Polk County, Iowa

Polk County has a population of 503,175 and has grown 4.9% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $262,100, about 3.1 times the county's median household income of $83,576.

Home price
$262,100
Income
$83,576
Population
503,175
Unemployment
4.4%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$262,100county
Median gross rent$1,149county
Median year homes here were built1982county
Share of homes built before 198048.5%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile2.1%county
Share of homes that are vacant6.0%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented32.6%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use0.4%county
Typical monthly rent$1,259county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,318county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,109county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,794county
Home insurance / yr$2,902(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living89.7(statewide)
Median household income$83,576county
Family health premium / yr$22,954(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$9,605(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.721(statewide)
Poverty rate10.3%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home15.7%county
Unemployment rate4.4%county
Share of adults in the labor force71.4%county
Share of workers who are self-employed4.3%county
Share of workers employed by government12.7%county
Share of workers in the largest industry21.4%county
Economic output per resident$126,841county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.68%county
Top state income tax3.80%(statewide)
Capital gains tax3.80%(statewide)
Combined sales tax6.94%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time20.0 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service6.8 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport1555454county
Miles to nearest general aviation field5.6 micounty
Airports with airline service located here1county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station42 micounty
Households without a vehicle5.8%county
Traffic deaths21.3county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-3.6(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher40.3%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher92.5%county
Public schools in the county131county
Public school enrollment77056county
Students per full-time teacher15.5county
Free lunch eligible49.0%county
Elementary schools84county
Middle schools25county
High schools16county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above4county
Share of local colleges that are public12.5%county
Two-year institutions4county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution2.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians93county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county5county
Hospitals here with an emergency department4county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter8.0 µgcounty
Without health insurance5.3%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year12.5%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year10.2%county
Frequent mental distress15.7%county
No leisure-time physical activity24.5%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.5%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population503,175county
Land area in square miles573county
People per square mile of land879.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores90county
Convenience stores12county
Share living far from a food store13.3%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract4.3%county
Population change since 2020+4.9%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents4county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents3county
Median age36.2 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1824.4%county
Share of residents 65 and over14.0%county
Share of households that are one person31.2%county
Share of residents born outside the United States10.1%county
Second languages14.7%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls38.7%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents88county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-1county
Households that moved in12,860county
Households that moved away12,392county
Average income of arriving households$65,403county
Average income of departing households$68,888county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes22county
Housing units authorised in the latest year4,730county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings51.2%county
Violent crime rate243(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature51.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation37.3 incounty
Annual snowfall30.4 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.04 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F17 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing120 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 5bcounty
Frost-free days178 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 22county
Average first fall frostOct 17county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$140county
Electric utilities serving this county4county
Electricity price per kWh14.3¢county
Household electricity use905 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$14.86(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity30.7%county
Homes heated by utility gas65.7%county
Homes heated by propane2.3%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.1%county
Homes heated by wood0.2%county
Households with broadband91.9%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk92.1county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk94.8county
Landslide risk68.4county
Hail risk97.9county
Earthquake risk66.8county
Tornado risk98.1county
Tropical cyclone risk27.5county
Extreme heat risk96.7county
Winter weather risk90.3county
Strong wind risk99.2county
Wildfire risk57.7county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams1county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams1county
AHL teams based here1county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Polk County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Iowa figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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