County profile
Polk County, IA
United States · GDP 2024
#92 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 99% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$63.8B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+7.2%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
295,413
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
13,890
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$70.1k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
516,546
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.3%
Median HH income
$83.6k±$1.3k
Bachelor's degree+
40.3%±0.9%
Poverty rate
10.3%±0.6%
Business applications
7,953 · 2025
Retail establishments
1,594
31.0/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Casey's General Stores, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$17.6B73B2Principal Financial Group, Inc.Financial Services$15.6B65B3F&G Annuities & Life, Inc.Financial Services$5.7B40D4Gooi Global, Inc.Financial Services$1.5M——5West Bancorporation, Inc.Financial Services———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care23%
Finance & insurance22%
Retail trade18%
Food & accommodation14%
Professional services12%
Manufacturing11%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
516,546
residents · 2025 · +4.8% since 2020
Income per capita $69.8k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+1,974
International migration+11,325
Natural change+10,393
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$46.8B2019
$49.1B2020
$55.0B2021
$56.8B2022
$59.6B2023
$63.8B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$262.1k±$3.5k
Median gross rent
$1.1k/mo±$16/mo
Vacancy rate
6.0%±0.5%
Affordability
3.7× wages
Residential permits
$1.3B
4,730 units · 9.2/1k pop
FEMA risk score
92.0
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.3k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Strong wind 99Tornado 98Hail 98
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
4382016
4602017
4802018
4952019
5052020
5512021
6202022
6662023
6972024
7092025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -1% since 20214,7852021
4,0282022
3,0952023
2,9492024
4,7302025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
0.2 km
I-35
Nearest freight rail
0.9 km
UP
Nearest port
199.9 km
AMERICAN COMMERCIAL TERMINALS HEARTLAND TERMINAL DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
18.4 km
DES MOINES INTL
Filing activity
SEC EDGARWage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$70.1k
avg. annual pay · +20% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPThe read
What is the GDP of Polk?
Polk's economy produced $63.8B in 2024, growing 7.2% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.