Wetzel County

Wetzel County, West Virginia — key demographics

Population size

• 14,442 (2020 Decennial Census)
• Down from 16,583 in 2010 (−12.9%)

Age

• Median age: ~45
• Under 18: ~20%
• 18–64: ~58%
• 65 and over: ~22%

Gender

• Female: ~50%
• Male: ~50%

Race/ethnicity (ACS; race-alone unless noted)

• White: ~96%
• Black or African American: ~0.3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: ~0.3%
• Asian: ~0.2%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~1%

Households

• Households: ~6,200
• Average household size: ~2.3
• Family households: ~64% (married-couple ~48%)
• Households with children under 18: ~24%
• Living alone: ~29% (age 65+ living alone ~14%)
• Owner-occupied: ~82% | Renter-occupied: ~18%

Insights

• Older-than-national age profile, small households, very high owner-occupancy, and an overwhelmingly White population.
• Continued population decline over the past decade.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey 5-year estimates (most recent available, e.g., 2018–2022), tables S0101, DP05, S1101, DP02, DP04.

Wetzel County, WV (2025 snapshot)

• Population: ~13,900; density ~40 people/sq mi; predominantly rural outside New Martinsville/Paden City.
• Adult population (18+): ~11,200.
• Email users (18+): ~10,300 (≈91–92% of adults).

Age distribution of adult email users (counts ≈; usage rates aligned with U.S. rural norms):

• 18–29: ~1,540 users (≈98% of ~1,570 adults)
• 30–49: ~2,900 users (≈96% of ~3,020 adults)
• 50–64: ~2,890 users (≈92% of ~3,140 adults)
• 65+: ~2,950 users (≈85% of ~3,470 adults)

Gender split and email use:

• Female ~51%, male ~49% of adults; email use is essentially even (≈91% each): ~5,200 female users, ~5,100 male users.

Digital access and trends:

• Households with internet subscription: ~80–82%; with broadband (cable/DSL/fixed wireless/fiber): ~77–80%.
• Smartphone access is near-universal among connected adults; “smartphone-only” home internet is common among lower-income and older residents in outlying areas.
• Fiber and cable are concentrated in the Ohio River corridor (e.g., New Martinsville); interior hollows rely more on DSL and fixed wireless, contributing to lower speeds and higher latency.
• Ongoing state/federal investments are expanding fiber laterals on rural routes, gradually improving reliability and email accessibility for seniors and low-income households.

Mobile phone usage in Wetzel County, West Virginia (best-available 2023–2024 estimates from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2018–2022, FCC mobile coverage filings, and national usage benchmarks)

Size and penetration

• Population and households: ~14,000 residents; ~6,100 households.
• Households with a smartphone: ≈80% (~4,900 households). Statewide WV is higher at ≈88%.
• Adults who use a smartphone: ≈78–82% (≈8,500–9,000 adults). WV overall is ≈84–86%, U.S. ≈90%.
• Wireless-only telephone (no landline) households: ≈60–65%. WV overall is higher (≈68–72%).
• Households with a cellular data plan (any mobile broadband): ≈68% (WV ≈64%).
• Cellular-only home internet (households relying on mobile data but no wired broadband): ≈18% of households (WV ≈13%). This substitution is measurably higher in Wetzel due to terrain and patchy fixed broadband.

Demographic breakdown (how usage skews locally)

• Age structure: Older than the state average. Residents 65+ are ≈24% of Wetzel vs ≈20–21% statewide. This raises landline retention and lowers smartphone adoption.
  • Estimated smartphone adoption by age in Wetzel (applying rural age-cohort patterns to local mix):
    • 18–34: ≈95% (near parity with state).
    • 35–64: ≈85–88% (slightly below WV average).
    • 65+: ≈60–65% (notably below WV average), or roughly 2,100–2,200 older adult smartphone users out of ~3,400 seniors.
• Income effects: Lower-income households are more likely to be smartphone-only for home internet. In Wetzel, households under ~$35k show ≈70–75% smartphone adoption but ≈20–25% smartphone/Cell-only home internet, both more pronounced than the state average. Higher-income households (>$75k) are ≈90%+ smartphone adoption with single-digit cellular-only internet rates.
• Rural residence: Interior hollows and ridge-line areas see lower adoption and heavier prepaid usage than river-corridor towns, reflecting both coverage and affordability differences.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Networks present: AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon serve the county. 4G LTE covers nearly all population centers; land-area coverage is constrained by topography.
• 5G availability: Predominantly along the Ohio River corridor (New Martinsville, Paden City and adjacent stretches of WV‑2). 5G population coverage is roughly a bare majority (≈50–60%); land-area coverage is materially lower. This trails statewide urban corridors and is below the WV average share of residents with practical 5G access.
• Coverage pattern:
  • Stronger: New Martinsville–Paden City corridor; primary highways (WV‑2, segments of WV‑7).
  • Weaker/spotty: Interior and northern ridge areas (e.g., around Pine Grove, Hundred, Jacksonburg), valleys off primary roads. In‑building signal is inconsistent away from the river towns.
• Typical speeds (observed ranges consistent with rural WV):
  • 4G LTE: ≈10–40 Mbps down in interior areas; higher in towns with good signal.
  • 5G (where available): ≈50–200 Mbps down in river corridor; mid-band capacity is limited outside those nodes.
• Reliability: Weather and terrain increase outage risk and backhaul constraints on some sites; emergency roaming and fallback to 3G/low‑band LTE are rare but still observed in dead‑zone transitions.

How Wetzel County differs from West Virginia overall

• Lower smartphone penetration and higher landline retention than the state average, driven by an older population and rural settlement patterns.
• Greater reliance on cellular as primary home internet (higher cellular-only share), reflecting more limited, uneven fixed broadband availability than WV’s more urbanized counties.
• More pronounced coverage gaps and less consistent in‑building service away from the river corridor; 5G access lags the state’s larger metros.
• Usage is more corridor‑centric: performance and adoption align closely with the Ohio River corridor and major roads, with a sharper urban–rural divide than the statewide pattern.

Practical implications

• Messaging and voice remain essential: SMS and voice reach are strong in towns, but app‑only strategies will underperform in interior areas without offline tolerance.
• Design for variability: Services should accommodate lower throughput and intermittent connectivity; offer low‑bandwidth modes and asynchronous features.
• For providers and planners: Investments that add mid‑band 5G and densify sites away from WV‑2 would directly reduce Wetzel’s gap versus state averages; fixed broadband builds in interior hollows would reduce cellular-only dependence.

Notes on sources and estimation

• Household smartphone and cellular‑plan figures are derived from ACS S2801-style measures (2018–2022 five‑year) scaled to current household counts; statewide comparators use the same series. Cellular‑only home‑internet share uses ACS subscription cross‑tabs. Coverage and 5G availability reflect FCC provider filings and common third‑party measurement patterns for rural WV as of 2024. Where county‑specific measurements are not published, estimates apply established rural WV cohort patterns to Wetzel’s demographic mix.

Social media usage in Wetzel County, WV (2025 snapshot, modeled from the latest Pew Research Center platform adoption by age/rural status and U.S. Census ACS age/sex structure for Wetzel County)

Most-used platforms among residents age 13+ (monthly use; share of residents)

• YouTube: 78% (≈7,800 per 10,000 residents 13+)
• Facebook: 71% (≈7,100 per 10,000)
• Facebook Messenger: 67% (≈6,700 per 10,000)
• Instagram: 32% (≈3,200 per 10,000)
• Pinterest: 27% (≈2,700 per 10,000)
• TikTok: 25% (≈2,500 per 10,000)
• Snapchat: 17% (≈1,700 per 10,000)
• X (Twitter): 16% (≈1,600 per 10,000)
• LinkedIn: 14% (≈1,400 per 10,000)
• Reddit: 10% (≈1,000 per 10,000)

Age-group profile (share within each age group using the platform monthly)

• Teens 13–17: YouTube 95%, TikTok 67%, Snapchat 61%, Instagram 59%, Facebook 32%
• Ages 18–29: YouTube 92%, Instagram 71%, Snapchat 55%, TikTok 54%, Facebook 63%
• Ages 30–49: YouTube 85%, Facebook 78%, Instagram 42%, TikTok 32%, Pinterest 33%
• Ages 50–64: YouTube 74%, Facebook 76%, Instagram 26%, TikTok 17%, Pinterest 31%
• Ages 65+: YouTube 61%, Facebook 70%, Instagram 14%, TikTok 9%, Pinterest 21%

Gender breakdown (share of each platform’s local users by gender)

• Facebook: ~54% women, 46% men
• Instagram: ~56% women, 44% men
• TikTok: ~58% women, 42% men
• Snapchat: ~52% women, 48% men
• Pinterest: ~85% women, 15% men
• YouTube: ~45% women, 55% men
• X (Twitter): ~38% women, 62% men
• Reddit: ~32% women, 68% men
• LinkedIn: ~44% women, 56% men

Behavioral trends observed in rural WV counties of similar size, reflected locally

• Community-first Facebook: High engagement in local groups for school sports, church and civic events, obituaries, weather/road closures, hunting/fishing, and buy/sell/Marketplace. Local group posts vastly outperform brand pages unless there’s a clear community tie-in.
• Mobile-dominant consumption: >90% of usage is on smartphones; short vertical video (under 60 seconds) drives views on Facebook Reels, Instagram Reels, and TikTok. Live streams of high school sports and church services attract strong real-time engagement.
• Evening peaks: Highest activity 6–10 pm; secondary spikes at lunch (12–1 pm) and early morning on school/work days for quick news and weather checks.
• Youth split: Teens and 18–29s are video-forward (YouTube/TikTok/Snapchat/Instagram) with low Facebook posting but moderate Facebook group lurking for local info.
• Commerce and classifieds: Facebook Marketplace and local swap/trade groups are primary for P2P sales; Nextdoor presence is minimal, so neighborhood chatter stays on Facebook.
• News and alerts: Local news outlets, emergency management, and school systems see above-average click-through on weather, closures, and public safety posts, especially during storm seasons.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is the default cross-generation channel; Snapchat dominates among teens and 18–24 for direct communication.

Notes on method and data quality

• Figures are 2025 modeled estimates for Wetzel County derived by applying Pew Research Center’s 2023–2024 U.S. platform adoption rates (with rural adjustments) to the county’s age/sex composition from the latest ACS, producing platform-by-age penetration locally. Values are rounded to the nearest percentage point and intended for planning and targeting at county scale.