Chapter ED Intelligence · Chapter Report
ARC of Mid Florida
Southeast and Caribbean Division · South Florida Region
FL · 5 counties · HQ Winter Haven, FL · FEMA Region IV
977,846
People
371,175
Households
48.0%
Households below the ALICE survival threshold
5
Counties · 5,286 sq mi
Nearly 48% of households across this chapter live below the ALICE survival threshold — the working families one disaster away from crisis.
In this report · Economic vulnerability · Who lives here · Home fire mission (FLARE) · mission delivery & the bespoke relationship strategy to follow
Sources: American Red Cross geography + 2023 demographics reference table; United Way ALICE + poverty (latest county year).
Geography & Footprint
The chapter's footprint.
5
Counties
5,286
Square miles
977,846
People
South Florida Region
Southeast and Caribbean Division
| County | People | Sq mi | % of chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk | 775,084 | 2,011 | 79.3% |
| Highlands | 103,502 | 1,106 | 10.6% |
| Okeechobee | 39,627 | 892 | 4.1% |
| DeSoto | 34,504 | 639 | 3.5% |
| Hardee | 25,129 | 638 | 2.6% |
HQ: Winter Haven, FL · FEMA Region IV. Counties sorted by population.
Who Lives Here
The people of this chapter.
43
Median age
$55,625
Median household income
21.5%
Age 65+
28.2%
Renter households
Age distribution
Race & ethnicity
Hispanic / Latino (any race): 26.7% of residents.
Source: American Red Cross 2023 demographics reference table. Chapter figures aggregate the 5 counties; median age and income are population-weighted.
Economic Vulnerability
Where the need is greatest.
| County | People | Median HH income | ALICE | Poverty | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeSoto | 34,504 | $42,544 | 39.7% | 19.1% | 58.8% |
| Okeechobee | 39,627 | $52,493 | 40.1% | 16.9% | 57.0% |
| Hardee | 25,129 | $42,076 | 27.8% | 25.5% | 53.3% |
| Highlands | 103,502 | $49,896 | 32.8% | 20.3% | 53.1% |
| Polk | 775,084 | $57,572 | 33.4% | 12.8% | 46.2% |
Combined = households in poverty plus ALICE households (above poverty, below the cost of basics), as a share of all county households. Source: United Way ALICE, latest county year.
Risk & Disaster History
What this chapter is up against.
$337.5M
Expected annual loss, all hazards
Polk
Highest-risk county
94.3%
Avg social vulnerability (SVI)
12
FEMA declarations, 5 yr (top county)
| County | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | SVI %ile | FEMA 5yr | FEMA all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk | Relatively High | $212.6M | 89.1% | 10 | 42 |
| Highlands | Relatively Moderate | $46.7M | 86.7% | 8 | 37 |
| Okeechobee | Relatively Low | $26.6M | 96.4% | 8 | 35 |
| DeSoto | Relatively Moderate | $26.3M | 99.8% | 12 | 38 |
| Hardee | Relatively Low | $25.4M | 99.3% | 11 | 36 |
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index 2025 (risk rating, expected annual loss), CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022 (social-vulnerability percentile), FEMA disaster declarations — via the Red Cross national county database.
Disaster History
A chapter shaped by disaster.
57
Federal disaster declarations
22
Hurricanes
Hurricane
Most common type
2025
Most recent
By incident type
Most recent declarations
| FY | Disaster | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Hurricane Milton | Hurricane |
| 2025 | Hurricane Milton | Hurricane |
| 2024 | Hurricane Helene | Hurricane |
| 2024 | Hurricane Debby | Tropical Storm |
| 2024 | Tropical Storm Debby | Tropical Storm |
| 2023 | Hurricane Idalia | Hurricane |
| 2023 | Tropical Storm Idalia | Tropical Storm |
| 2023 | Hurricane Nicole | Hurricane |
| 2023 | Tropical Storm Nicole | Tropical Storm |
| 2022 | Hurricane Ian | Hurricane |
Source: FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 — county-level, deduplicated to unique disasters.
Home Fire Mission · FLARE 2024
Every home fire is a Red Cross moment.
328
Home fires (2024)
52.1%
Red Cross care rate
122
Fires with no Red Cross notification
3.4
Fires per 10,000 residents
Red Cross cared for 52% of home fires — but 122 (37%) happened with no Red Cross notification: the prevention, smoke-alarm, and response opportunity, county by county.
Source: FLARE Fire Incidents 2024 (American Red Cross, public layer). “With care” = Red Cross provided assistance; “no notification” = the Red Cross was never alerted to the fire.
Home Fire · Respond & Prevent
Red Cross shows up — and prevents.
1,075
Home-fire calls answered (RC response)
975
Single-family fire responses
2,683
Free smoke alarms installed
100
Multi-family fire responses
Red Cross answered 1,075 home-fire calls and installed 2,683 free smoke alarms across the chapter — response and prevention, county by county.
Sources: DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (RC fire responses); Smoke Alarm Installs FY15–FY24 (American Red Cross).
Disaster Response · DAT
The local face of care.
27
Trained DAT volunteers
239
Historical DAT calls answered
5
Counties with DAT volunteers
27
Responders on the map
Every dot is a trained Disaster Action Team volunteer ready to respond to a home fire — shown by position only, never by name.
Source: Florida DAT — RC Care volunteers + historical calls (American Red Cross). Individual identities withheld; counts and positions only.
Red Cross Facilities
The chapter's physical footprint.
1
Red Cross facilities
1
Owned
0
Leased / licensed
0
BioMed sites
By type / function
BioMed facilities
No BioMed fixed sites in this chapter.
Sources: Red Cross real-estate portfolio (reintel.jbf.com) + BioMed facilities (biomed.jbf.com).
Locations, types and functions only — no cost, square footage, or lease terms are disclosed.
Red Cross Spending · Bridge Program
Disaster financial assistance by county.
Bridge financial assistance delivered to residents — DRO 220-25 (FY25).
$96,600
Bridge financial assistance
4
Counties funded
$75,600
Top: Polk
$2,100
Per case
| County | Bridge financial assistance |
|---|---|
| Polk | $75,600 |
| Highlands | $12,600 |
| DeSoto | $6,300 |
| Hardee | $2,100 |
Source: ARC Bridge Service Summary (PowerBI), DRO 220-25 (FY25). Financial assistance to clients;
counties with no Bridge cases this operation are omitted.
Red Cross Philanthropy · Major Donors
Who gives here.
Major-donor giving across the chapter — three fiscal years. Internal planning data.
$284,771
Total giving, 3-year
17
Major donors
$62,884
Current FY · ▼ 48% vs prior FY
$216,271
Top: Polk
| County | Major donors | Total giving, 3-year |
|---|---|---|
| Polk | 13 | $216,271 |
| Highlands | 4 | $68,500 |
Source: Red Cross major-donor giving by county, three fiscal years.
Internal / executive-director planning use — not donor-facing.
County Deep Dive
Polk County
775,084
People
$57,572
Median HH income
46.2%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age42
ALICE households102,469
Poverty households39,366
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$212.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)89.1%
FEMA declarations (all time)42
Home fires, CY2024246
Fires, no RC notification97
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25$75,600
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$216,271
Polk County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Highlands County
103,502
People
$49,896
Median HH income
53.1%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age55.9
ALICE households15,511
Poverty households9,609
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$46.7M
Social vulnerability (SVI)86.7%
FEMA declarations (all time)37
Home fires, CY202436
Fires, no RC notification13
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25$12,600
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$68,500
Highlands County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Okeechobee County
39,627
People
$52,493
Median HH income
57.0%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age40.9
ALICE households6,094
Poverty households2,567
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$26.6M
Social vulnerability (SVI)96.4%
FEMA declarations (all time)35
Home fires, CY202423
Fires, no RC notification9
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Okeechobee County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
DeSoto County
34,504
People
$42,544
Median HH income
58.8%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age40.6
ALICE households5,026
Poverty households2,419
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$26.3M
Social vulnerability (SVI)99.8%
FEMA declarations (all time)38
Home fires, CY20247
Fires, no RC notification0
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25$6,300
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
DeSoto County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Hardee County
25,129
People
$42,076
Median HH income
53.3%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age34.8
ALICE households2,263
Poverty households2,078
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$25.4M
Social vulnerability (SVI)99.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)36
Home fires, CY202416
Fires, no RC notification3
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25$2,100
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Hardee County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
Your Live Tools
The chapter's Experience Builder apps & federal tools.
Red Cross Intelligence Briefing
Chapter risk, hardship, hazards & county drilldowns
experience.arcgis.com
Disaster Response Intelligence
Spatial disaster-response intelligence
Experience Builder app
Red Cross Real Estate
Facilities & market intelligence
experience.arcgis.com
Service Area Planning
Service-area geography & planning
Experience Builder app
Community Mobilization V
Local resource & mobilization map
experience.arcgis.com
Biomed
Blood & BioMed footprint
experience.arcgis.com
FEMA RAPT
Resilience analysis & planning
www.fema.gov
Census Community Resilience
People & resilience context
www.census.gov
Red Cross Experience Builder apps give the live, drill-down companion to this report; federal tools add official context.
Sources & Methodology
Every number, traceable.
Tools produce facts; humans own decisions. Each figure in this report traces to a named source and vintage.
| Metric | Source | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| geography + 2023 demographics | ALICE master / Red Cross reference table | 2023 |
| ALICE + poverty households | MASTER counties ALICE+demographics | 2023 |
| flare | flare_fire_incidents (public AGOL, CY24) | CY2024 |
| smoke_alarms | GIS_MAP_FY15_to_FY24 (AGOL item b09f21d9…) | FY15–24 |
| lives_saved | Lives_Saved_Map_30_Apr_2026 (AGOL item ff313330…) | 2026 |
| risk + disaster history | FEMA NRI 2025 · CDC SVI 2022 · FEMA declarations (red-cross-data county master) | FEMA NRI 2025 · SVI 2022 |
| fema disaster history | FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 | 2026 |
| DAT volunteers + calls | Florida DAT — RC Care volunteers + historical calls (org AGOL; names withheld) | 2026 |
| facilities / real estate (no costs) | Red Cross facilities portfolio — reintel.jbf.com (locations, types & ownership only; no cost/lease terms) | FY25 |
| home-fire RC responses (SFF/MFF) | DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (org AGOL) | FY24–26 |
Geography: American Red Cross chapter↔county reference. The full machine-readable source ledger ships with the data bundle.
Appendix · County Data
Full county table.
| County | Pop | Households | Hardship | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | Fires '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk | 775,084 | 290,783 | 46.2% | Relatively High | $212.6M | 246 |
| Highlands | 103,502 | 45,557 | 53.1% | Relatively Moderate | $46.7M | 36 |
| Okeechobee | 39,627 | 14,541 | 57.0% | Relatively Low | $26.6M | 23 |
| DeSoto | 34,504 | 12,237 | 58.8% | Relatively Moderate | $26.3M | 7 |
| Hardee | 25,129 | 8,057 | 53.3% | Relatively Low | $25.4M | 16 |
One row per county. Combined hardship = poverty + ALICE households. Fires = FLARE CY2024.