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Welcome to Polk County ...

Time Zone: Polk County lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Des Moines is the Seat for Polk County. Des Moines is also the capital of Iowa.

Polk County was founded January 13, 1846.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Polk had a population of 490,161 people. This is an increase of 13.37% since the last Census (which gave a population of 432,352 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Polk represented 14.19% of the total population of Iowa.

Below are some of the communities located in Polk County:

  • Alleman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Alleman is located in Polk County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
  • Altoona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Altoona is located in Polk County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <2>
  • Ankeny
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Ankeny is located in Polk County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <2>
  • Bondurant
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Carlisle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Clive
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Clive is located in Polk County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <2>
  • Des Moines
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Elkhart
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Grimes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Grimes is located in Polk County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grimes <2>
    • Johnston
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mitchellville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Norwalk
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Norwalk is located in Polk County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <2>
    • Pleasant Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Polk City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Runnells
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sheldahl
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Sheldahl is located in Polk County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldahl
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
    • Urbandale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • West Des Moines
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Windsor Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.