Jury Pool Profile

DeSoto County, Florida

Republican +43 (2024)

Population: 34,719
Median household income: $50,868
Unemployment: 5.2%

Who sits on a jury?

Race & ethnicity

White alone 23,502 67.7%
Black or African American alone 4,463 12.9%
Asian alone 12 0.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native alone 116 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander alone 22 0.1%
Some other race alone 3,094 8.9%
Two or more races 3,510 10.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 10,334 29.8%

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Age distribution

Median age 42.8

Under 18 6,291 18.1%
18–24 2,833 8.2%
25–44 9,109 26.2%
45–64 8,232 23.7%
65 and over 8,254 23.8%

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Economic context

Local economy

Unemployment (12-mo): 5.2%; +1.06 pp vs. state
County GDP: $1.4B; 0.08% of state
Avg. annual pay: $49,347
Establishments: 739

U.S. BLS 2026M02 · U.S. BEA 2024 · BLS QCEW 2024

Top employment sectors

Average annual employment by supersector

Trade, transportation & utilities 2,918 29.4%
Education & health services 1,768 17.8%
Natural resources & mining 1,237 12.5%
Public administration 1,010 10.2%
Construction 878 8.9%
Leisure & hospitality 742 7.5%
Professional & business services 545 5.5%
Manufacturing 424 4.3%
Financial activities 150 1.5%
Other services 123 1.2%
Information 98 1.0%
Unclassified 22 0.2%

BLS QCEW 2024

Housing

Home ownership: 71.3%
Median gross rent: $910
Owner-occupied: 9,025
Renter-occupied: 3,631

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Political composition

Presidential results

2024 presidential · 12,488 votes cast

Republican 8,888 71.2%
Democratic 3,525 28.2%
Other / third-party 75 0.6%

Election results 2024

Languages, households, faith & health

Languages spoken at home

79.5% speak only English at home

Spanish 6,326 19.2%
French (incl. Cajun) 278 0.8%
German 83 0.3%
Other Indo-European 80 0.2%
Other 4 0.0%

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Household composition

Households: 12,656
Family households: 8,551; 67.6% of households
Married w/ children: 5,632
Single-mother households: 1,161
Veterans: 2,196; 7.7% of civilians 18+

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Religious composition

33.8% overall adherence rate

Evangelical Protestant 5,943 17.5%
Catholic 1,915 5.6%
Mainline Protestant 1,444 4.3%
Black Protestant 1,370 4.0%
Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 806 2.4%

US Religion Census 2020

Health & education

Health insured: 81.2%
With a disability: 20.5%
Bachelor's or higher: 11.0%

U.S. Census ACS 2023

Court infrastructure

Trial court: 12th Judicial Circuit Court
Judges: 22 (Circuit Court judges per circuit (general civil + felony criminal jurisdiction); County Court judges (limited jurisdiction — claims ≤ $50,000, misdemeanors, traffic) separate. Vintage 2026 flcourts.gov; statutory judgeships are reauthorized annually by the Florida Supreme Court's certification of need under Fla. Stat. § 26.031 and may shift by ±1-2 between sessions. Counts for smaller rural circuits (3rd, 16th) are statutory minimums per § 26.031.)
Court seats: Arcadia, Bradenton, Sarasota

Court reference

Traffic safety context

Florida statewide totals, 2023 — not county-specific

Traffic fatalities: 13; 45.73 per 100k drivers
Fatal crashes: 12

NHTSA FARS 2023