county

Hardee County, FL

Demographic and economic profile of Hardee County, FL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Hardee County is a small, agriculture-oriented community of 25,508 with a median age of 35.8 and one of the lowest educational attainment rates in Florida — only 12.3% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The labor force participation rate is just 51.5%, unemployment stands at 6.8%, and median worker earnings are $34,974, reflecting a low-cost, entry-level workforce profile. Housing costs are notably low, with a median home value of $129,400 and median rent of $954/month, though the county faces headwinds including a 6.3% population decline over five years and a 24.3% poverty rate.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

25,508

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$60,489

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-6.3% since 2018

Hardee County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,122 (55.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,361 (17.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone3,603 (14.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,872 (7.3%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone792 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races625 (2.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish7,031
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island164
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)77
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)59
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic57

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

11.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

976

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$46,252

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,225

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,916
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,427
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining1,401
  4. 4.Construction (Group)938
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities729

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,506
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,010
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,969
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,807
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,650

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 8.78×)1,330
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.43×)938
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.29×)717
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.24×)1,284
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.20×)540

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$129,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$954/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999766 (13.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999752 (12.8%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999525 (8.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999501 (8.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999399 (6.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999339 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

78.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,974

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,812 (69.7%)
  • Carpooled2,199 (22.5%)
  • Worked At Home419 (4.3%)
  • Walked176 (1.8%)
  • Public Transit95 (1.0%)
  • Other67 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.