county

DeSoto County, FL

Demographic and economic profile of DeSoto County, FL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

DeSoto County is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county with a population of 34,719 that contracted 4.6% over the past five years. The labor force is limited—participation sits at just 48.1%, unemployment is 8.6%, and only 11.0% of residents hold a bachelor's degree—with median worker earnings of $33,537 and a per capita income of $24,462. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $151,500 and median gross rent of $910/month, against a poverty rate of 23.1% and a 13.6% foreign-born share of the population.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

34,719

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,417

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.6% since 2018

DeSoto County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,512 (60.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,568 (12.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone4,409 (12.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone3,666 (10.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,014 (2.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone157 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish6,326
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)278
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic83
  4. 4.Other Indo-European80

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

13.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,283

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,851

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,462

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

8.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Construction (Group)2,439
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,240
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,811
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)1,548
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,317

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,072
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,066
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,889
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations2,764
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,618

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 6.38×)1,315
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 2.47×)2,206
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.51×)923
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.26×)1,427
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.04×)1,668

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$151,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$910/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,9991,137 (12.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999989 (10.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999946 (10.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999676 (7.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999622 (6.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999575 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

73.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

48.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,537

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,145 (69.8%)
  • Carpooled2,930 (22.4%)
  • Worked At Home619 (4.7%)
  • Public Transit144 (1.1%)
  • Bicycle122 (0.9%)
  • Walked73 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.