county

Polk County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Polk County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Polk County, home to Des Moines, holds a labor force participation rate of 71.3% across a population of 516,185, with 39.5% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $47,947. The county's GDP per capita of $98,428 sits well above median household income of $83,576, and a 5-year population growth of 4.9% has accompanied relatively modest housing costs, with a median home value of $248,400 and median gross rent of $1,113 per month. The unemployment rate stands at 4.4%, the poverty rate at 10.1%, and the average commute time of 20.0 minutes reflects a geographically compact labor shed.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

516,185

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$83,576

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.9% since 2018

Polk County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone381,269 (75.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone37,401 (7.4%)
  • Asian Alone25,053 (5.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race21,468 (4.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone18,722 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races17,462 (3.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish32,012
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island9,246
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic5,003
  4. 4.Other Indo-European3,568
  5. 5.Vietnamese3,299

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

10.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

21,413

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$98,428

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$44,008

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance57,579
  2. 2.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing36,154
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)30,003
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services29,133
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)24,268

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations121,165
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations53,730
  3. 3.Service Occupations39,118
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations33,522
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations21,092

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 2.09×)36,902
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.20×)7,314
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.03×)29,663
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.02×)18,569
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 0.98×)12,153

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$248,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,113/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99928,713 (20.8%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99923,035 (16.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99918,444 (13.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99913,649 (9.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99910,206 (7.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99910,205 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

39.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

71.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$47,947

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone191,674 (72.4%)
  • Worked At Home41,667 (15.7%)
  • Carpooled22,230 (8.4%)
  • Walked3,705 (1.4%)
  • Other2,583 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit1,410 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.