Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau tackles the monumental challenge of counting everybody in the Unites States. Article One of the United States Constitution (section II) directs the population be enumerated at least once every ten years and the resulting counts area used to set the number of members from each state in the House of Representatives and, by extension, in the Electoral College.

The Census Bureau now conducts a full population count every ten years in years ending with a zero and use the term “decennial” to describe the operation. Between census, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections.

The Census Bureau also conducts a large number of surveys between the decennial census on behalf of various federal and local government agencies on topics pertaining to economics, employment, crime, health consumer expenditures, housing, race, ethnicity, age, identity, and more.

This information gives valuable insight about our nation, states, and communities. The statistics can be helpful in a wide variety of ways. They help politicians plot campaign strategies and business leaders determine where to invest. The statistics also provide interesting topics for conversation. Various statistics are updated as different surveys are completed. More 2020 data will be available later. This and much more information can be found at the census.gov website.

POPULATION: A quick overview of Seminole County using statistics released and recently updated by the Census Bureau shows that the population dropped from 25,482 in 2010 to 23,556 in 2020. The average number of people per square miles in 2010 was 40.3. This figure dropped to 37.2 people per square mile in 2020. This fits a national trend. The number of Americans who live in rural areas continued to shrink in the last decade while the nation’s largest cities grew substantially, according to new data released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau. About 4 in 5 metropolitan areas grew over the last decade, including all 10 of the nation’s largest cities.

AGE AND SEX: 6.3 percent of Seminole County residents are under 5 years; 24 percent are under 18, and 18.4 percent are 65 years and over. Making up 51.0 percent of the population, women slightly outnumber men in the county.

RACE AND ORIGIN: 67.2 percent of Seminole County residents are white alone; 4.3 percent are black or African American alone; 20.1 percent are American Indian and Alaska Native alone; 0.4 percent are Asian alone; 0.1 percent are Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone; 7.9 percent are two or more races; 5.3 percent are Hispanic or Latino.

HOUSING 2015 – 2019: According to the Census Bureau there were 11,724 housing units in Seminole County on July 1, 2019. From 2015 – 2019 the rate of owner-occupied units was 68 percent; the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $74,400; the median selected monthly owner costs – with a mortgage was $945; the median selected monthly owner costs – without a mortgage was $303; the median gross rent was $649. There was just 1 building permit in 2020, according to the Census Bureau.

FAMILIES AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS 2015 – 2019: The Census Bureau counted 9,317 households in Seminole County in 2015 – 2019; there were 2.60 persons per household; 86.1 percent of persons 1 year and over had lived in the same house 1 year ago; 4.9 percent of persons age 5 and over spoke a language other than English at home.

COMPUTERS AND INTERNET USE 2015 – 2019: 80.0 percent of the households in Seminole County had a computer 2015 – 2019; 61.2 percent had a broadband internet subscription.

EDUCATION 2015 – 2019: 84.3 percent of persons age 25 and over were high school graduates or higher; 14.3 percent of people 25 years and over had a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

HEALTH 2015 – 2019: 17.2 percent of persons in Seminole County had a disability; 20 percent of persons under age 65 were without health insurance.

INCOME: The median household income in Seminole County 2015 – 2019 was $39,373. The per capita income in the past 12 months 2015 – 2019 was $20,666. The percentage of persons in poverty was 22.0 percent.

BUSINESSES: The total employer establishments in Seminole County in 2019 was 438; The total employment was 5,324; the total annual payroll was $204,503,000.