Census-designated place · Hendry County, Florida

Fort Denaud, Florida

Fort Denaud is a census-designated place in Hendry County, Florida, part of the Clewiston, FL metro area. It has 1,639 residents. Fort Denaud, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,126 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #709 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), violent crime rate (low) and public transit commuters (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), hot days (high) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,126 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #709 of 780 in FL
Population: 1,639 (2020-2024)
Land area: 20 mi²
Density: 81.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1223730

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety66#5,331/15,637
Economy33#10,403/15,631
Housing2#14,649/14,977
Health23#12,003/15,609
Healthcare2#15,338/15,650
Environment65#5,381/15,453
Education19#12,627/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,738/15,650
Community8#14,454/15,651
Leisure & amenities8#14,369/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fort Denaud, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hendry County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Property crime rate · low128 /100k
100/100Florida 1,176 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHendry County value
Violent crime rate · low91 /100k
88/100Florida 261 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHendry County value
Public transit commuters · high2.8%
87/100Florida 1.2%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Florida 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHendry County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.4 µg/m³
84/100Florida 7.5 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHendry County value
New business applications · high16.9 /1k
78/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHendry County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high39.7×
0/100Florida 18.3×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsHendry County value
Hot days · high128 days
3/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHendry County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100Florida 5.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHendry County value
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Florida 7.6United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHendry County value
Flu vaccinations · low26.0%
3/100Florida 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHendry County value
Rent-burdened households · high0.0%
4/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,769 (2015-2019) → 1,639 (2020-2024)
−7.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 5.9× (2020-2024)
+137%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.1% (2015-2019) → 96.5% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
14.7% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
9.2% (2015-2019) → 21.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.8% (2015-2019) → 78.5% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Fort Denaud, Florida improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++12 points9.2% → 21.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Fort Denaud, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.5 min2015-2019	33.2 min2020-2024	+0.7 min	Within the margin of error	40%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.2%2015-2019	21.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	94%
Broadband subscriptions	71.8%2015-2019	78.5%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.01%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	77.1%2015-2019	96.5%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.4512020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$54,5312015-2019	$56,0422020-2024	+2.8%	Within the margin of error	10%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Fort Denaud, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fort Denaud, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Fort Denaud, Florida five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Fort Denaud, Florida itself moved +7.1 points in standing on average over the same 7 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,639 residents (±415)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

755 households (±189)

Fort Denaud, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k14%†109
$25k–50k24%†179
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

755 households (±189)

Fort Denaud, Florida
Florida share

Own98%741
Rent1.9%†14

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+19.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

507 workers (±210)

Fort Denaud, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone65%†331
Carpool10%†51
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Clewiston, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Hendry County, the county holding most of Fort Denaud's residents.

Hendry County has 772 employer establishments, 173 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.62× Florida's), with 8,052 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,423. The Census Bureau also counts 5,395 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 772; 5,395 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 173; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 8,052
Average annual pay: $44,423; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Hendry County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	85	19.1	1.23×About typical	605	$61,433	581
Restaurants and other eating places	54	12.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,094	$18,562	51
Ambulatory health care services	31	7	0.33×Fewer than typical	403	$52,953	292
Other specialty trade contractors	31	7	2.77×More than typical	300	$65,983	208
Construction of buildings	29	6.5	0.86×About typical	141	$39,489	254
Services to buildings and dwellings	29	6.5	0.97×About typical	97	$40,485	541
Grocery and convenience stores	27	6.1	2.04×More than typical	290	$26,948	21
Lessors of real estate	25	5.6	0.46×Fewer than typical	62	$36,452	295
Religious organizations	24	5.4	0.97×About typical	79	$26,734	—
Full-service restaurants	23	5.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	367	$24,262	23
Limited-service restaurants	23	5.2	0.64×Fewer than typical	661	$14,387	6
Truck transportation	23	5.2	1.02×About typical	48	$34,938	524

Rank places for an industry Open Hendry County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 44,523 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $170.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fort Denaud, Florida: $104 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $170.8K; +78% vs FY2025
Per resident: $104; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Departmental Offices$170.8K100%

Top recipients

FLETCHER FLYING SERVICE INC$170.8K100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

11.6KFY2017
304.5KFY2018
287.9KFY2019
712.2KFY2020
619.9KFY2021
980.8KFY2022
478KFY2023
185.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$170.8K100.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fort Denaud, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Fort Denaud, Florida's figures are part of those of Hendry County, FL ($1.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 10% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fort Denaud is mostly in Hendry County.

See federal money in Hendry County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Fort Denaud, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Scott FranklinR-FL-18 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Hendry County12100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Clewiston, FL9

Other cities and towns in Hendry County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1223730

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends