Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, there were 17,864 people, 6,551 households, and 4,463 families residing in the county. The median age was 44.2 years, with 20.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 21.2% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.5 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 84.9%
White, 4.5%
Black or African American, 0.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
Asian, <0.1%
Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islander, 3.3% from some other race, and 6.5% from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.5% of the population. <0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. The 2020 census also reported 7,493 housing units, of which 12.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.4% were owner-occupied and 15.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. of 2000, there were 14,437 people, 5,021 households, and 3,715 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.52%
White, 7.00%
Black or
African American, 0.37%
Native American, 0.17%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.69% from
other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 2.80% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. In terms of ancestry, 16.9% were
English, 13.9% were
Irish, 13.7% were
American, and 11.4% were
German. There were 5,021 households, out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 14.20% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,328, and the median income for a family was $34,485. Males had a median income of $27,359 versus $21,946 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $13,985. About 10.90% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over. ==Economy==