Saint Croix County

Saint Croix County, Wisconsin — Key demographics

Population

• 99,300 (2023 estimate)
• 93,536 (2020 Census) — roughly +6% since 2020

Age

• Under 18: ~25%
• 65 and over: ~15%
• Median age: ~39 years

Gender

• Female: ~49.5%
• Male: ~50.5%

Race and ethnicity (alone unless noted; Hispanic is any race)

• White: ~92%
• Black or African American: ~1–1.5%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: ~0.5–0.7%
• Asian: ~1.5–2%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: ~0.1%
• Two or more races: ~4%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~3%
• White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: ~89%

Households and housing

• Households: ~36,800 (2018–2022)
• Persons per household: ~2.64
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~78%
• Median household income (in 2022 dollars): ~$97,000

Notes: Figures are from U.S. Census Bureau sources (2020 Decennial Census, 2023 Population Estimates, and 2018–2022 American Community Survey/QuickFacts). Percentages may not sum exactly due to rounding and overlapping ethnicity.

Saint Croix County, WI email usage snapshot (2025)

Population and density: 2020 Census population 93,536; land area ≈736 sq mi; density ≈127 residents/sq mi. About 36,000 households.

Estimated email users: ≈74,000 residents (age 13+) use email regularly.

Age distribution of users (share and count):

• 13–17: 6% (≈4,400)
• 18–34: 28% (≈20,700)
• 35–54: 36% (≈26,600)
• 55–64: 14% (≈10,400)
• 65+: 16% (≈11,800)

Gender split of users: ≈50% female (≈37,000) and ≈50% male (≈37,000), tracking the county’s near‑even sex ratio.

Digital access and trends:

• Internet subscription: ≈92% of households (≈33,000) have home internet; ≈96% have a computer/smartphone; ≈7% are smartphone‑only.
• Fixed broadband availability (100/20 Mbps): ≈95% of locations; remaining unserved/underserved pockets are in lower‑density rural areas.
• Adoption trend: home broadband subscriptions up ~3–4 percentage points since 2018; fiber buildouts along the I‑94/Hudson–New Richmond–Somerset/Baldwin corridor have improved speeds and reliability.
• Mobile: 4G/5G covers major corridors and towns, supporting high email access on smartphones.

Insights: Suburban proximity to the Twin Cities and high broadband availability drive near‑universal email use among working‑age adults; the small rural gap mainly affects older and remote households.

Mobile phone usage in Saint Croix County, Wisconsin – 2024 snapshot

Key takeaways

• High adoption and 5G availability: Adult smartphone ownership is about 90% and 5G coverage is strong along the I‑94 corridor, reflecting spillover from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul market.
• More wireless-only households than the state: Saint Croix residents rely on mobile service over landlines at higher rates than Wisconsin overall.
• Lower prepaid share, higher data use: Higher incomes and a younger age mix drive more postpaid plans and heavier 5G data consumption than the state average.

User estimates

• Population and adult base
  • Total population (2023 est.): approximately 96,000
  • Adults (18+): approximately 74,000
• Adult mobile phone ownership: approximately 96–97% (about 71,000–72,000 adults)
• Adult smartphone ownership: approximately 89–90% (about 66,000–67,000 adults)
• Wireless-only households (no landline): about 75% of households
  • Households: about 37,000 (avg. household size ~2.6)
  • Wireless-only households: ~27,700
• Smartphone-only home internet users: about 14% of households (~5,100), concentrated more in rural townships than in the I‑94 suburbs
• Prepaid vs. postpaid among adult smartphone users
  • Prepaid share: ~18% (lower than statewide), implying ~12,000 prepaid lines and ~54,000 postpaid lines among adult smartphone users

Demographic breakdown (adults, estimated)

• By age (share of adult population; smartphone ownership rate; estimated smartphone users)
  • 18–29: 18%; ~96%; ~12,800
  • 30–49: 32%; ~97%; ~23,000
  • 50–64: 27%; ~88%; ~17,600
  • 65+: 23%; ~76%; ~12,900
• By income and education (drivers of plan and device mix)
  • Median household income is materially above the Wisconsin median, supporting higher postpaid penetration, multi-line family plans, and higher-end devices
  • Higher bachelor’s attainment than the state average correlates with elevated mobile work, hotspot use, and 5G plan uptake
• Urban/suburban vs rural split
  • Hudson, New Richmond, Somerset, and the I‑94/US‑64 corridors show near-ubiquitous 5G and higher average data use per line
  • Northern and eastern rural townships retain more LTE-only pockets and show greater smartphone-only home internet reliance

Digital infrastructure points

• Cellular coverage and capacity
  • All three national carriers provide 5G along I‑94 (Hudson–Roberts–Baldwin–Woodville) and across the Hudson/New Richmond/Somerset/Houlton cluster; LTE remains the primary layer in outlying areas such as Star Prairie, Glenwood City, and Deer Park
  • Mid-band 5G (e.g., 2.5 GHz, C-band) is widely present in the western third of the county, enabling typical real-world 5G speeds that comfortably support video streaming and hotspot use
  • FirstNet public-safety coverage is in place via AT&T across major corridors and population centers
• Home broadband and wireless substitution
  • Cable and fiber availability are strong in cities and villages; 5G fixed wireless (T-Mobile 5G Home, Verizon 5G Home) is broadly available in and around Hudson, New Richmond, Baldwin, Somerset, Roberts, and Houlton, underpinning the county’s above-average wireless-only household rate
• Traffic and roaming patterns
  • Cross-border commuting into the Twin Cities creates peak demand at bridge approaches (Hudson/Houlton) and along I‑94/State Trunk interchanges, influencing tower density and 5G sectorization in those zones

How Saint Croix County differs from Wisconsin overall

• Adoption and plan mix
  • Adult smartphone ownership is about 2–3 percentage points higher than the statewide average
  • Wireless-only households are roughly 3–5 percentage points higher than the state
  • Prepaid share is 3–5 percentage points lower than the state (more postpaid family plans)
• Network and usage
  • Earlier and denser mid-band 5G deployment than many Wisconsin counties due to proximity to the Minneapolis market; translates to higher average mobile data use per line
  • Smartphone-only home internet reliance is somewhat lower than the state average in suburban areas (good cable/fiber) but higher than the state in rural townships; net countywide rate is slightly below the statewide average
• Demographics as a driver
  • Younger households and higher incomes than Wisconsin overall lead to more devices per household, faster upgrade cycles, and higher 5G plan penetration

What this means operationally

• Capacity matters most along I‑94 and bridge approaches; mid-band 5G sectors and backhaul upgrades pay off in the western urban/suburban cluster
• Rural coverage fills remain important north/east of New Richmond and Glenwood City—LTE reliability and low-band 5G expansion will reduce smartphone-only reliance in those pockets
• Marketing and product fit: postpaid multi-line and premium 5G tiers perform well in the I‑94 corridor; competitive prepaid and fixed wireless bundles will resonate in rural townships and among smartphone-only households

Notes on estimation

• Counts are derived by applying current national adoption rates (e.g., Pew Research for age-specific smartphone ownership, CDC wireless‑only household share ranges, and industry usage norms for 5G) to Saint Croix County’s population, age, and household structure. Figures are rounded for clarity and presented as county-specific estimates for 2024.

Saint Croix County, WI — social media snapshot (modeled to county scale from the latest Pew Research Center U.S. adult platform adoption and 2023 ACS demographics; figures rounded)

Overall usage

• Adult population base: approximately 76,000 (of roughly 99,000 residents)
• Adults using at least one social platform: about 83% → ~63,000 adult users
• Share of total residents who are active on social: ~64%

Most-used platforms among adults (share of adults; estimated user counts)

• YouTube: 83% (~63,000)
• Facebook: 68% (~51,500)
• Instagram: 47% (~35,700)
• TikTok: 33% (~25,000)
• Snapchat: 30% (~22,800)
• Pinterest: 35% (~26,600)
• LinkedIn: 30% (~22,800)
• X (Twitter): 22% (~16,700)
• Reddit: 22% (~16,700)
• WhatsApp: 21% (~16,000)
• Nextdoor: 17% (~12,900)

Age profile and platform skews

• 18–29: Near-universal YouTube use; heavy on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Facebook is secondary for this cohort.
• 30–49: Broadest multi-platform mix; Facebook and YouTube anchor daily use, with Instagram and LinkedIn strong; TikTok/Snapchat usage is meaningful but tapering with age.
• 50–64: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest usage notable; LinkedIn present for working professionals.
• 65+: Facebook remains the primary network; YouTube still substantial; Nextdoor and Facebook Groups are key for neighborhood and civic information.

Gender breakdown

• Users skew slightly female: approximately 52% women, 48% men.
• Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest; men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X.

Behavioral trends to expect locally

• Strong Facebook Groups and Marketplace activity tied to schools, youth sports, neighborhood associations, and local buy/sell—reflecting the county’s family and suburban profile.
• High YouTube penetration supports how-to, home improvement, outdoor/recreation, and local business discovery content.
• Commuter links to the Twin Cities correlate with above-average LinkedIn use and frequent X/Reddit consumption for regional news and professional topics.
• Visual discovery drives local shopping: Instagram and Pinterest play outsized roles for boutiques, restaurants, events, and home services.
• Messaging and ephemeral content shape youth engagement: Snapchat for daily communication; TikTok for entertainment, trends, and local happenings.
• Nextdoor usage is material in HOA and newer subdivisions for neighborhood safety, services, and municipal updates.
• Cross-posting is common: event discovery on Facebook, visual highlights on Instagram, longer-form or tutorial content on YouTube, and quick neighborhood notices on Nextdoor.

Notes on methodology

• Percentages mirror Pew Research Center’s 2024 U.S. adult platform adoption; counts scale those rates to the county’s ~76k adults (ACS 2023). Figures are best-available local estimates in the absence of platform-disclosed, county-level panels.