county

Polk County, AR

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

AI Overview

Polk County, AR is a small rural county of 19,348 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 55.7% and an unemployment rate of 8.4%, reflecting a constrained workforce pool with limited educational attainment—only 17.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Worker earnings are modest, with median worker earnings of $31,502 and a median household income of $49,191, though housing costs remain low with a median home value of $122,600 and median gross rent of $699/month. The county has shed 4.0% of its population over the past five years, and a poverty rate of 19.0% alongside a median age of 44.3 signal an older, economically stressed population base.

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

Population

19,348

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$49,191

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone17,029 (88.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races950 (4.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone689 (3.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race464 (2.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone154 (0.8%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone34 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish897
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic117
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island43
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)16

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,286

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$30,518

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,243

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

8.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,994
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,230
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)1,101
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services555
  5. 5.Construction (Group)554

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,586
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,540
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,363
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,325
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,052

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.18×)525
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.42×)1,112
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.24×)1,061
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.07×)1,964
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.02×)470

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$122,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$699/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999636 (10.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999546 (8.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999534 (8.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999428 (6.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999406 (6.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999382 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,502

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,889 (76.5%)
  • Carpooled1,145 (14.9%)
  • Worked At Home370 (4.8%)
  • Walked152 (2.0%)
  • Other84 (1.1%)
  • Bicycle53 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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More on FDI Connect

Compare Polk County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

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