Polk County, Iowa Population 2019

Polk County, Iowa's estimated population is 481,830 with a growth rate of 1.49% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Polk County, Iowa is the largest county in Iowa.

Year Population Growth Growth Rate
2017481,8307,0621.49%
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
White395,365
Black or African American30,229
Asian20,321
Two or More Races12,960
Some Other Race6,566
American Indian and Alaska Native1,378
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander416

Data via US Census (2017 ACS 5-Year Survey): Table B03002

Polk County, Iowa Population Pyramid 2019

Data via US Census (2017 ACS 5-Year Survey): Table S0101

Polk County, Iowa Median Age

35.2


Total

34.4


Male

36


Female

Polk County, Iowa Adults

There are 349,675 adults, (56,639 of whom are seniors) in Polk County, Iowa.

Polk County, Iowa Age Dependency

59.4

Age Dependency Ratio

19.3

Old Age Dependency Ratio

40.1

Child Dependency Ratio

Polk County, Iowa Sex Ratio

Female

237,371

50.80%

Male

229,864

49.20%

Polk County, Iowa Households and Families

Polk County, Iowa Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Data via US Census (2017 ACS 5-Year Survey): Table S1101

Polk County, Iowa Household Types

Type Owner Renter
Married85.6%14.4%
All67.1%32.9%
Male57.6%42.4%
Non Family50.7%49.3%
Female46.7%53.3%

67.1%

Rate of Home Ownership

Polk County, Iowa Households by Type

Type Count Average Size Owned
All181,3162.5367.1
Married85,9503.285.6
Non Family66,6191.3150.7
Female20,6493.3546.7
Male8,0983.3457.6

3.14

Average Family Size

2.53

Average Household Size

7.1%

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 Grade10,6683.46%
9th to 12th Grade15,7735.12%
High School Graduate77,43025.12%
Some College64,48420.92%
Associates Degree31,03810.07%
Bachelors Degree75,45724.48%
Graduate Degree33,39710.83%

Polk County, Iowa Educational Attainment by Race

Name Total High School Bachelors
White257,639244,45298,333
Hispanic17,83410,7922,195
Black16,62514,0462,991
Asian12,7329,4814,585
Multiple Races3,4732,970775
Other Race3,4581,804294
Native American757577132
Islander26416166

The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 94.88%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 38.17%.

Polk County, Iowa Earnings by Educational Attainment

Name Average Male Female
Overall$41,177$47,698$35,159
Less Than High School$25,665$30,565$20,012
High School Grad$31,206$37,012$23,753
Some College$37,395$43,980$31,286
Bachelors Degree$53,774$65,360$45,526
Graduate Degree$68,522$80,414$61,508

$41,177

Average Earnings

$47,698

Average Male

$35,159

Average Female

Polk County, Iowa Language

Polk County, Iowa Language by Age

Polk County, Iowa Language

87.37% of Polk County, Iowa residents speak only English, while 12.63% speak other languages. The largest non-English language is Spanish, which is spoken by 5.58% of the population.

Polk County, Iowa Poverty

Polk County, Iowa Poverty by Race

Name Total In Poverty Poverty Rate
White360,05229,4268.17%
Black29,3359,02630.77%
Hispanic37,3178,93823.95%
Asian20,1953,18115.75%
Multiple12,6243,10224.57%
Other6,4281,55124.13%
Native1,30330223.18%
Islander40915537.90%

11.69%

Overall Poverty Rate

10.32%

Male Poverty Rate

13.01%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Polk County, Iowa

The race most likely to be in poverty in Polk County, Iowa is Islander, with 37.90% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Polk County, Iowa is White, with 8.17% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.58%. Among those working part-time, it was 17.22%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 20.25%.

Polk County, Iowa Poverty Rate by Education

Name Poverty
Less Than High School23.44%
High School13.07%
Some College8.53%
Bachelors or Greater3.05%

Polk County, Iowa Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Name Poverty
Female Unemployed42.39%
Male Unemployed19.73%
Female Employed7.20%
Male Employed4.83%

Polk County, Iowa Income

Polk County, Iowa Income by Household Type

Name Median Mean
Households$63,530$84,020
Families$78,175$99,729
Married Families$93,695$116,496
Non Families$40,314$53,241

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status

Marriage Rates

49.6%

Overall Marriage Rate

51.0%

Male Marriage Rate

48.2%

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 Over65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45To54.

Polk County, Iowa Marital Status by Race


Data via US Census (2017 ACS 5-Year Survey): Table S1201

Polk County, Iowa Veterans

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by War

23,682

Number of Veterans

21,944

Male Veterans

1,738

Female Veterans

Name Veterans
Vietnam7,948
Second Gulf War4,542
First Gulf War4,234
Korea2,227
World War II1,409

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Age

Name Veterans
35 to 545,936
75+5,555
65 to 745,348
55 to 644,189
18 to 342,654

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Race

Name Veterans % of Total
White21,9927.24%
Black1,2316.10%
Hispanic4922.21%
Asian1470.99%
2 or More1222.52%
Other902.04%
Indian899.05%
Hawaiian114.06%

Polk County, Iowa Veterans by Education

4.73%

Veteran Poverty Rate

25.62%

Veteran Disability Rate

Polk County, Iowa Employment Status

Polk County, Iowa Employment by Age

72.7%

Labor Force Participation

69.1%

Employment Rate

4.7%

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