Highlands County, FL

Metropolitan Statistical Area: Sebring-Avon Park, FL
Designated Market Area: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, FL
USDA County Type (2025): Recreation/Tourism, Retirement Destination
American Communities Project County Type (2023): Graying America

Places in Highlands County, FL [Sort places by name]

Tracts in Highlands County, FL

2024 population: 109,778 ( 8,546 from 2020)
Land area: 1017.7 square miles
Population density: 107.9 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	68,867	62.73%	2.9%
Black:	10,990	10.01%	10.1%
Indian:	486	0.44%	13.6%
Asian:	1,782	1.62%	13.9%
2+ races:	1,668	1.52%	17.7%
Hispanic:	25,985	23.67%	24.1%

Total non-White:	40,911	37.27%	19.2%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	3,551	8.8
Deaths:	8,303	20.5
Net Migration:	11,598	28.6
Net Immigration:	1,681	4.2

Change in White population:	1,967	1.9
Change in Non-White pop.:	6,579	6.5

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
101,232
66,900	66.09%
9,985	9.86%
428	0.42%
1,564	1.54%
1,417	1.40%
20,938	20.68%
34,332	33.91%

2010
98,786
69,804	70.66%
8,750	8.86%
375	0.38%
1,439	1.46%
1,161	1.18%
17,157	17.37%
28,982	29.34%

2000
87,366
66,814	76.48%
7,925	9.07%
308	0.35%
901	1.03%
772	0.88%
10,542	12.07%
20,552	23.52%

1990
68,432
57,770	84.42%
6,554	9.58%
352	0.51%
340	0.50%
n/a
3,416	4.99%
10,662	15.58%

1980
47,526
38,854	81.75%
6,479	13.63%
314	0.66%
71	0.15%
n/a
1,776	3.74%
8,672	18.25%

1970
29,507
22,922	77.68%
6,180	20.94%
177	0.60%
27	0.09%
n/a
187	0.63%
6,585	22.32%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
8,302	8.4
14,047	14.2
9,971	10.1
3,261	3.3

-2,904	-2.9
5,350	5.4

Number	Rate
2000's
9,062	10.4
12,411	14.2
11,697	13.4
3,542	4.1

2,990	3.4
8,430	9.6

Number	Rate
1990's
8,517	12.4
11,775	17.2
7,680	11.2
1,423	2.1

9,044	13.2
9,890	14.5

Number	Rate
1980's
7,152	15.0
8,301	17.5
21,747	45.8
n/a

18,916	39.8
1,990	4.2

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
17,778	60.3
n/a

15,932	54.0
2,087	7.1

Age, Family & Household Data for Highlands County, FL

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
54.1
17,157	8.1%
193,853	91.9%
36,571	17.3%

44,685
2.25

28,639	64.1%
22,151	77.3%
2,066	7.2%
16,046	35.9%

2010
Number	Percent
51.5
17,972	18.2%
80,814	81.8%
31,822	32.2%

42,604
2.28

28,027	65.8%
22,127	78.9%
2,191	7.8%
14,577	34.2%

2000
Number	Percent
50.0
16,832	19.3%
70,534	80.7%
28,936	33.1%

37,505
2.29

26,016	69.4%
21,818	83.9%
1,747	6.7%
11,489	30.6%

1990
Number	Percent
51.2
12,652	18.5%
55,780	81.5%
22,835	33.4%

29,577
2.28

21,526	72.8%
18,914	87.9%
1,263	5.9%
8,051	27.2%

1980
Number	Percent
44.6
10,473	22.0%
37,053	78.0%
12,532	26.4%

18,858
2.44

14,097	74.8%
12,228	86.7%
857	6.1%
4,761	25.2%

2022 Housing Data for Highlands County, FL

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	2,652	5.9%
$10,000 to $14,999	2,323	5.2%
$15,000 to $19,999	2,357	5.3%
$20,000 to $24,999	2,822	6.3%
$25,000 to $29,999	2,156	4.8%
$30,000 to $34,999	2,608	5.8%
$35,000 to $39,999	2,399	5.4%
$40,000 to $44,999	2,056	4.6%
$45,000 to $49,999	1,811	4.1%
$50,000 to $59,999	3,575	8.0%
$60,000 to $74,999	5,572	12.5%
$75,000 to $99,999	5,544	12.4%
$100,000 to $124,999	3,135	7.0%
$125,000 to $149,999	1,943	4.3%
$150,000 to $199,999	1,813	4.1%
$200,000 or more	1,919	4.3%

Median Household Income	53,679
Per Capita Income	31,864

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	79
Compared to U.S.	77

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	2,707	6.1%
Public Assistance	785	1.8%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	6,972	15.6%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	23,111	62.6%
Unemployed	1,708	4.6%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	24,819	67.2%
Not in Labor Force	12,128	32.8%

Real Unemployment Rate		37.4%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	12,096	10,410	53.7%
Non-Profit	1,285	1,809	41.5%
Self-Employed	2,643	1,376	65.8%

Local Government	1,355	2,093	39.3%
State Government	1,015	554	64.7%
Federal Government	325	256	55.9%

Total Private + Self	14,739	11,786	55.6%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	3,980	4,712	45.8%
Total	18,719	16,498	53.2%

Pct. Govt.	15.9%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	3,838	10.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	7,602	21.5%
Professional, Technical	7,032	19.9%
Service Occupations	7,740	21.9%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	1,019	2.9%
All others	9,112	25.8%

White Collar		52.3%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	6,598	18.7%
Retail trade	4,639	13.1%
Construction	3,616	10.2%
Educational services	2,714	7.7%
Accommodation and food services	2,523	7.1%
Public administration	2,338	6.6%
Other services	2,058	5.8%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	2,058	5.8%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	1,477	4.2%
Transportation and warehousing	1,316	3.7%
Manufacturing	1,247	3.5%
Finance and insurance	1,212	3.4%
Professional, scientific, technical	1,128	3.2%
Real estate and rental and leasing	624	1.8%
Wholesale trade	618	1.7%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	551	1.6%
Utilities	319	0.9%
Information	288	0.8%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	7,786	7.61%
Puerto Rican	7,550	7.38%
Cuban	3,453	3.37%
Dominican	359	0.35%

Total Central American	1,219	1.19%
Costa Rican	196	0.19%
Guatemalan	108	0.11%
Honduran	44	0.04%
Nicaraguan	55	0.05%
Panamanian	106	0.10%
Salvadoran	710	0.69%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	1,315	1.28%
Argentinean	141	0.14%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	882	0.86%
Ecuadorian	103	0.10%
Paraguayan	9	0.01%
Peruvian	18	0.02%
Uruguayan	37	0.04%
Venezuelan	125	0.12%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	368	0.36%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Filipino	739	0.72%
Indian	323	0.32%
Chinese	101	0.10%
Vietnamese	97	0.09%
Thai	38	0.04%
Hmong	31	0.03%
Taiwanese	25	0.02%
Japanese	20	0.02%
Korean	12	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	78,107	79.6%
Spanish	17,414	17.8%
Tagalog	525	0.5%
Other Indo-European	500	0.5%
French, Haitian, Cajun	435	0.4%
Other Asian	361	0.4%
Other	204	0.2%
German, other Germanic	180	0.2%
Chinese	114	0.1%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	13,662	13.3%
English	13,467	13.2%
Irish	9,934	9.7%
American	9,636	9.4%
Italian	4,194	4.1%
Scottish	2,522	2.5%
Polish	1,767	1.7%
French	1,635	1.6%
Dutch	1,329	1.3%
Swedish	1,145	1.1%
Jamaican	915	0.9%
Welsh	809	0.8%
European	797	0.8%
Scotch-Irish	738	0.7%
Russian	666	0.7%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	97,066	94.8%
Not a citizen	5,273	5.2%

Native	91,123	89.0%
Foreign-born	11,216	11.0%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
4,227	5.3%	6,678	8.4%	28,096	35.5%	25,632	32.4%	9,422	11.9%	5,039	6.4%
Average years of education: 12.7

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	4,227	5.3%
9-12 Years	6,678	8.4%
H.S. Grad or GED	28,096	35.5%
Some College	25,632	32.4%
Bach. Degree	9,422	11.9%
Grad Degree	5,039	6.4%
Average years of education: 12.7

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	26,047	23,661	2,386	9.2%	6.2%
1991	26,607	24,162	2,445	9.2%	7.6%
1992	27,121	24,174	2,947	10.9%	8.4%
1993	27,421	24,501	2,920	10.6%	7.4%
1994	28,266	25,530	2,736	9.7%	6.5%
1995	28,567	26,057	2,510	8.8%	5.6%
1996	28,595	26,089	2,506	8.8%	5.3%
1997	28,149	25,676	2,473	8.8%	4.9%
1998	28,403	25,949	2,454	8.6%	4.4%
1999	27,071	25,112	1,959	7.2%	3.9%

2000	33,472	31,852	1,620	4.8%	3.8%
2001	34,685	32,904	1,781	5.1%	4.4%
2002	36,078	34,079	1,999	5.5%	4.9%
2003	37,544	35,691	1,853	4.9%	4.5%
2004	37,359	35,723	1,636	4.4%	3.8%
2005	39,628	38,327	1,301	3.3%	2.9%
2006	40,435	39,275	1,160	2.9%	2.5%
2007	39,968	38,371	1,597	4.0%	3.3%
2008	40,633	37,913	2,720	6.7%	5.7%
2009	40,018	36,011	4,007	10.0%	9.6%

2010	36,899	32,428	4,471	12.1%	10.8%
2011	37,930	33,583	4,347	11.5%	10.0%
2012	37,162	33,227	3,935	10.6%	8.6%
2013	36,075	32,494	3,581	9.9%	7.5%
2014	35,813	32,705	3,108	8.7%	6.4%
2015	35,485	32,799	2,686	7.6%	5.5%
2016	35,846	33,481	2,365	6.6%	4.9%
2017	36,370	34,290	2,080	5.7%	4.2%
2018	36,460	34,656	1,804	4.9%	3.6%
2019	35,813	34,082	1,731	4.8%	3.3%

2020	34,641	31,967	2,674	7.7%	7.7%
2021	35,239	33,145	2,094	5.9%	4.6%
2022	36,202	34,693	1,509	4.2%	2.9%
2023	37,436	35,836	1,600	4.3%	2.9%
2024	36,643	34,858	1,785	4.9%	3.4%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	57,605
Median Value	$155,900

Occupied	44,685	77.6%
Vacant	12,920	22.4%

Owned	35,026	78.4%
Rented	9,659	21.6%
Median Rent	$919

Single-Family Units	37,943	65.9%
Detached	35,337	61.3%
Attached	2,606	4.5%
Buldings with 5+ Units	2,524	4.4%
Mobile Homes	13,319	23.1%

Highlands County, FL

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Highlands County, FL

2022 Housing Data for Highlands County, FL

2022 Income & Employment Data for Highlands County, FL

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Highlands County, FL

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Highlands County, FL

Historical Labor Force Data for Highlands County, FL