Webster County

Key demographics — Webster County, West Virginia

Population

• 7,900 (2023 Census Bureau estimate); 8,378 (2020 Census)
• Ongoing decline from 2010 to 2023 (roughly -13%)

Age

• Median age: about 47 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Under 18: ~19%
• 18–64: ~57%
• 65 and over: ~24%

Sex

• Male: ~51%
• Female: ~49%

Race/ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023; shares may not sum to 100% due to rounding)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~97%
• Black or African American: ~0.4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%
• Asian: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~2%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~3,240
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~66% (about 46% married-couple)
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• One-person households: ~28% (about 13% are 65+ living alone)

Insights

• Small, steadily declining population with an older age profile
• Overwhelmingly non-Hispanic White
• Smaller household sizes and a sizable share of seniors living alone

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; Population Estimates Program (2023); American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Estimates are rounded for clarity.

• Population and density: Webster County has about 8,100 residents across roughly 556 sq mi—~14.6 people per sq mi, among the sparsest in West Virginia, which raises last‑mile connectivity costs.
• Estimated email users: ~5,900 residents use email regularly (adults).
• Age distribution of email users:
  • 18–34: ~26%
  • 35–64: ~46%
  • 65+: ~28% Older adults participate widely but remain less consistent users than working‑age groups.
• Gender split: Approximately 50% female and 50% male among email users; usage is effectively at parity by gender.
• Digital access and trends:
  • ~85% of households have a computer.
  • ~71% of households have a broadband subscription.
  • ~24% of households report no internet subscription, a key limiter on universal email adoption.
  • Smartphone access is widespread; a meaningful share of residents access email primarily via mobile, reflecting rural connectivity patterns.
• Connectivity insights: Low population density and mountainous terrain slow fiber build‑outs; coverage is improving via cable upgrades, fixed‑wireless, and satellite options. Email usage is near‑universal among connected adults, but lagging broadband adoption locally keeps a sizable minority offline, concentrating email use in towns and along primary road corridors.

Webster County, WV: mobile phone usage summary (focus on differences from West Virginia overall)

Population and baseline context

• Population: approximately 7,900 residents (2023 estimate), in roughly 3,200–3,300 households.
• Age structure is older than state average, with a high share of residents 65+, and household incomes and educational attainment below state averages. These factors shape how and where mobile devices are used and the degree of reliance on mobile data.

User estimates

• Mobile phone users: 6,000–6,400 residents use a mobile phone regularly (roughly 75–80% of the total population; higher among adults).
• Smartphone users: 5,200–5,600 residents (about 65–72% of the total population; about 75–82% of adults).
• Mobile-only internet households: 28–34% of households rely on a cellular data plan as their primary or only home internet connection, materially higher than the statewide share.
• No-home-internet households: 15–20% (also above the WV average), many of whom still use smartphones for connectivity outside the home or via limited data plans.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns)

• By age:
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone adoption (≈90–95%); heaviest use of social, video, and messaging; frequent tethering due to limited fixed broadband options at rentals.
  • 35–64: high adoption (≈80–90%); strong use for work coordination, navigation, payments, and telehealth; households in this group account for the largest share of mobile-only home internet.
  • 65+: moderate adoption (≈55–65%); text/voice-first with growing telehealth and messaging; reliance on Wi‑Fi calling is common because of indoor coverage gaps.
• By income:
  • Lower-income households are more likely to be smartphone-dependent and mobile-only for home internet to manage costs, and to use prepaid or budget carriers; this pattern is more pronounced than statewide due to the county’s income mix.
• By geography within the county:
  • Residents along US‑19/WV‑20 corridors have better outdoor LTE and basic 5G access and demonstrate heavier app and video usage.
  • Residents in hollows/valleys see variable signal and lean on offline media, messaging over voice, and Wi‑Fi calling where possible.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• Network footprint:
  • 4G LTE covers most primary road corridors; coverage remains fragmentary in sparsely populated valleys and ridge-shadowed areas. Outdoor LTE reliability is materially below state averages, and indoor coverage gaps are common.
  • 5G availability exists mainly as low-band (DSS) along major routes; mid-band 5G capacity is limited. As a result, practical speeds and latency resemble good LTE more often than “true” 5G, diverging from the improving 5G experience in West Virginia’s metro counties.
• Carriers and performance:
  • AT&T and Verizon provide the most consistent footprint; T‑Mobile coverage is more limited and road-centric. Residents frequently report switching or keeping secondary lines/hotspots to cope with localized dead zones—behaviors that are more common here than statewide.
• Backhaul and resilience:
  • Fiber backhaul is sparse outside towns; several sites still rely on microwave backhaul, which constrains capacity and rain-fade resilience. This contributes to peak-time slowdowns that are more pronounced than the state average.
• Public safety and reliability:
  • FirstNet buildouts have improved coverage for responders along main corridors, but the benefit is uneven away from those corridors. E911 location accuracy and call completion can degrade indoors/off-corridor compared with statewide norms.

How Webster County differs from the West Virginia average

• Higher mobile-only dependence: A substantially larger share of households rely on cellular data as their primary or only home internet, reflecting limited fixed-broadband options and cost sensitivity.
• Lower effective 5G experience: 5G is present but functions more like LTE in capacity and latency due to limited mid-band spectrum deployment and constrained backhaul, lagging the state’s urbanized areas.
• More pronounced coverage gaps: Terrain-induced dead zones and weaker indoor signal push higher reliance on Wi‑Fi calling, offline-first app use, and multi-carrier strategies.
• Demographics drive usage: An older age profile dampens overall smartphone penetration relative to WV metros, but economic factors raise smartphone dependence for essential services (banking, benefits, telehealth), making the county simultaneously older and more phone-dependent than typical statewide patterns would suggest.

Implications

• Mobile is the default on-ramp to the internet for a large share of residents; plans with larger data buckets, hotspot allowances, and robust Wi‑Fi calling matter more here than in most of WV.
• Investments that add fiber backhaul to existing towers, infill small cells/repeaters in valleys, and extend mid-band 5G will yield outsized gains in user experience.
• Digital equity work should prioritize smartphone-centric training and telehealth readiness for older adults, alongside subsidized plans/devices for low-income households, to match how residents actually connect.

Webster County, WV — social media usage (2025 snapshot)

Method note: Figures are 2025 modeled estimates specific to Webster County, derived from the county’s age profile (latest ACS) combined with Pew Research Center’s 2024 platform adoption rates for rural U.S. users. Expect a ±3–5 percentage-point margin.

User stats

• Adults using at least one social platform: 74%
• Daily users (among social users): 68%
• Average platforms per adult user: 2.4

Most-used platforms (share of all adults)

• YouTube: 62%
• Facebook: 60%
• Instagram: 24%
• TikTok: 22%
• Pinterest: 20%
• Snapchat: 18%
• WhatsApp: 9%
• X (Twitter): 8%
• Reddit: 6%
• LinkedIn: 6%

Age breakdown (share of adult social media users)

• 18–29: 18%
• 30–49: 37%
• 50–64: 28%
• 65+: 17%

Platform use by age (share of each age group using platform)

• 18–29: YouTube 86%, Instagram 68%, Snapchat 62%, TikTok 59%, Facebook 55%
• 30–49: YouTube 78%, Facebook 72%, Instagram 38%, TikTok 31%, Snapchat 25%
• 50–64: Facebook 70%, YouTube 64%, Instagram 24%, TikTok 16%
• 65+: Facebook 60%, YouTube 55%, Instagram 12%, TikTok 8%

Gender breakdown (among adult social media users)

• Female: 55%
• Male: 45%

Gender skews by platform (share of platform’s local users)

• Facebook: 58% female, 42% male
• YouTube: 46% female, 54% male
• Instagram: 60% female, 40% male
• TikTok: 60% female, 40% male
• Snapchat: 55% female, 45% male
• Pinterest: 80% female, 20% male
• Reddit: 30% female, 70% male
• LinkedIn: 45% female, 55% male

Behavioral trends and insights

• Facebook is the community backbone: heavy reliance on Groups and Pages for school updates, road and weather alerts, obituaries, youth sports, churches, and buy/sell/trade. Marketplace is a primary local commerce channel.
• Video preference is pragmatic: short Facebook Reels and YouTube “how-to” content (home repair, auto, hunting, homesteading) outperform polished brand videos. Livestreaming is less common due to patchy connectivity.
• Messaging over posting: Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are central for coordination; many adults share/reshare rather than author original posts.
• Peak activity windows: early morning (6–8 a.m.), lunch (12–1 p.m.), and evenings (7–9 p.m.); Sundays show above-average engagement with community content.
• Younger users are multi-platform but private-first: 18–29s split attention between Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; DMs and Stories beat public posts. Cross-posting to Facebook occurs mainly to reach family.
• Information trust is local: posts from known residents, schools, EMS, road and emergency pages see high engagement; scam sensitivity is high, with strong moderation in private groups.
• Platform mix is concentrated: most adults actively use two platforms (typically Facebook + YouTube); Instagram/TikTok serve as secondary reach, especially for women under 50.

Quick takeaways

• Reach: Facebook and YouTube together cover roughly two-thirds of all adults.
• Women 30–64 are the most engaged purchasers and group participants (Facebook/Pinterest).
• Men lean to YouTube (DIY/outdoors) and niche forums; Reddit/X remain small but vocal.
• For youth and young adults, Snapchat and TikTok are must-have for awareness, but local conversions often finalize via Facebook or Messenger.