Polk County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 492,401. making it the most populous county in Iowa, and was estimated to be 505,255 in 2023. It is home to over 15% of the state's residents. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, which is also the capital city of Iowa. Polk County is included in the Des Moines– West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

On January 13, 1846, the legislative body of the Iowa Territory authorized the creation of twelve counties in the Territory, with general descriptions of their boundaries. On January 17 they further enacted a resolution setting the effective date of the county government for Jasper and Polk Counties as March 1, 1846. Polk County's name referred to United States President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

, who served from 1845 to 1849. The first courthouse, a two-story structure, was built in Des Moines in 1846. Rapid settlement and commercial growth in the county soon rendered this building insufficient, so construction of a larger building was initiated in 1858. Due to construction delays and the onset of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the structure was not completed until 1866. The present

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

was erected in 1906, and in 1962 it was extensively renovated and enlarged.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.0%) is water. The county is bisected by the Des Moines River.

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

Interstate 235 * US 6

U.S. Highway 6 * US 65

U.S. Highway 65 * US 69

U.S Route 69 * Circle sign 5

Iowa Highway 5 * Elongated circle 17

Iowa Highway 17 * Elongated circle 28

Iowa Highway 28 * Elongated circle 141

Iowa Highway 141 * Elongated circle 160

Iowa Highway 160 * Elongated circle 163

Iowa Highway 163 * Elongated circle 210

Iowa Highway 210 * Elongated circle 415

Iowa Highway 415

Transit

* Des Moines Area Regional Transit * Burlington Trailways *

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

* Des Moines Bus Station

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Polk County was $285,410. As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 202,404 estimated households in Polk County with an average of 2.41 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,621. Approximately 11.5% of the county's population lives at or below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Polk County has an estimated 71.0% employment rate, with 39.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 83.7% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (85.2%), Spanish (7.8%), Indo-European (1.5%), Asian and Pacific Islander (3.2%), and Other (2.2%). The median age in the county was 36.8 years. Polk County, Iowa – racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 492,401 people, 196,891 households, and 121,993 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 210,184 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 75.93%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.23%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.46% Native American, 4.98% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.88% from some other races and 7.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 9.76% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 430,640 people, 170,197 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 182,262 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.73%

, 6.00%

, 0.32% Native American, 3.53% Asian, 0.06%

, 2.93% from some other races and 2.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.58% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 374,601 people, 149,112 households, and 96,624 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 156,447 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.34%

, 4.84%

, 0.27% Native American, 2.63% Asian, 0.06%

, 2.22% from some other races and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.40% of the population. 25.9% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 10.6% Irish, 9.0% English and 8.4% American ancestry. Of the 149,112 households 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% were non-families. 28.10% of households were one person and 8.60% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.04. Age spread: 25.70% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males. The median household income was $46,116 and the median family income was $56,560. Males had a median income of $37,182 versus $28,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,654. About 5.30% of families and 7.90% of the population were below the

, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Iowa Department of Corrections Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is in Mitchellville and in Polk County.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Polk County. † ''county seat''

Education

Attractions

* Adventureland Resort * Blank Park Zoo * Iowa State Capitol *

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa, every August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August ...

* Living History Farms * Science Center of Iowa * Valley Junction * Wells Fargo Arena

Communities

Cities

* Alleman * Altoona * Ankeny * Bondurant *

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

* Clive *

* Elkhart * Granger *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

* Johnston * Mitchellville * Norwalk * Pleasant Hill * Polk City * Runnells * Sheldahl * Urbandale * West Des Moines * Windsor Heights

Census-designated place

* Saylorville

Unincorporated communities

* Avon * Berwick *

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

* Farrar * Herrold * Ivy

Townships

* Allen *

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

* Bloomfield * Camp *

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

* Crocker *

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

* Douglas * Elkhart * Four Mile * Franklin * Jefferson * Lee * Lincoln * Madison * Saylor * Union *

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

* Washington * Webster

References

External links

Polk County – official website
{{Coord, 41, 41, 06, N, 93, 34, 13, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1846 establishments in Iowa Territory Des Moines metropolitan area Populated places established in 1846