Fort Walton Beach, Florida demographics

Fort Walton Beach, FL demographics: median age 39.1; 29.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Fort Walton Beach city, Florida · Incorporated city · GEOID 1224475. The survey estimates a population of 21,025 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Fort Walton Beach is 39.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 8,817 households (±423). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	39.1 ±1.6	42.6 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,025
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Under 18	4,639 ±504	22.1% ±2.4 pp	19.5%	22.0%
18–34	4,314 ±524	20.5% ±2.5 pp	20.7%	22.8%
35–64	7,920 ±620	37.7% ±2.9 pp	38.4%	38.0%
65 and older	4,152 ±427	19.7% ±2.0 pp	21.3%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,025
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Male	10,468 ±395	49.8% ±1.9 pp	49.1%	49.5%
Female	10,557 ±393	50.2% ±1.9 pp	50.9%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,025
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
White alone	13,924 ±821	66.2% ±3.9 pp	55.9%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,494 ±632	11.9% ±3.0 pp	15.1%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	39 ±30 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	832 ±344	4.0% ±1.6 pp	2.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	166 ±203 · low precision	0.8% ±1.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,407 ±432	6.7% ±2.1 pp	6.3%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,163 ±461	10.3% ±2.2 pp	19.4%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,025
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	18,282 ±576	87.0% ±2.7 pp	72.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,743 ±567	13.0% ±2.7 pp	27.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,817
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,694 ±354	41.9% ±3.5 pp	46.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	404 ±163	4.6% ±1.8 pp	5.2%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,155 ±214	13.1% ±2.3 pp	12.7%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	3,057 ±417	34.7% ±4.4 pp	28.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	507 ±128	5.8% ±1.4 pp	7.2%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,817
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,462 ±286	27.9% ±3.0 pp	26.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	6,355 ±535	72.1% ±5.0 pp	73.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,817
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	3,057 ±417	34.7% ±4.4 pp	28.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,665 ±336	30.2% ±3.5 pp	36.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,462 ±243	16.6% ±2.6 pp	15.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	849 ±205	9.6% ±2.3 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	518 ±155	5.9% ±1.7 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	157 ±84 · low precision	1.8% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	109 ±64 · low precision	1.2% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,025
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Native	19,046 ±325	90.6% ±1.5 pp	78.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,979 ±321	9.4% ±1.5 pp	21.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 19,860
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
English only	16,936 ±614	85.3% ±2.9 pp	69.4%	77.7%
Spanish	1,799 ±452	9.1% ±2.3 pp	22.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	83 ±54 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.7%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	75 ±67 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	134 ±82 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	399 ±249 · low precision	2.0% ±1.3 pp · low precision	1.9%	2.0%
Korean	40 ±54 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	16 ±20 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	17 ±27 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	79 ±46 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	195 ±151 · low precision	1.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.5%	1.1%
Arabic	79 ±129 · low precision	0.4% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	8 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 14,802
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,202 ±283	8.1% ±1.9 pp	10.1%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	4,122 ±429	27.8% ±2.7 pp	27.2%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,622 ±470	24.5% ±3.1 pp	18.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,467 ±263	9.9% ±1.7 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,037 ±323	20.5% ±2.1 pp	21.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,352 ±232	9.1% ±1.5 pp	12.9%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 20,808
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Florida	U.S.
Same house	17,898 ±516	86.0% ±2.4 pp	86.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,194 ±356	5.7% ±1.7 pp	6.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	626 ±219	3.0% ±1.1 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	854 ±310	4.1% ±1.5 pp	2.9%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	236 ±183 · low precision	1.1% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

14.9% of Fort Walton Beach residents (±2.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 11.5% in Florida and 8.4% nationally. 87.7% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Fort Walton Beach	Florida	U.S.	Compared with Florida
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	14.9% ±2.2 pp	11.5%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	87.7% ±5.9 pp	91.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	16.9% ±1.9 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Fort Walton Beach . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Fort Walton Beach housing and cost context or return to the city profile.