county

Polk County, WI

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

AI Overview

Polk County is a largely owner-occupied, rural community of 45,327 in northwestern Wisconsin, with an 81.1% homeownership rate and median home value of $241,200, pointing to a residential-oriented local economy rather than a concentrated industrial base. The workforce of roughly 28,000 labor-force participants skews older (median age 46.7) and leans toward trades and services, with 23.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, a 3.5% unemployment rate, and median worker earnings of $44,494. Population grew 4.6% over five years, the poverty rate sits at a low 8.3%, and a median gross rent of $958/month reflects relatively affordable housing costs compared to national benchmarks.

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

Population

45,327

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$77,219

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone42,719 (93.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,046 (2.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race893 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone292 (0.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone263 (0.6%)
  • Asian Alone210 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish371
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic164
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)63
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island45
  5. 5.Other Indo-European44

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,842

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,393

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$39,402

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

8.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)5,177
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,625
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,336
  4. 4.Construction (Group)2,236
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,335

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,668
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,003
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,845
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,897
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,862

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.43×)5,375
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.00×)711
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.42×)2,187
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.12×)572
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.94×)2,268

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$241,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$958/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9993,164 (20.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,971 (12.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,902 (12.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,846 (11.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,152 (7.3%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9991,117 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$44,494

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone16,934 (77.3%)
  • Worked At Home2,578 (11.8%)
  • Carpooled1,669 (7.6%)
  • Walked457 (2.1%)
  • Other175 (0.8%)
  • Bicycle34 (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.