Lee County, Florida

• White (non-Hispanic) 507,047 62.0%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 202,269 24.7%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 62,363 7.6%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 13,788 1.7%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 26,062 3.2%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 442 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 271 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 5,424 0.7%

• Under 18 140,310 17.2%
• 18–24 58,809 7.2%
• 25–44 175,607 21.5%
• 45–64 206,391 25.2%
• 65 and over 236,549 28.9%

Median household income

$83,479

90% interval $81,055–$85,903

+$5,792 vs FL · 13th of 67

Below poverty line

11.4%

90% interval 10.3%–12.5%

−0.7 pp vs FL · 45th of 67

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.1%

+0.59 pp vs. state

County GDP

$54.2B

3.14% of state

Avg. annual pay

$63,704

Establishments

29,081

• Education & health services 67,301 22.3%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 60,117 19.9%
• Leisure & hospitality 42,571 14.1%
• Construction 40,393 13.4%
• Professional & business services 40,380 13.4%
• Financial activities 14,586 4.8%
• Public administration 13,450 4.5%
• Other services 10,034 3.3%
• Manufacturing 8,246 2.7%
• Information 3,003 1.0%
• Natural resources & mining 1,565 0.5%
• Unclassified 213 0.1%

Home ownership

74.3%

+6.7 pp vs FL · 41st of 67

Median gross rent

$1,712

+$43 vs FL · 13th of 67

Owner-occupied

243,654

Renter-occupied

84,149

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 56% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Moderate wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $92,586/yr) pays 2.6× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $35,718/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 10 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 250,661 63.9%
• Democratic 139,240 35.5%
• Other / third-party 2,618 0.7%

• Spanish 154,446 19.8%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 15,762 2.0%
• German or other West Germanic 4,671 0.6%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 3,881 0.5%
• Tagalog 2,237 0.3%
• Chinese 2,143 0.3%
• Vietnamese 1,654 0.2%
• Arabic 581 0.1%
• Korean 191 0.0%

Households

327,803

Family households

213,328

65.1% of households

Married couples w/ children

40,246

18.9% of families

Single-mother families

14,556

6.8% of families

Veterans

52,032

7.7% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 142,872 18.8%
• Evangelical Protestant 124,436 16.4%
• Mainline Protestant 22,464 3.0%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 21,445 2.8%
• Black Protestant 4,752 0.6%
• Orthodox 978 0.1%

Health insured

87.1%

±0.6 pp

Uninsured

12.9%

±0.6 pp

20th of 67

With a disability

13.8%

±0.3 pp

50th of 67

Bachelor's or higher

31.2%

±0.6 pp

−2.9 pp vs FL · 25th of 67

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

16.8%

90% interval 15.8%–17.8% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

20th Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

36 (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

East Naples, Fort Myers, LaBelle, Moore Haven, Punta Gorda

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

122

18.01 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

113