county

Highlands County, FL

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

AI Overview

Highlands County is a rural, agriculture-oriented county of roughly 110,000 residents with a median age of 54.4 years, reflecting a large retiree population that contributes to a notably low labor force participation rate of 43.0%. The available workforce skews toward lower-cost labor — median worker earnings of $36,067, a high school attainment rate of 86.4%, and only 19.7% holding a bachelor's degree — with housing costs that remain accessible at a median home value of $177,900 and median gross rent of $980 per month. The county posted modest 5-year population growth of 1.7%, carries an unemployment rate of 5.9%, and records a GDP per capita of $26,102, signaling a smaller, cost-competitive economy with a high homeownership rate of 78.9%.

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

Population

109,778

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$54,897

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

54.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.7% since 2018

Highlands County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone72,316 (68.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone10,359 (9.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race10,142 (9.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone7,401 (7.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,089 (2.9%)
  • Asian Alone1,598 (1.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish17,319
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)585
  3. 3.Other Indo-European576
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)528
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island444

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

16.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

47.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

35.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

10.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

9,776

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$26,102

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,982

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance9,440
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)4,586
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,898
  4. 4.Construction (Group)3,706
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,934

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations12,247
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations8,116
  3. 3.Service Occupations6,716
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations5,521
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,163

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.32×)1,321
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.53×)3,792
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.39×)2,341
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.24×)2,084
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.16×)4,512

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$177,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$980/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9995,178 (14.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9994,723 (12.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9994,075 (11.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,484 (9.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,067 (5.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,969 (5.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

86.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

43.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,067

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone26,920 (75.2%)
  • Carpooled4,370 (12.2%)
  • Worked At Home3,074 (8.6%)
  • Walked693 (1.9%)
  • Other409 (1.1%)
  • Bicycle147 (0.4%)

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.