county

Polk County, NE

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

AI Overview

Polk County, NE is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county with a population of 5,209 and a modest 18.6% bachelor's attainment rate, though 93.3% hold a high school diploma and the unemployment rate sits at just 1.5%. Worker earnings median at $42,308 against a median home value of $177,800 and median gross rent of $692/month indicate a low-cost operating environment, with an 81.6% homeownership rate reinforcing the area's affordability profile. The county has seen slight population contraction of -0.9% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $59,885 outpaces the median household income of $69,768, with a poverty rate of only 6.2%.

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

Population

5,209

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$69,768

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone4,757 (91.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone163 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races145 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race133 (2.5%)
  • Asian Alone11 (0.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone10 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish199
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)16
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic14
  4. 4.Arabic9
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)5

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

301

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$59,885

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,569

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance520
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining484
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)360
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)287
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities229

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations948
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations644
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations447
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations439
  5. 5.Service Occupations350

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 10.79×)485
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.46×)409
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.08×)144
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.07×)177
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 0.97×)129

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$177,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$692/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999234 (14.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999195 (11.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999187 (11.2%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999184 (11.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999165 (9.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999111 (6.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

67.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,308

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

1.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,097 (75.5%)
  • Worked At Home326 (11.7%)
  • Carpooled226 (8.1%)
  • Walked110 (4.0%)
  • Bicycle10 (0.4%)
  • Other5 (0.2%)

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.