Polk County, IA

Welcome to Polk County.

Polk County is the most populous in the state of Iowa, representing 15% of the state's population.

Total GDP for the county increased 27%, in the five years ending in 2022, to reach $55.1 billion.

Between 2000 and 2024 presidential elections, Polk County voted for Democratic candidates every single time.

Polk County comprises Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area.

The largest city in the county is Des Moines.

🔵 Democrat 🔴 Republican

Election Year Candidates (Party)*	Votes (% Total)		Landslide Scale**
	🔵	🔴
2000 🔴George W. Bush 🔵Al Gore	51.51%	45.89%	+
2004 🔴George W. Bush 🔵John Kerry	51.93%	47.29%	+
2008 🔵Barack Obama 🔴John McCain	56.43%	41.83%	+
2012 🔵Barack Obama 🔴Mitt Romney	56.13%	41.98%	+
2016 🔴Donald Trump 🔵Hillary Clinton	51.74%	40.38%	+
2020 🔵Joe Biden 🔴Donald Trump	56.52%	41.57%	+
2024 🔴Donald Trump 🔵Kamala Harris
Notes: Presidential Tickets 2000 (R) George W. Bush & Dick Cheney; (D) Al Gore & Joe Lieberman 2004 (R) George W. Bush & Dick Cheney; (D)John Kerry & John Edwards 2008 (D) Barack Obama & Joe Biden; (R) John McCain & Sarah Palin 2012 (D) Barack Obama & Joe Biden; (R) Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan 2016 (R) Donald Trump & Mike Pence; (D) Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine 2020 (D) Joe Biden & Kamala Harris; (R) Donald Trump & Mike Pence 2024 (R) Donald Trump & JD Vance; (D) Kamala Harris & Tim Waltz *Landslide Scale (county) + Victory margin was less than 20 percent ++ Victory margin was between 20 to 49 percentage points of more votes +++ Victory margin was more than half but below three quarters ++++ Victory margin was three quarters or more

Key Industry	As % County GDP	GDP Growth*
County GDP¹	100%	27%

Government Enterprises	8%	18%
Private Industries	92%	28%
Agriculture	<1%	0%
Mining	<1%	-56%
Utilities	<1%	111%
Construction	5%	30%
Manufacturing	6%	18%
– Durable	2%	24%
– Nondurable	4%	15%
Trade	13%	30%
– Wholesale	8%	29%
– Retail	5%	31%
Transportation	3%	0%
Information	3%	38%
Finance & Insurance	32%	25%
Real Estate	8%	29%
Professional & Business Services	10%	40%
Educational Services	1%	12%
Healthcare & Social Services	6%	17%
Arts, Recreation & Entertainment	1%	37%
Accommodation & Food Services	2%	19%
Other Services²	2%	27%
Notes: *Growth rates are based on most recent five-year value available and are updated dynamically ^1. All industry total. ^2. Includes various repairs, maintenance, personal care, religious organizations, social and professional organizations etc.

	Total*	Vibrancy Indicator (1-100)**
🚙 Automobile Dealers	97	93
🪑 Furniture & Home Furnishings	73	88
📺 Electronics & Appliance	42	88
🛒 Grocery Stores	123	92
🍾 Beer, Wine & Liquor Stores	28	82
⚕️ Health & Personal Care	149	92
⛽ Gasoline Stations	197	95
👕 Clothing Stores	119	89
👠 Shoe Stores	28	80
🧳 Luggage, Leather Goods & Jewelry	23	78
🏸 Sporting Goods	48	90
📚 Book Stores & News Dealers	13	78
🏬 Department Stores	72	93
💐 Florists	12	80
🎁 Gift, Novelty & Souvenir Shops	24	81
🐕 Pet & Pet Supplies	22	82
🍺 Bars & Taverns	133	97
🍽️ Full-service restaurants	401	94
🍔 Limited-service restaurants	384	93
🏠 Offices of Real Estate Agents & Brokers	296	93
🛏️ Traveler Accommodation	108	94
Notes: * Total counts of establishments are places of business. ** Vibrancy score is based on comparisons of relevant establishments per square mile of land area among all counties and county equivalents in the United States; A score of 100 means the county is in the top one percentile.

Household Income by Distribution
	As % County’s Total Household Income	Average Household Income	Maximum Household Income
Top 5%¹	17%	$263,100	N/A
Top 20%	44%	$169,100	$175,800
Next highest 20%	24%	$93,000	$112,600
Middle 20%	16%	$61,900	$76,200
Second lowest 20%	10%	$39,500	$50,400
Bottom 20%	5%	$18,000	$29,100
Notes: ^1. Households with aggregate income above 95% of all households in the county

		% Total Households	Average Household Income*
Wages & Salaries		67%	$71,200
Self-Employment		18%	$48,600
Investment Income¹		26%	$18,900
Social Security		39%	$22,000
Supplemental Security		3%	$11,700
Public Assistance		5%	Below $10,000
Retirement		21%	$19,500
Notes: * Calculation based on households claim to have specific source of income; Households may have more than one source of income ¹Includes interest, dividends, and net rental income

	Under 25*	Age 25 to 49*	Age 50 to 64*	Age 65 & Older*
Below $25K	1%	3%	4%	4%
$25K – $49K	2%	6%	5%	6%
$50K – $99K	2%	13%	10%	7%
$100K – $199K	1%	13%	11%	4%
$200K & more	<1%	3%	5%	1%
Notes: * Age of heads of households

Median Earnings by Worker Characteristics

Race/Ethnicity	Male	Female
Non-Hispanic White	$47,200	$35,500
African-American
Hispanic	$36,800
Asian

Level of Education	Male	Female
Below Highschool	$38,600
Highschool & GED	$47,400	$29,700
Some College to Associate’s	$57,000	$34,100
College/Bachelor’s Degree	$45,600	$55,500
Graduate Degree	$70,700	$78,400

Occupation	Male	Female
White-Collar¹	$58,100	$48,500
STEM²	$47,000	$76,400
Gray-Collar³	$45,800
Pink-Collar⁴		$13,900
Sales⁵	$66,600	$22,500
Blue-Collar⁶	$45,200	$34,400
Notes: ^1. Management, business, science, and arts occupations ^2. Computer, engineering, and science occupations ^3. Protective service occupations including firefighters and law enforcement ^4. Personal care and service occupations ^5. Sales and sales related ^6.Production, transportation, and material moving occupations

Disaster Category	Natural Hazard Risk Rating	Annual Loss Per Capita
Avalanche
Coastal Flooding
Cold Waves	++	$
Drought	++	$
Earthquake	+	$
Hail	++	$
Heat Waves	++
Hurricane	+
Ice Storm	+
Landslide	+
Lightning	+	$
Riverine Flooding	++	$
Strong Wind	+++	$
Tornado	++	$
Tsunami
Volcanic Activity
Wildfires	+
Winter Weather	++	$
Notes: Locations with insufficient data or not rated are left blank. +: Very low to Relatively low risk ratings ++: Relatively moderate +++: Relatively high ++++: Very high $: Expected per capita annual loss from the natural disaster is below $100 $$: $100-499 $$$: $500-999 $$$$: $1,000 and more

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