2017 Growth Rate
1.37%
County Website
State
Founded
1846
County Seat
Des Moines
Lat/Lng
Polk County, Iowa's estimated population is 481,086 with a growth rate of 1.37% 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 |
| 2018 | 487,204 | 6,118 | 1.27% |
| 2017 | 481,086 | 6,507 | 1.37% |
| 2016 | 474,579 | 7,053 | 1.51% |
| 2015 | 467,526 | 6,549 | 1.42% |
| 2014 | 460,977 | 8,290 | 1.83% |
| 2013 | 452,687 | 8,011 | 1.80% |
| 2012 | 444,676 | 5,955 | 1.36% |
| 2011 | 438,721 | 6,359 | 1.47% |
| 2010 | 432,362 | 105,222 | 32.16% |
| 1990 | 327,140 | 23,970 | 7.91% |
| 1980 | 303,170 | 17,069 | 5.97% |
| 1970 | 286,101 | 19,786 | 7.43% |
| 1960 | 266,315 | 40,305 | 17.83% |
| 1950 | 226,010 | 30,175 | 15.41% |
| 1940 | 195,835 | 22,998 | 13.31% |
| 1930 | 172,837 | 18,808 | 12.21% |
| 1920 | 154,029 | 43,591 | 39.47% |
| 1910 | 110,438 | 27,814 | 33.66% |
| 1900 | 82,624 | 17,214 | 26.32% |
| 1890 | 65,410 | 23,015 | 54.29% |
| 1880 | 42,395 | 14,538 | 52.19% |
| 1870 | 27,857 | 16,232 | 139.63% |
| 1860 | 11,625 | 7,112 | 157.59% |
| 1850 | 4,513 | 0.00% |
| Race | Population | Percentage |
| White | 395,365 | 84.62% |
| Black or African American | 30,229 | 6.47% |
| Asian | 20,321 | 4.35% |
| Two or More Races | 12,960 | 2.77% |
| Some Other Race | 6,566 | 1.41% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1,378 | 0.29% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 416 | 0.09% |
35.2
34.4
36
There are 349,675 adults, (56,639 of whom are seniors) in Polk County, Iowa.
Female
237,371
50.80%
Male
229,864
49.20%
| Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
| All | 181,316 | 2.53 | 67.1 |
| Married | 85,950 | 3.2 | 85.6 |
| Non Family | 66,619 | 1.31 | 50.7 |
| Female | 20,649 | 3.35 | 46.7 |
| Male | 8,098 | 3.34 | 57.6 |
| Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
| Less Than 9th Grade | 10,668 | 3.46% |
| 9th to 12th Grade | 15,773 | 5.12% |
| High School Graduate | 77,430 | 25.12% |
| Some College | 64,484 | 20.92% |
| Associates Degree | 31,038 | 10.07% |
| Bachelors Degree | 75,457 | 24.48% |
| Graduate Degree | 33,397 | 10.83% |
| Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
| White | 257,639 | 244,452 | 98,333 |
| Hispanic | 17,834 | 10,792 | 2,195 |
| Black | 16,625 | 14,046 | 2,991 |
| Asian | 12,732 | 9,481 | 4,585 |
| Multiple Races | 3,473 | 2,970 | 775 |
| Other Race | 3,458 | 1,804 | 294 |
| Native American | 757 | 577 | 132 |
| Islander | 264 | 161 | 66 |
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%.
$41,177
Average Earnings
$47,698
Average Male
$35,159
Average Female
87.37% of Polk County, Iowa residents speak only English, while 12.63% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 5.58% of the population.
| Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
| White | 360,052 | 29,426 | 8.17% |
| Black | 29,335 | 9,026 | 30.77% |
| Hispanic | 37,317 | 8,938 | 23.95% |
| Asian | 20,195 | 3,181 | 15.75% |
| Multiple | 12,624 | 3,102 | 24.57% |
| Other | 6,428 | 1,551 | 24.13% |
| Native | 1,303 | 302 | 23.18% |
| Islander | 409 | 155 | 37.90% |
11.69%
Overall Poverty Rate
10.32%
Male Poverty Rate
13.01%
Female Poverty Rate
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%.
49.6%
Overall Marriage Rate
51.0%
Male Marriage Rate
48.2%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
| Name | Veterans | % of Total |
| White | 21,992 | 7.24% |
| Black | 1,231 | 6.10% |
| Hispanic | 492 | 2.21% |
| Asian | 147 | 0.99% |
| 2 or More | 122 | 2.52% |
| Other | 90 | 2.04% |
| Indian | 89 | 9.05% |
| Hawaiian | 11 | 4.06% |
4.73%
Veteran Poverty Rate
25.62%
Veteran Disability Rate
72.7%
Labor Force Participation
69.1%
Employment Rate
4.7%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
91.07%
Native Born
8.93%
Foreign Born
5.11%
Non Citizen
91.07% of Polk County, Iowa residents were born in the United States, with 68.66% having been born in Iowa. 5.11% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.
| City | 2010 Census | 2016 Estimated | Growth | Growth Rate |
| Des Moines | 204190 | 215472 | 11282 | 5.53% |
| West Des Moines | 56703 | 64560 | 7857 | 13.86% |
| Ankeny | 45582 | 58627 | 13045 | 28.62% |
| Urbandale | 39459 | 43018 | 3559 | 9.02% |
| Johnston | 17266 | 21114 | 3848 | 22.29% |
| Altoona | 14546 | 17938 | 3392 | 23.32% |
| Clive | 15412 | 17546 | 2134 | 13.85% |
| Grimes | 8255 | 11909 | 3654 | 44.26% |
| Norwalk | 8981 | 10590 | 1609 | 17.92% |
| Pleasant Hill | 8788 | 9750 | 962 | 10.95% |
| Bondurant | 3860 | 5796 | 1936 | 50.16% |
| Windsor Heights | 4860 | 4983 | 123 | 2.53% |
| Polk City | 3418 | 4428 | 1010 | 29.55% |
| Carlisle | 3891 | 4249 | 358 | 9.20% |
| Mitchellville | 2254 | 2405 | 151 | 6.70% |
| Granger | 1244 | 1402 | 158 | 12.70% |
| Elkhart | 683 | 783 | 100 | 14.64% |
| Runnells | 507 | 523 | 16 | 3.16% |
| Alleman | 432 | 455 | 23 | 5.32% |
| Sheldahl | 319 | 321 | 2 | 0.63% |