Polk County, Iowa

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 492,401, and was estimated to be 516,546 in 2025, making it the most populous county in Iowa. The county seat and the largest city is Des Moines, which is also the capital city of Iowa. Polk County is included in the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History Polk County was formed on January 13, 1846 and organized on March 1, 1846., the legislative body of the Iowa Territory authorized the creation of twelve counties in the Territory,The counties were Boone, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Jasper, Lucas, Madison, Marshall, Polk, Story, Warren, and Wayne. 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, 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, the structure was not completed until 1866. The present courthouse was erected in 1906, and in 1962 it was extensively renovated and enlarged.Polk County

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.24%) is water. It is the 41st-largest county in Iowa by total area The county is bisected by the Des Moines River.

Major highways Interstate 35 Interstate 80 Interstate 235 U.S. Highway 6 U.S. Highway 65 U.S Route 69 Iowa Highway 5 Iowa Highway 17 Iowa Highway 28 Iowa Highway 141 Iowa Highway 160 Iowa Highway 163 Iowa Highway 210 Iowa Highway 415

Transit Des Moines Area Regional Transit Burlington Trailways Jefferson Lines Des Moines Bus Station

Demographics

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. There were 224,898 housing units at an average density of .

The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (85.0%), Spanish (6.6%), Indo-European (3.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (3.4%), and Other (1.9%).

The median age in the county was 36.2 years.

+Polk County, Iowa – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 280,143(92.40%) 299,469(91.54%) 323,785(86.43%) 347,710(80.74%) 362,260(73.57%) Black or African American alone (NH) 13,570(4.48%) 14,618(4.47%) 17,874(4.77%) 25,344(5.89%) 34,990(7.11%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 712(0.23%) 834(0.25%) 878(0.23%) 894(0.21%) 1,081(0.22%) Asian alone (NH) 2,204(0.73%) 5,871(1.79%) 9,765(2.61%) 15,118(3.51%) 24,313(4.94%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 178(0.05%) 228(0.05%) 280(0.06%) Other race alone (NH) 1,962(0.65%) 187(0.06%) 554(0.15%) 605(0.14%) 1,713(0.35%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 5,077(1.36%) 8,094(1.88%) 19,709(4.00%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4,579(1.51%) 6,161(1.88%) 16,490(4.40%) 32,647(7.58%) 48,055(9.76%) Total 303,170(100.00%) 327,140(100.00%) 374,601(100.00%) 430,640(100.00%) 492,401(100.00%)

2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 516,185 people, 211,294 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 224,898 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.8% White (72.7% NH White), 8.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 5.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 11.2% of the population.

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 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 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

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population(2020 Census) Population(2024 Estimate) 1Des Moines † (partially in Warren County) City 214,133 213,096 2Ankeny City 67,887 76,727 3West Des Moines (partially in Dallas, Warren and Madison Counties) City 68,723 73,664 4Urbandale (partially in Dallas County) City 45,580 48,119 5Johnston City 24,064 25,292 6Altoona City 19,565 22,598 7Clive (partially in Dallas County) City 18,601 19,808 8Grimes (partially in Dallas County) City 15,392 17,766 9Norwalk (mostly in Warren County) City 12,799 15,396 10Pleasant Hill City 10,147 12,012 11Bondurant City 7,365 9,565 12Polk City City 5,543 6,545 13Windsor Heights City 5,252 5,106 14Carlisle (partially in Warren County) City 4,160 4,512 15Saylorville CDP 3,584 3,622 16Mitchellville (partially in Jasper County) City 2,485 2,717 17Granger (mostly in Dallas County) City 1,654 2,191 18Elkhart City 882 1,165 19Runnells City 457 467 20Alleman City 423 447 21Sheldahl (partially in Boone and Story Counties) City 297 326

Education School districts include: - Text list Ankeny Community School District, Ankeny Ballard Community School District, Huxley Bondurant–Farrar Community School District, Bondurant Carlisle Community School District, Carlisle Collins–Maxwell Community School District, Maxwell Dallas Center–Grimes Community School District, Grimes Des Moines Independent Community School District, Des Moines Johnston Community School District, Johnston Madrid Community School District, Madrid North Polk Community School District, Alleman PCM Community School District, Monroe Saydel Community School District, Des Moines Southeast Polk Community School District, Pleasant Hill Urbandale Community School District, Urbandale West Des Moines Community School District, West Des Moines Woodward-Granger Community School District, Granger

Attractions Adventureland Resort Blank Park Zoo Casey's Center Iowa State Capitol Iowa State Fair Living History Farms Science Center of Iowa Valley Junction

Communities Cities

Alleman Altoona Ankeny Bondurant Carlisle Clive Des Moines Elkhart Granger Grimes Johnston Mitchellville Norwalk Pleasant Hill Polk City Runnells Sheldahl Urbandale West Des Moines Windsor Heights

Census-designated place Saylorville

Unincorporated communities

Adelphi Andrews Avon Avon Lake Berwick Capitol Heights Crocker Enterprise Farrar Herrold Ivy Lovington Norwoodville Oralabor Polk City Junction Rising Sun Santiago Saylor Swanwood White Oak Zook Spur

Townships

Allen Beaver Bloomfield Camp Clay Crocker Delaware Des Moines Douglas Elkhart Four Mile Franklin Jefferson Lee Lincoln Madison Saylor Union Walnut Washington Webster

Polk County, Iowa

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