2020 census As of the
2020 census, the county had a population of 28,917. The median age was 37.5 years, with 25.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.2% aged 65 years or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.7 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 54.5% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 3.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 25.1% from some other race, and 13.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 43.4% of the population. 58.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 41.2% lived in rural areas. There were 10,177 households in the county, of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2000 census As of the
census of 2000, there were 26,453 people, 9,172 households, and 6,732 families residing in the county. The
population density was . There were 9,982 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 71.8%
White, 0.6%
Black or
African American, 2.1%
Native American, 3.4%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander, 18.2% from
other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 29.6% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 10.8% were of
German, 9.4%
American, 6.2%
English and 5.9%
Irish ancestry according to
Census 2000. 69.5% spoke
English, 27.0%
Spanish and 2.1%
Hmong as their first language. There were 9,172 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were
married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.33. In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,107, and the median income for a family was $37,023. Males had a median income of $29,480 versus $21,766 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $14,069. About 12.5% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. ==Politics==