Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, the county had a population of 16,557. Of the residents, 18.4% were under the age of 18 and 33.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 54.6 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.2 males. 56.6% of residents lived in urban areas and 43.4% lived in rural areas. The racial makeup of the county was 59.0% White, 0.7%
Black or African American, 17.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
Asian, 0.3%
Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islander, 9.7% from some other race, and 12.4% from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 25.3% of the population. The population density was 4.5//sq mi (1.8/km2). There were 16,049 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 69.8% white, 12.8% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 12.5% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 23.5% of the population. Of the 9,198 households, 19.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.3% were non-families, and 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 53.9 years.
2000 census As of the
census of 2000, there were 19,715 people, 8,362 households, and 5,619 families living in the county. The
population density was . There were 15,133 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.2%
white, 0.8%
black or
African American, 12.5%
Native American, 0.4%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander, 9.4% from
other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. 22.4% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 18.9% reported speaking
Spanish at home. There were 8,362 households, with 21.2% having children under the age of 18, 54.2% were
married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 26.6% of households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.79. The county population had 21.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 105.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,839, and the median income for a family was $29,141. Males had a median income of $26,642 versus $20,965 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $14,916. About 13.6% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over. ==Law enforcement==