Jury Pool Profile
DeSoto County, Florida
- County seat
- Arcadia
- Judicial district
- 12th Judicial Circuit Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 37,078
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 35,386.
At a glance
DeSoto County is a 37,078-person venue. The county population is 61% White and 12% Black (Census race-alone categories). 30% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 54.9%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $57,325, $20,362 below the FL state median of $77,687; 10.8% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 22.4% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Trade, transportation & utilities, at 29.1% of covered employment, average pay $50,484/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.81%, above the 4.5% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 63% to 71% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 35,386
- Median household income
- $54,417
- Unemployment
- 5.8%
Who sits on a jury?
50–70% White and ≥15% Black. This county: 61% / 12%.
DeSoto County has a population of 35,386, with a median age of 43.5. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 60.8%; Black residents 12.5%. Independently, 30.1% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $57,325; 10.8% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 21.8% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Trade, transportation & utilities, about 29% of covered jobs.
Trade, transportation & utilities is the largest employment sector at 29.1% of covered employment, followed by Education & health services at 17.0%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.81%, above the Florida state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 67%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
DeSoto County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 71.2% in 2024, 65.7% in 2020, 62.7% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 67% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 22.4% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
22.4% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, French, Haitian, or Cajun, German or other West Germanic. Veterans account for 7.9% of the adult civilian population (2,283 individuals).