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$17.6B74B2Principal Financial Group, Inc.Financial Services$15.6B65B3F&G Annuities & Life, Inc.Financial Services$5.7B39D4Gooi 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 EDGAR6 filings from 2 companies here in the last 90 days.
Wage 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.