penetration

• Population: ~32,600 (2023 estimate, U.S. Census Bureau). Households: ~14,400 (ACS 2018–2022).
• Mobile phone users (any mobile): ~26,600 residents. This combines adult ownership norms in rural areas with local age structure.
• Smartphone users: ~23,200 residents (about 88% of mobile users, ~71% of total population).

Demographic breakdown (modeled from ACS age mix and Pew Research ownership by age/rural status)

• Ages 18–64 (about 57% of residents): ~16,300 smartphone users; ~1,300 feature‑phone users; ~900 without a mobile.
• Ages 65+ (about 23% of residents): ~4,800 smartphone users; ~1,650 feature‑phone users; ~1,050 without a mobile. Senior smartphone adoption is markedly below the state’s urban counties.
• Ages 12–17 (about 7% of residents): ~2,060 smartphone users; teen adoption is very high and close to national levels.
• Smartphone‑only internet households (no fixed home broadband): ~3,300 households, roughly 23–25% of all households, notably higher than the statewide average. This reflects terrain‑driven gaps in fixed broadband and lower median income locally.

Usage patterns that diverge from statewide norms

• Lower smartphone penetration among seniors than in metro WV counties, pulling down the countywide smartphone share despite high teen adoption.
• Higher reliance on smartphone‑only connectivity for home internet than the WV average, especially in mountain hollows with limited cable/DSL/fiber.
• More coverage redundancy behavior: dual‑SIM or family plans spanning multiple carriers are more common than in Charleston–Huntington–Morgantown because single‑carrier coverage can be inconsistent by valley.
• Heavier dependence on Wi‑Fi calling and messaging in fringe‑coverage areas.
• Seasonal spikes in device presence and traffic tied to tourism (Lewisburg, White Sulphur Springs/Greenbrier Resort, outdoor recreation corridors), creating intermittent capacity constraints that are less pronounced in many WV counties.

Digital infrastructure and coverage notes

• Terrain and settlement pattern: Large, sparsely populated county with steep terrain; radio shadows are common. Coverage is strongest along I‑64, US‑219, US‑60, and in/around Lewisburg, Ronceverte, Rainelle, and White Sulphur Springs.
• 5G availability: Low‑band 5G from nationwide carriers covers primary corridors and towns; mid‑band 5G is concentrated in and near Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs and along I‑64. Many outlying communities remain LTE‑only, with occasional no‑service pockets in narrow hollows.
• Backhaul and fiber: Fiber backbones run along I‑64 and key state routes, with Frontier, Lumos, and Citynet active locally. Ongoing state and federal broadband awards (2023–2025) are extending middle‑mile and last‑mile fiber; this is expected to improve 5G capacity as more cell sites gain fiber backhaul.
• Public safety and resilience: AT&T FirstNet coverage is established along main corridors and population centers; county and state radio sites (SIRN) provide colocation opportunities that carriers increasingly use to infill coverage.
• Public access points: Libraries, schools, and municipal buildings in Lewisburg, Rainelle, and White Sulphur Springs anchor free Wi‑Fi that many smartphone‑only households use for high‑bandwidth tasks.

How Greenbrier differs from West Virginia overall

• Older population share is higher than the statewide average, which depresses overall smartphone penetration despite strong youth adoption.
• Smartphone‑only household rate is several points higher than the state average, driven by fixed‑broadband gaps and income mix.
• 5G mid‑band footprint is smaller than in WV’s metro counties; capacity upgrades are more localized to highway corridors and towns.
• Coverage variability by micro‑geography is more pronounced; consumer strategies (Wi‑Fi calling, multi‑carrier plans) are correspondingly more common.

Key implications

• Network planning should prioritize fiber backhaul to existing rural macro sites and small‑cell infill in Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs and along I‑64 to handle seasonal peaks.
• Senior‑focused digital inclusion (device training, telehealth support) would lift effective smartphone use more than in the average WV county.
• Emergency communications and public Wi‑Fi remain critical complements to commercial mobile service in edge‑coverage communities.

Sources and method

• Population and household structure: U.S. Census Bureau 2023 County Population Estimates; ACS 2018–2022.
• Ownership rates by age and rural/urban: Pew Research Center mobile device ownership (latest through 2023), applied to local age mix to derive county‑level estimates.
• Infrastructure/coverage characterization: FCC broadband/mobile coverage filings (2023–2024), carrier public coverage maps, WV Office of Broadband grant announcements, and known geography/road‑corridor patterns.

Social media snapshot for Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Population and user base

• Residents: ≈32.6k (Census estimate, 2022)
• Adults (18+): ≈26–27k
• Adult social media users: ≈19k–21k (about 72–80% of adults), modeled from Pew Research adoption rates for rural U.S. adults

Most‑used platforms among local adults (modeled percentage of adults using each)

• YouTube: 75–80%
• Facebook: 65–70%
• Instagram: 30–40%
• Pinterest: 25–30%
• TikTok: 20–28%
• Snapchat: 18–25%
• X (Twitter): 14–20%
• Reddit: 10–15%
• LinkedIn: 12–18%
• WhatsApp: 15–20%

Age profile of social media users (share of local adult social media users)

• 18–29: ~21%
• 30–49: ~37%
• 50–64: ~25%
• 65+: ~17% Notes: Older age structure locally keeps Facebook high; younger platforms (TikTok/Snapchat) under-index versus urban counties.

Gender breakdown

• Overall county population is roughly even by gender; social media usage rates are similar by gender, so the local user base is ≈51% female, 49% male.
• Platform skews (reflecting national patterns, likely similar locally):
  • More female: Pinterest (≈70%+ female), Facebook (≈55–60% female), Instagram (≈52–55% female)
  • More male: Reddit (≈65–70% male), X/Twitter (≈55–60% male)
  • Near-even: YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat

Behavioral trends to expect in Greenbrier County

• Facebook is the community backbone: Groups for yard sales, lost-and-found, school updates, local government, road conditions; Marketplace is a top local commerce channel.
• Events and tourism discovery happen on Facebook and Instagram (e.g., fairs, festivals, outdoor recreation), with short-form video (Reels/TikTok) growing fastest.
• Messaging is centered on Facebook Messenger; teens/young adults layer in Snapchat.
• X/Twitter is niche (news, sports, weather); Reddit use is small but active around hobbies/outdoors.
• Peak engagement windows: early morning (7–9 a.m.) and evening (6–9 p.m.) ET; weekend posting performs well for community and retail.
• Content preferences: practical local info, deals, school and sports highlights, hunting/fishing/outdoors, church and civic activities; authenticity and local faces outperform polished creative.
• Access patterns reflect rural broadband: heavier mobile use, asynchronous scrolling, reliance on Wi‑Fi zones; video with captions performs better.

Method and sources

• County population and age structure from U.S. Census/ACS; platform adoption and demographic skews from Pew Research Center’s latest Social Media Use findings. Because platform usage is not published at the county level, figures are modeled to Greenbrier’s age mix and rural profile; ranges reflect reasonable local variance.