Ritchie County

Ritchie County, West Virginia – key demographics

Population size

• 2020 Census: 9,915 (down from 10,449 in 2010; −5.1% over the decade)

Age

• Median age: ~45 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 5 years: ~4–5%
• Under 18 years: ~20–21%
• 65 years and over: ~23%

Gender

• Female: ~49–50%

Racial/ethnic composition (ACS/QuickFacts)

• White alone: ~97–98%
• Black or African American alone: ~0.3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone: ~0.3%
• Asian alone: ~0.2%
• Two or more races: ~1–2%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~1%

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~4,000–4,100
• Persons per household: ~2.3
• Family households: ~67% of households
• Married-couple families: ~53% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~33%; one-person households: ~29%
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~84%

Insights

• Small, aging population with low racial/ethnic diversity
• Household sizes are modest and dominated by family and married-couple households
• Declining population since 2010, consistent with broader rural West Virginia trends

Ritchie County, WV email usage (2025 estimate)

• Users: ~6,900–7,000 adult email users. Basis: total population ~9,700; adults ~7,600; email adoption ≈92% of adults (Pew Research, national rate adjusted for rural access).
• Age distribution of users (approx.): 18–29: ~1.0k; 30–49: ~2.2k; 50–64: ~1.9k; 65+: ~1.8k. Adoption is highest among 18–49 (≈96–98%) and lower among 65+ (≈80–85%), yielding strong but aging-skewed usage.
• Gender split: ~50% women, ~50% men among users; gender differences in email adoption are negligible at the margin.
• Digital access and trends: ~75% of households maintain a home broadband subscription; ~85% have a computer; ~12–15% are smartphone-only; ~18–22% lack home internet. Fiber availability is expanding from a low base, driving gradual increases in speeds and reliability, but adoption lags availability in lower-income and remote areas.
• Local density/connectivity context: Population density ~21 persons/sq. mi. across ~450 sq. mi. Dispersed settlements and hilly terrain raise last‑mile costs and contribute to un/underserved pockets despite improving fixed-wireline coverage; mobile broadband offers broad outdoor coverage with spotty indoor performance in hollows.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau/ACS 2018–2022 (computer and internet adoption, population), Pew Research (email adoption by age/gender), FCC/National Broadband Map (availability trends).

Ritchie County, WV — mobile phone usage snapshot (2023–2024)

Topline user estimates

• Population base: ~9,800 residents; ~4,000 households.
• Active mobile phone users: ~8,600 people (about 87% of residents).
• Smartphone users: ~7,500–7,700 people (about 76–79% of residents).
• Household smartphone access: ~3,100 households (about 77–80%).
• Smartphone-only internet households (smartphone but no fixed home broadband): ~900–1,000 households (about 22–25%).
• Households with no internet subscription at home: ~600–750 (about 15–18%).

How Ritchie County differs from the West Virginia average

• Lower smartphone penetration: roughly 5–8 percentage points below the statewide rate (county ~76–79% of residents vs WV ~82–86%).
• Higher smartphone-only dependence: about 4–7 points higher than the state (county ~22–25% vs WV ~15–20%), reflecting gaps in fixed broadband.
• More prepaid usage: estimated 45–50% of mobile lines vs ~35–40% statewide, driven by lower incomes and credit constraints.
• Older user base slows smartphone adoption: a larger 65+ share than the state average yields more basic-phone retention and slower 5G uptake.
• Patchier 5G footprint: about half of residents have reliable at-home 5G access vs a substantially larger share statewide; LTE remains the default in much of the county.

Demographic breakdown (estimated users)

• Age
  • Under 18 (~2,100 residents): ~1,450–1,550 have a mobile phone; most teen users carry smartphones.
  • 18–34 (~1,800): ~1,700 with phones; ~1,650 smartphones (very high adoption).
  • 35–54 (~2,400): ~2,200–2,300 with phones; ~2,050–2,150 smartphones.
  • 55–64 (~1,400): ~1,250–1,300 with phones; ~1,050–1,100 smartphones.
  • 65+ (~2,300): ~1,900–2,000 with phones; ~1,350–1,450 smartphones.
• Income
  • < $35k: highest smartphone-only reliance (roughly one in three households); prepaid rates well above county average.
  • $35k–$75k: mixed adoption; cost-sensitive data plans and hotspot use are common.

  • $75k: highest 5G handset penetration; more multi-line family and postpaid plans.

• Geography
  • Town centers and the US-50 corridor (Pennsboro, Ellenboro, Harrisville) show near-parity with statewide smartphone adoption.
  • Valleys and sparsely populated hollows lag, with more voice/text-only users and frequent LTE-only coverage.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Coverage pattern
  • 4G LTE: broadly available along US-50, WV-16, WV-47, and in towns; interior ridges/valleys experience signal shadowing and indoor coverage gaps.
  • 5G: low-band 5G from major carriers is present along US-50 and in/near towns; large swaths of the county remain LTE-only. Estimated population with reliable at-home 5G is ~50–60% vs a much higher share statewide.
• Carriers and spectrum
  • All three national carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) operate; service quality varies by hollow and ridge line. Mid-band 5G capacity is limited and highly localized; mmWave is not a factor.
• Backhaul and broadband interplay
  • Fixed broadband availability is inconsistent away from towns; this sustains above-average smartphone-only households and hotspot use.
  • Where fiber backhaul reaches towers (primarily near US-50), 5G/LTE capacity and speeds are materially better than in interior areas that rely on longer microwave or copper-fed backhaul.
• Speeds and reliability
  • Typical LTE speeds in town centers: ~15–40 Mbps down; outside towns can drop to single-digit Mbps with elevated latency.
  • 5G low-band in covered areas: ~40–150 Mbps down, with better uplink than LTE but variable indoor performance due to terrain.
• Emergency and redundancy
  • Macro sites are clustered near population centers and primary roads; fewer interior sites lead to single-carrier dead zones. Residents commonly maintain Wi‑Fi calling or multi-carrier family plans as workarounds.

Key implications

• Mobile is the de facto on-ramp to the internet for a larger share of households than the WV average, so plan affordability and data allowances matter more locally.
• Device upgrade cycles run longer than statewide, dampening rapid 5G feature adoption despite network buildouts along the main corridor.
• Targeted additions of mid-band 5G and fiber backhaul beyond the US-50 corridor would close the largest performance and coverage gaps and reduce the county’s smartphone-only dependency.

Ritchie County, WV — social media usage snapshot (modeled, county-specific estimates based on Pew Research Center 2024 platform adoption and rural/older WV demographics from U.S. Census/ACS)

Overall user stats

• Adult social media penetration: ~68% of adults use at least one social platform.
• Multi-platform behavior: average active platforms per user ~2–3; Facebook and YouTube are the default pair.

Most-used platforms (share of all adults)

• YouTube: ~76%
• Facebook: ~72%
• Instagram: ~32%
• TikTok: ~24%
• Snapchat: ~22%
• Pinterest: ~27%
• X (Twitter): ~14%
• Reddit: ~10%
• LinkedIn: ~15%
• WhatsApp: ~12% Note: Totals exceed 100% because many adults use multiple platforms.

Age-group usage patterns (share using each platform within age group)

• 18–29: YouTube ~93%, Instagram ~75%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~60%, X ~33%
• 30–49: YouTube ~90%, Facebook ~77%, Instagram ~50%, TikTok ~35%, Snapchat ~35%, X ~20%
• 50–64: YouTube ~80%, Facebook ~75%, Instagram ~30%, TikTok ~20%, X ~12%
• 65+: YouTube ~60%, Facebook ~55%, Instagram ~15%, TikTok ~8%, X ~7% Estimated social media penetration by age: 18–29 ~90%, 30–49 ~80%, 50–64 ~68%, 65+ ~45%

Gender breakdown (adult users)

• Share of users: women ~52%, men ~48% (reflecting a slightly higher female share in the local adult population)
• Platform tilt:
  • Women: Facebook (75%), Instagram (35%), Pinterest (40%), TikTok (25%)
  • Men: YouTube (80%), Facebook (65%), Reddit (15%), X (16%)

Behavioral trends

• Strong Facebook gravity: local news, school athletics, obituaries, church updates, community groups, and Marketplace dominate daily engagement.
• Information utility over entertainment: YouTube used heavily for how-to content (home repair, auto, hunting/fishing, farming), local meetings, and church services.
• Messaging over public posting among younger users: Snapchat and Instagram DMs favored for day-to-day communication; TikTok mainly for entertainment and trend-following.
• Low X and LinkedIn footprint: X used by a small cohort for statewide/national news; LinkedIn usage concentrated among educators, healthcare, and public-sector professionals.
• Rural bandwidth shapes content: more text/photo posts and short videos; spikes during weather events, school closings, elections, and community incidents.
• Time-of-day peaks: early morning (6–8 a.m.) and evening (7–10 p.m.), with weekend bumps tied to local sports and events.

Sources and method

• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use (2024) for platform adoption by age/gender.
• U.S. Census Bureau, ACS (most recent 5-year) for local age/gender structure.
• Figures are modeled for Ritchie County by adjusting Pew’s national rates to rural WV’s older age mix; they represent best-available local estimates absent a county-specific survey.