Polk County, Iowa Population 2018

Polk County, Iowa's estimated population is 481,830 with a growth rate of 4.94% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Polk County, Iowa is the 1st largest county in Iowa.

Year Population Growth Growth Rate
2017481,83022,6714.94%
2016459,159-15,609-3.29%
2016474,7687,5161.61%
2015467,2526,9591.51%
2014460,2938,2611.83%
2013452,0327,7301.74%
2012444,3026,1651.41%
2011438,1375,9141.37%
2010432,223105,08332.12%
1990327,14023,9707.91%
1980303,17017,0695.97%
1970286,10119,7867.43%
1960266,31540,30517.83%
1950226,01030,17515.41%
1940195,83522,99813.31%
1930172,83718,80812.21%
1920154,02943,59139.47%
1910110,43827,81433.66%
190082,62417,21426.32%
189065,41023,01554.29%
188042,39514,53852.19%
187027,85716,232139.63%
186011,6257,112157.59%
18504,5130.00%

Polk County, Iowa Population Growth

Population Data via

Population by Race

Race Population
White390,415
Black or African American29,390
Asian18,813
Two or More Races12,163
Some Other Race6,735
American Indian and Alaska Native1,277
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander366

Race Data via US Census (2016 ACS 5-Year Survey)

Polk County, Iowa Population Pyramid 2018

0%2%4%6%8% Male Population0%2%4%6%8% Female Population80757065605550454035302520151050

Data via US Census (2016 ACS 5-Year Survey): Table S0101

Polk County, Iowa Median Age

35


Total

34.2


Male

35.9


Female

Polk County, Iowa Adults

There are 342,992 adults, (53,722 of which are seniors) in Polk County, Iowa.

Polk County, Iowa Age Dependency

58.8

Age Dependency Ratio

18.6

Old Age Dependency Ratio

40.2

Child Dependency Ratio

Polk County, Iowa Sex Ratio

Female

233,224

50.79%

Male

225,935

49.21%

Polk County, Iowa Households and Families

Polk County, Iowa Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Polk County, Iowa Household Types

Type Owner Renter
Married85.3%14.7%
All67.2%32.8%
Male56.9%43.1%
Non Family50.6%49.4%
Female47.6%52.4%

67.2%

Rate of Home Ownership

Polk County, Iowa Households by Type

Type Count Average Size Owned
All178,5202.5267.2
Married85,5613.1985.3
Non Family63,9081.2950.6
Female20,8613.2747.6
Male8,1903.2956.9

3.12

Average Family Size

2.52

Average Household Size

6.9%

Unmarried (Opposite Sex)

0.3%

Unmarried (Same Sex)

Polk County, Iowa Households

Polk County, Iowa Education

Polk County, Iowa Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Education Attained Count Percentage
Less Than 9th Grade9,6773.20%
9th to 12th Grade15,3365.08%
High School Graduate75,50825.00%
Some College63,31320.96%
Associates Degree30,78810.19%
Bachelors Degree74,65624.72%
Graduate Degree32,78310.85%

Polk County, Iowa Educational Attainment by Race

Name Total High School Bachelors
White253,776241,18096,946
Hispanic17,28710,4052,192
Black15,95313,4793,027
Asian11,7799,1164,688
Other Race3,6872,099345
Multiple Races3,2622,801708
Native American67152789
Islander2201158

The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 95.04%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 39.80%.

Polk County, Iowa Earnings by Educational Attainment

Name Average Male Female
Overall$40,558$46,554$34,664
Less Than High School$24,683$28,091$19,080
High School Grad$30,226$35,825$23,249
Some College$36,706$43,521$30,806
Bachelors Degree$52,183$62,393$45,070
Graduate Degree$66,902$78,339$60,563

$40,558

Average Earnings

$46,554

Average Male

$34,664

Average Female

Polk County, Iowa Language

Polk County, Iowa Language by Age

Polk County, Iowa Language

87.55% of Polk County, Iowa residents speak only English, while 12.45% speak other languages. The largest non-English language is Spanish, which is spoken by 5.64% of the population.

Polk County, Iowa Poverty

Polk County, Iowa Poverty by Race

Name Total In Poverty Poverty Rate
White356,04331,5898.87%
Black28,5009,39632.97%
Hispanic36,1099,27625.69%
Asian18,6623,13216.78%
Multiple11,8312,57421.76%
Other6,5961,65525.09%
Native1,22449240.20%
Islander35811532.12%

12.43%

Overall Poverty Rate

11.08%

Male Poverty Rate

13.74%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Polk County, Iowa

The race most likely to be in poverty in Polk County, Iowa is Native, with 40.20% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Polk County, Iowa is White, with 8.87% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.51%. Among those working part-time, it was 18.26%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 21.52%.

Polk County, Iowa Poverty Rate by Education

Name Poverty
Less Than High School24.08%
High School13.72%
Some College9.29%
Bachelors or Greater2.91%

Polk County, Iowa Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Name Poverty
Female Unemployed42.90%
Male Unemployed25.14%
Female Employed7.54%
Male Employed5.24%

Polk County, Iowa Income

Polk County, Iowa Income by Household Type

Name Median Mean
Households$61,684$80,761
Families$75,427$95,331
Married Families$91,190$111,110
Non Families$38,448$51,111

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status

Marriage Rates

50.2%

Overall Marriage Rate

51.7%

Male Marriage Rate

48.9%

Female Marriage Rate

Polk County, Iowa Married by Age and Sex

Polk County, Iowa Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 55To64, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45To54.

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status by Race

Polk County, Iowa Veterans

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by War

25,586

Number of Veterans

23,577

Male Veterans

2,009

Female Veterans

Name Veterans
Vietnam8,441
First Gulf War4,546
Second Gulf War4,489
Korea2,522
World War II1,725

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Age

Name Veterans
35 to 546,634
75+5,873
65 to 745,360
55 to 644,779
18 to 342,940

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Race

Name Veterans % of Total
White23,4147.83%
Black1,4097.21%
Hispanic6523.03%
2 or More2786.29%
Asian2271.64%
Other1513.36%
Indian9010.54%
Hawaiian176.85%

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Education

5.51%

Veteran Poverty Rate

26.34%

Veteran Disability Rate

Polk County, Iowa Employment Status

Polk County, Iowa Employment by Age

72.7%

Labor Force Participation

68.8%

Employment Rate

5.2%

Unemployment Rate

Polk County, Iowa Employment by Race

Polk County, Iowa Employment by Education

Population of Cities in Polk County, Iowa

City 2010 Census 2016 Estimated Growth Growth Rate
Des Moines 204190215472112825.53%
West Des Moines 5670364560785713.86%
Ankeny45582586271304528.62%
Urbandale 394594301835599.02%
Johnston1726621114384822.29%
Altoona1454617938339223.32%
Clive 1541217546213413.85%
Grimes 825511909365444.26%
Norwalk 898110590160917.92%
Pleasant Hill8788975096210.95%
Bondurant38605796193650.16%
Windsor Heights486049831232.53%
Polk City34184428101029.55%
Carlisle 389142493589.20%
Mitchellville 225424051516.70%
Granger 1244140215812.70%
Elkhart68378310014.64%
Runnells507523163.16%
Alleman432455235.32%
Sheldahl 31932120.63%
Data Sources
  1. US Census City/Town Population estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  2. Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 - 1990