As of the second quarter of 2025, the median home value in Polk County was $293,337. As of the 2024
American Community Survey, there are 211,294 estimated households in Polk County with an average of 2.40 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $82,405. Approximately 9.9% of the county's population lives at or below the
poverty line. Polk County has an estimated 69.4% employment rate, with 41.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.4% holding a high school diploma. The
population density was . There were 210,184 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 75.93%
White, 7.23%
African American, 0.46%
Native American, 4.98%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 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. The median age was 36.0 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.6 males age 18 and over. 95.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.5% lived in rural areas. There were 196,891 households in the county, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.9% were married-couple households, 19.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 210,184 housing units, of which 6.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.7% were owner-occupied and 34.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.4%.
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%
White, 6.00%
African American, 0.32%
Native American, 3.53%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 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%
White, 4.84%
African American, 0.27%
Native American, 2.63%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 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, 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
poverty line, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over. ==Government and infrastructure==