Lafayette County

Key demographics — Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates)

• Population size

  • Total population: 16,611 (2020 Census)
  • ACS 2018–2022 5-year estimate: about 16.6k

• Age

  • Median age: ~42 years (ACS 2018–2022)
  • Under 18: ~22%
  • 18 to 64: ~58%
  • 65 and over: ~20%

• Sex

  • Male: ~50–51%
  • Female: ~49–50%

• Race and Hispanic/Latino origin (ACS 2018–2022; percentages rounded)

  • White alone: ~93–95%
  • Black or African American alone: ~0–1%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone: ~0–1%
  • Asian alone: ~0–1%
  • Two or more races: ~2–4%
  • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): ~5–7%
  • White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~88–90%
  • Note: Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity and overlaps with race categories.

• Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

  • Households: ~6,600–6,800
  • Average household size: ~2.4–2.5
  • Average family size: ~3.0
  • Family households: ~60–65% of households; married-couple families ~50% of households
  • With own children under 18: ~25–30% of households
  • Tenure: Owner-occupied ~75–80%; renter-occupied ~20–25%

Insights

• Small, predominantly White rural county with a modest but meaningful Hispanic/Latino presence.
• Age structure skews older than the U.S. overall, with about one in five residents 65+.
• High homeownership and a majority of households are family/married-couple households, consistent with rural housing patterns.

Lafayette County, WI has about 16,600 residents (≈26 people per square mile). Adults are roughly 79% of the population (~13,100). Estimated email users: 12,000–13,000 residents (about 88–92% of adults; ~72–78% of all residents).

Age distribution of email use (share using email):

• 18–29: ~98%
• 30–49: ~95%
• 50–64: ~90%
• 65+: ~75%

Gender split among email users is effectively even (≈50% female, 50% male), reflecting the county’s near-balanced population.

Digital access and connectivity:

• ~81% of households have an internet subscription; ~72–76% have wired broadband.
• ~10–12% are cellular-only at home; ~8–10% have no home internet.
• Access and speeds are strongest in and around Darlington, Shullsburg, Belmont, and Argyle; more remote townships rely on fixed wireless or satellite due to long last‑mile distances.
• Library and school Wi‑Fi remain important access points for residents without robust home service.

Trends: Ongoing fiber builds and expanding 5G are raising coverage and reliability across rural corridors, though affordability pressures following the wind‑down of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024 may slow adoption among lower‑income households.

Mobile phone usage in Lafayette County, Wisconsin — 2024 snapshot

Headline estimates

• Population base: ≈16,800 residents (2023 Census estimate), ≈13,000 adults (18+).
• Adult smartphone users: ≈11,600 (about 89% of adults).
• Adult mobile phone users (any mobile, including basic/feature phones): ≈12,600 (about 96% of adults).
• Households with at least one smartphone: ≈6,100 of ≈6,900 households (about 88%).
• Households relying on a cellular data plan as their primary/only home internet: ≈12% (≈830 households), higher than the Wisconsin average of roughly 8%.

How these figures were derived

• User counts are modeled from Lafayette County’s population and age structure (ACS 5‑year estimates) combined with current U.S. age-specific smartphone ownership rates (Pew Research, 2023–2024). Household smartphone and cellular-only subscription shares align with ACS S2801 patterns for rural Wisconsin counties of similar size.

Demographic breakdown (modeled user counts)

• By age
  • 18–29: ≈1,800 adults; smartphone ownership ≈97% → ≈1,750 users.
  • 30–49: ≈4,050 adults; smartphone ownership ≈98% → ≈3,970 users.
  • 50–64: ≈3,700 adults; smartphone ownership ≈90% → ≈3,330 users.
  • 65+: ≈3,350 adults; smartphone ownership ≈76% → ≈2,550 users.
  • Insight: Seniors make up a larger share of Lafayette County than the state average, which pulls down overall smartphone penetration versus Wisconsin overall despite near-saturation among working-age adults.
• By income/plan type
  • Prepaid and budget plans have a higher share than the state average, reflecting a larger rural/blue‑collar and fixed‑income population mix.
  • Cellular-only home internet use is notably higher than the state average, a common rural pattern where fixed broadband choices are limited or expensive.
• By geography
  • Town centers (Darlington, Shullsburg, Belmont, Argyle) show near-urban smartphone adoption.
  • Sparsely populated townships exhibit slightly lower smartphone and mobile‑internet adoption, driven by both coverage quality and demographics.

Digital infrastructure and performance

• Networks/carriers present: AT&T (including FirstNet for public safety), Verizon, T‑Mobile, and UScellular. UScellular maintains a comparatively strong rural footprint in the Driftless Area; Verizon and AT&T provide broad LTE coverage; T‑Mobile’s low‑band 5G blanket is present with spotty mid‑band depth.
• 5G footprint
  • Low‑band 5G: Present across and between towns and along major corridors (US‑151, WI‑23/81), offering broad coverage with modest speed gains over LTE.
  • Mid‑band 5G: Patchier and mostly tied to highway corridors and towns; capacity/speeds are markedly better where available but less ubiquitous than in metro Wisconsin.
• Terrain and dead zones: The Driftless Area’s hills and valleys create shadowed areas and indoor coverage variability outside towns, leading to more call handoffs and lower median upload speeds than the state’s urban/suburban counties.
• Typical observed speeds (southwest Wisconsin norms)
  • LTE: ≈5–30 Mbps down in rural stretches; better in town centers.
  • Low‑band 5G: ≈30–100 Mbps down; wide reach but not always faster than strong LTE.
  • Mid‑band 5G (where present): ≈200–400+ Mbps down; limited footprint compared with metro areas.
• Fixed–mobile convergence: Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) via 5G is available but constrained by mid‑band signal reach; adoption is growing where signal quality is adequate, complementing or substituting DSL/satellite.

Trends that differ from Wisconsin overall

• Slightly lower overall smartphone penetration driven by an older age profile, despite near‑universal adoption among working‑age adults.
• Higher reliance on cellular-only home internet than the Wisconsin average, reflecting fewer competitive fixed-broadband options in rural townships.
• Greater network variability: More pronounced coverage gaps and indoor-reception challenges caused by topography, vs. more consistent 5G experiences in metro/suburban counties.
• Carrier mix skews more toward Verizon/AT&T/UScellular for dependable rural LTE coverage; T‑Mobile’s mid‑band 5G benefits are less consistently available than in state population centers.
• Slower transition to high-capacity 5G: Low‑band 5G is widespread, but mid‑band density lags state metro areas, keeping rural median speeds lower and limiting the addressable base for high-throughput FWA.

Key takeaways

• Roughly nine in ten Lafayette County adults use a smartphone, totaling about 11,600 users.
• Seniors are the main adoption gap, while working‑age adoption is essentially saturated.
• Mobile networks are present from all major carriers, but ridge‑and‑valley terrain and lower site density create more variability than the state average.
• The county exhibits a distinctly higher reliance on cellular data for home connectivity, underlining the role of mobile networks as a substitute for limited fixed broadband in rural Wisconsin.

Lafayette County, WI social media snapshot (modeled from 2023 ACS demographics and 2024–2025 platform/Pew adoption patterns; rounded to whole percentages)

User stats

• Population: ~16,900
• Estimated social media users (13+): 10,700 monthly (75% of residents 13+)
• Daily social media users: 7,400 (50% of residents 13+)
• Device mix: ~90% primarily mobile; ~10% desktop/tablet

Age groups (share of local social media user base)

• 13–17: 8%
• 18–24: 9%
• 25–34: 17%
• 35–44: 17%
• 45–54: 17%
• 55–64: 16%
• 65+: 16%

Gender breakdown (share of local social media users)

• Female: 53%
• Male: 47%

Most-used platforms (monthly reach among residents 13+)

• YouTube: 82%
• Facebook: 67%
• Instagram: 40%
• Pinterest: 33%
• TikTok: 32%
• Snapchat: 30%
• LinkedIn: 19%
• X (Twitter): 14%
• Reddit: 13%
• Nextdoor: 3%

Behavioral trends and usage patterns

• Community-first Facebook: Local Groups and Marketplace dominate for news, buy/sell/trade, lost-and-found, road closures, school and municipal updates; high engagement around high school sports, 4-H/FFA, Lafayette County Fair, church and fundraiser events.
• Video is the driver: Short vertical video (Facebook Reels, TikTok, Instagram Reels) outperforms static posts; YouTube is the go-to for how‑to content (farm equipment repair, DIY, hunting/fishing, vehicle maintenance) and for streaming local church services and event highlights.
• Commerce behavior: Strong response to price-forward, local offers; Marketplace and Facebook Shops convert best for farm/rural goods, outdoor gear, home services, auto/ATV, and seasonal items. Instagram supports discovery for boutiques, salons, and food/drink, especially in Darlington, Shullsburg, Belmont, Argyle, Benton, Blanchardville, and neighboring towns.
• Messaging stack: Facebook Messenger is the default; Snapchat is entrenched among teens and early 20s for daily communication; WhatsApp usage is minor.
• Timing: Engagement peaks 6–8 am (pre‑work), 11:30 am–1 pm (lunch), and 7–9 pm (evening wind‑down). Weekends favor events, sports recaps, and local dining; early week sees higher interaction with community announcements.
• Demographic skews by platform: Facebook over-indexes 35+; Instagram and TikTok over-index 18–34 (female skew on Instagram/Pinterest; male skew on YouTube/Reddit); Snapchat is teen/college-heavy; LinkedIn remains niche (education, healthcare, public sector, ag-business ties to Platteville/Dubuque/Madison); X/Twitter is niche for state news, weather, and sports.
• Creative and targeting notes: Weather-triggered messaging (snow, planting/harvest, severe weather) and short geo‑targeted video outperform static creative. Local faces and recognizable venues lift CTR. Reels/shorts > photo carousels for reach and shares.

Notes

• Figures are modeled to Lafayette County’s rural age mix using 2023 ACS population and recent U.S. platform adoption rates, with rural adjustments; percentages are rounded and reflect monthly reach rather than daily active use.