2020 census As of the
2020 census, the county had a population of 45,292. The median age was 51.6 years. 17.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.6 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 80.2% White, 0.8%
Black or African American, 1.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
Asian, 0.2%
Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islander, 4.4% from some other race, and 11.1% from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 12.9% of the population. 18.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 82.0% lived in rural areas. There were 18,758 households in the county, of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2000 census As of the
census of 2000, there were 40,554 people, 16,469 households, and 11,742 families residing in the county. The
population density was . There were 22,946 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.2%
White, 0.8%
Black or
African American, 1.7%
Native American, 0.9%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander, 2.1% from
other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. 6.8% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 15.7% were of
German, 13.0%
English, 10.7%
Irish, 7.4%
Italian and 7.0% American ancestry according to
Census 2000. 94.5% spoke English and 4.0% Spanish as their first language. There were 16,469 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were
married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.85. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,022, and the median income for a family was $47,379. Males had a median income of $41,827 versus $28,108 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $21,420. About 8.7% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. ==Economy==