Racine County

Racine County, Wisconsin — key demographics

Population size

• 197,727 (2020 Census)
• ~197,500 (2023 Census Bureau estimate; essentially stable since 2020)

Age

• Median age: ~40 years
• Under 18: ~24%
• 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~50.5%
• Male: ~49.5%

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~70–71%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic): ~11%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~15%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~1–2%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and some other race (non-Hispanic): ~1–2% combined
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~3–4%

Households and housing

• Households: ~78,000
• Average household size: ~2.5–2.6
• Family households: ~64% of all households
• Married-couple families: ~47% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~29%
• One-person households: ~28%
• Homeownership rate: ~69% (renters ~31%)

Insights

• Population has been flat to slightly changing since 2020.
• The county is more racially/ethnically diverse than Wisconsin overall, with a notable Hispanic/Latino community.
• Household structure skews toward families, with homeownership around two-thirds.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2019–2023 American Community Survey; 2023 Population Estimates). Numbers are rounded for clarity.

Racine County, WI email usage (2024):

• Estimated users: ≈140,000 adults. Basis: ~197,000 residents; ~77% adults; ~92% of adults use email.
• Age distribution of email users (est.): 18–29: 26k (19%); 30–49: 51k (37%); 50–64: 38k (27%); 65+: 26k (18%). Adoption assumptions by age: 95%, 97%, 92%, 85% respectively.
• Gender split: mirrors population (~51% female, 49% male); email adoption is near-parity, yielding ≈71k female and ≈69k male users.

Digital access and trends:

• Household device access: ~94% have a computer.
• Home internet: ~88% have a broadband subscription; ~10–12% lack home internet; ~7–8% are smartphone‑only connections. Adoption has edged up in recent years, with widening use of mobile broadband.
• Connectivity: County density ≈600 people per square mile, supporting strong cable/fiber and 5G coverage in Racine/Mount Pleasant; remaining gaps are concentrated in western/rural tracts.
• Practical implication: Email reach is effectively universal among working‑age adults; seniors are slightly less engaged but still majority users. Mobile‑only households and no‑subscription areas are the primary blind spots for email-dependent services.

Mobile phone usage in Racine County, WI: a 2023–2024 snapshot

Headline estimates

• Population: about 197,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 vintage). Roughly 151,000 residents are adults (18+).
• Mobile phone users (all cell phones): approximately 147,000 adults (97% of adults, applying Pew Research’s national cellphone ownership rate).
• Smartphone users (13+): approximately 145,000 users countywide (about 136,000–139,000 adult smartphone users at ~90% adult adoption, plus ~12,000–13,000 teens 13–17 at ~95% adoption).
• Mobile-only internet households (cellular data but no fixed home broadband): about 13,000–15,000 households, or 16–19% of the county’s roughly 77,000–79,000 households. That is several points higher than Wisconsin overall (roughly 12–14%), indicating heavier mobile reliance in Racine County than the statewide average.

Demographic breakdown (ownership and reliance)

• Age
  • 18–34: near-saturation smartphone adoption (~95%+), representing roughly 39,000 users.
  • 35–64: high adoption (about ~85–92%), representing roughly 70,000 smartphone users.
  • 65+: materially lower adoption (about ~70%), equating to ~22,000 smartphone users and ~9,000–10,000 seniors without smartphones. Seniors also have below-average home broadband subscription rates, contributing to a higher share relying on basic mobile phones or shared connections.
• Income and device dependency
  • Mobile-only internet is concentrated among lower-income households in the City of Racine and parts of Mount Pleasant and Burlington. Among households below 200% of the federal poverty level, mobile-only rates run roughly 1.5× the county average (on the order of 24–28%), consistent with ACS subscription patterns and Pew findings on income and smartphone dependence.
• Race/ethnicity context
  • County composition (ACS 2022): roughly 70–73% White (non‑Hispanic), 10–11% Black, 14–15% Hispanic/Latino, 2% Asian, remainder multiracial/other.
  • While overall smartphone ownership rates by race/ethnicity are broadly similar in recent national data, Black and Hispanic households in the county are more likely than White households to rely on mobile-only internet, reflecting income and housing disparities concentrated in the City of Racine.

Digital infrastructure and market conditions

• 5G and 4G coverage
  • AT&T, T‑Mobile, Verizon, and UScellular provide full 4G LTE coverage across populated areas. 5G coverage is extensive in Racine, Mount Pleasant, Caledonia, Sturtevant, and along the I‑94 corridor; western and semi‑rural areas (near Waterford, Dover, parts of Burlington) are increasingly 5G‑served but still show more LTE fallback than the lakefront/I‑94 corridor.
  • Mid‑band 5G (T‑Mobile 2.5 GHz and AT&T/Verizon C‑band) is present along the Milwaukee–Chicago corridor and in Racine’s urbanized zones, supporting higher median speeds and capacity than is typical of many Wisconsin counties.
• Fixed wireless and substitution
  • T‑Mobile 5G Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home/4G LTE Home are widely offered in the urban/suburban east; this availability meaningfully increases household reliance on cellular networks for primary home internet compared with Wisconsin overall.
• Fiber/backbone and growth nodes
  • The I‑94 logistics/industrial corridor and the Wisconn Valley developments in Mount Pleasant sit atop multiple regional fiber routes. AT&T’s FirstNet build and C‑band deployments (2022–2023) and Verizon’s C‑band rollouts have added capacity and new/updated sites in the county. Charter Spectrum remains the dominant cable broadband provider, with AT&T fiber infill in denser tracts—conditions that, paradoxically, coexist with above‑average mobile-only adoption because mobile plans are perceived as lower up‑front cost in some neighborhoods.

How Racine County differs from the Wisconsin statewide profile

• Higher 5G availability and capacity: Proximity to the Milwaukee–Chicago corridor yields earlier and denser mid‑band 5G coverage than the state average, especially compared with northern and central rural counties.
• More mobile-only households: Estimated 16–19% mobile-only in Racine County versus roughly 12–14% statewide, driven by urban pockets with lower fixed‑broadband take‑up and the ready availability of 5G fixed wireless offers.
• Stronger carrier competition footprint: All national carriers plus UScellular operate robustly here; fixed wireless home internet is more broadly marketed than in many Wisconsin counties, increasing cellular network load and usage.
• Sharper intra‑county divide: Urban tracts in the City of Racine show high smartphone dependence but lower fixed‑broadband adoption; western semi‑rural tracts have improving but comparatively patchier 5G, leading to more LTE use than in the lakefront/I‑94 band. This two‑speed pattern is more pronounced than in some peer counties.

Sources and methods

• Population, households, and demographics: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Population Estimates; ACS 2022 1‑year (Table S0101 for age, DP05 for race/ethnicity).
• Mobile/Smartphone ownership rates: Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet (latest 2023 updates). County user counts are derived by applying Pew ownership rates to Census age cohorts in Racine County; teen adoption (13–17) approximated using Pew teen device access.
• Mobile-only internet shares: Derived from ACS 2022 Computer and Internet Use (Table S2801: “Cellular data plan” with no other subscription) plus known carrier fixed‑wireless availability. Statewide comparison uses the same ACS series.
• Coverage: FCC National Broadband Map mobile availability (2024) and carrier 5G deployment announcements along the I‑94 corridor.

These figures provide defensible, planning-grade estimates. For siting or procurement, pair them with the latest ACS 1‑year county tables, FCC mobile availability by census block, and carrier address-level availability checks.

Racine County, WI social media snapshot (modeled to the county’s adult population using the latest available U.S. Census/ACS population and Pew Research Center platform adoption rates)

Population baseline

• Total population: ~197,700
• Adults (18+): ~151,700
• Gender: ~50.5% female, ~49.5% male

Most‑used platforms among adults in Racine County (estimated users and penetration)

• YouTube: ~126,000 users (≈83% of adults)
• Facebook: ~103,000 (≈68%)
• Instagram: ~71,000 (≈47%)
• Pinterest: ~53,000 (≈35%)
• TikTok: ~50,000 (≈33%)
• LinkedIn: ~45,500 (≈30%)
• Snapchat: ~41,000 (≈27%)
• X (Twitter): ~33,000 (≈22%)
• Reddit: ~33,000 (≈22%)
• WhatsApp: ~31,900 (≈21%)

Age‑group patterns (mirroring national usage profiles, applied locally)

• 18–29: Very high YouTube adoption (90%+). Instagram (75–80%) and Snapchat (65–70%) are core daily apps; TikTok (60%+) is a major time‑spender. Facebook trails in this cohort.
• 30–49: YouTube (90%+) and Facebook (70%+) lead; Instagram (50%±) is strong; TikTok (35–40%) growing for entertainment/how‑tos; LinkedIn relevant for career mobility.
• 50–64: Facebook (70%+) and YouTube (80%±) dominate; Instagram (25–30%) and Pinterest (30%±) see practical/interest‑based use; TikTok adoption still modest (~15–20%).
• 65+: Facebook (50%±) remains the anchor; YouTube (60%±) for tutorials/news; lighter usage of other apps.

Gender breakdown and tendencies

• County gender mix: ~50.5% female, ~49.5% male.
• Platform tilt: Women over‑index on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest; men over‑index on YouTube, Reddit, X, and LinkedIn. Messaging via WhatsApp shows relatively higher use among multilingual/immigrant households.

Behavioral trends observed locally (consistent with Midwestern county patterns)

• Facebook is the community hub: city/county pages, school districts, faith groups, youth sports, festivals, and Marketplace drive frequent check‑ins and shares.
• Short‑form video is surging: Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are primary discovery surfaces for restaurants, local makers, events, and DIY content.
• Messaging is fragmented by cohort: Snapchat for teens/young adults; Facebook Messenger for families; WhatsApp for Latino and international communities.
• Commerce and careers: Facebook Marketplace is a high‑traffic channel for peer‑to‑peer sales; LinkedIn is used for regional commuting workforce and local employers; Instagram/TikTok power small‑business promos with geo‑targeted ads.
• News and civic engagement: Local updates circulate via Facebook Groups and YouTube streams; X usage is concentrated among media, civic watchers, and advocates rather than the general public.

Notes on methodology and sources

• Adult population and gender shares reflect recent U.S. Census/ACS figures for Racine County.
• Platform percentages use Pew Research Center’s latest U.S. adult adoption rates (2024) applied to the county’s adult base to derive local estimates. Actual local penetration can vary slightly by neighborhood, income, and household broadband access.