The county's population has generally declined since it stood at 16,679 in 1920. The racial makeup of the county was 76.2% White, 1.4%
Black or African American, 9.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
Asian, 1.7% from some other race, and 10.5% from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.5% of the population. of 2000, there were 6,614 people, 2,614 households, and 1,840 families residing in the county. The
population density was . There were 3,085 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.70%
White, 2.86%
Black or
African American, 7.42%
Native American, 0.12%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 1.81% from
other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. 4.85% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. There were 2,614 households, out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% were
married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,210, and the median income for a family was $35,129. Males had a median income of $28,443 versus $19,101 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $14,626. About 13.70% of families and 18.20% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 24.40% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over. ==Politics==