DeSoto County, Florida: Florida Surge county. In 2024, voted R+43%. Democratic peak: D+59 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+43MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Florida SurgeAkashic typology
- Population
- 35,3862024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,4172024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 60.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 12.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 30.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+59 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Charlotte County, FL · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of DeSoto CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for DeSoto County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | +52.5% |
| 1908 | +52.1% |
| 1912 | +58.5% |
| 1916 | +53.2% |
| 1920 | +36.9% |
| 1924 | +44.9% |
| 1928 | −29.4% |
| 1932 | +52.5% |
| 1936 | +48.0% |
| 1940 | +56.4% |
| 1944 | +52.1% |
| 1948 | +28.2% |
| 1952 | +17.6% |
| 1956 | +3.2% |
| 1960 | −0.2% |
| 1964 | −5.6% |
| 1968 | −4.1% |
| 1972 | −55.2% |
| 1976 | +14.8% |
| 1980 | −10.2% |
| 1984 | −35.3% |
| 1988 | −31.9% |
| 1992 | −5.7% |
| 1996 | −0.7% |
| 2000 | −12.0% |
| 2004 | −16.9% |
| 2008 | −12.3% |
| 2012 | −14.3% |
| 2016 | −27.7% |
| 2020 | −32.0% |
| 2024 | −42.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,525 | 8,888 | 12,488 | ||
| R | 4,259 | 8,313 | 12,659 | ||
| R | 3,781 | 6,778 | 10,818 | ||
| R | 4,174 | 5,587 | 9,865 | ||
| R | 4,383 | 5,632 | 10,131 | ||
| R | 3,913 | 5,524 | 9,510 | ||
| R | 3,321 | 4,256 | 7,812 | ||
| R | 3,222 | 3,275 | 7,492 | ||
| R | 2,646 | 3,070 | 7,429 | ||
| R | 2,181 | 4,243 | 6,464 | ||
| R | 2,304 | 4,822 | 7,129 | ||
| R | 2,713 | 3,356 | 6,285 | ||
| D | 2,715 | 2,000 | 4,822 | ||
| R | 852 | 2,958 | 3,813 | ||
| O | 937 | 1,103 | 4,094 | ||
| R | 1,777 | 1,986 | 3,763 | ||
| R | 1,680 | 1,687 | 3,367 | ||
| D | 1,315 | 1,234 | 2,549 | ||
| D | 1,792 | 1,256 | 3,048 | ||
| D | 1,157 | 569 | 2,082 | ||
| D | 1,722 | 543 | 2,265 | ||
| D | 1,888 | 526 | 2,414 | ||
| D | 1,594 | 560 | 2,154 | ||
| D | 1,624 | 506 | 2,130 | ||
| R | 748 | 1,382 | 2,158 | ||
| D | 641 | 230 | 915 | ||
| D | 2,496 | 1,077 | 3,844 | ||
| D | 1,755 | 385 | 2,576 | ||
| D | 847 | 110 | 1,259 | ||
| D | 992 | 244 | 1,437 | ||
| D | 721 | 188 | 1,016 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
9.3%
German
7.4%
American
7.3%
Irish
7.2%
Italian
2.4%
French
2.4%
Scottish
1.8%
African American
10.0%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 43.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$54,417
DeSoto County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
DeSoto County$54,417
Florida$74,568
United States$80,734
DeSoto County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
24.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1834.8%
Working age (18–64)22.9%
Seniors (65+)13.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
77.6%
speak English only
Spanish19.8%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
DeSoto sits in Florida's agricultural interior, where a majority-Hispanic population—rooted in farmworker communities—has nonetheless produced some of the state's most lopsided Republican presidential margins in recent cycles.
The Democratic margin here once reached fifty-nine points in 1912. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eleven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-three points.
A population of 35,386, a 61% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $54,417 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Charlotte County and Champaign County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
DeSoto County, Florida. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/12027/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did DeSoto County, Florida vote in 2024?
In 2024, DeSoto County, Florida voted Republican by 42.9 points (R+43), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,488 votes cast, 3,525 went Democratic and 8,888 went Republican.
What is DeSoto County, Florida's political typology?
Akashic places DeSoto County, Florida in the "Florida Surge" typology — Florida coastal and retiree counties that moved sharply Republican across the Trump era. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 14 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did DeSoto County, Florida last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which DeSoto County, Florida voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in DeSoto County, Florida?
DeSoto County, Florida has a population of 35,386 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in DeSoto County, Florida?
Median household income in DeSoto County, Florida is $54,417 — below the national median of $80,734. The Florida state median is $74,568.
What is the political history of DeSoto County, Florida?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in DeSoto County, Florida from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Florida Surge" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.