Polk County, IA
Migration of people and income, 2022–2023 filing years
At a glance (2023)
Cost of living is the metro-area price level for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA.
The cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. The median home is valued at $248,400 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 39% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $1,113 a month. Unemployment averaged 2.9% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $81,621. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.
Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, Polk County, IA saw a net gain of 468 tax-filing households and a net loss of 101 individuals. Against a population of about 505,255, that is a net outflow of about 0.2 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area lost $12.6M in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 2,125 households, came from Dallas County; the largest outflow, about 2,531 households, went to Dallas County. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net loss of 2,273 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.
-0.2 net people per 1,000 residents (population 505,255)
Income (AGI) in and out
Polk County within Iowa
Polk County is outlined, with arrows tracing its largest moves to and from other Iowa counties. Hover any county for its figures; click to open it.
Where movers came from
- 1Dallas County, IA2,125$180.5M
- 2Story County, IA863$50.4M
- 3Warren County, IA648$36.1M
- 4Jasper County, IA337$17.5M
- 5Johnson County, IA276$12.7M
- 6Linn County, IA253$13.5M
- 7Black Hawk County, IA244$12.3M
- 8Marion County, IA179$9.9M
- 9Cook County, IL174$11.7M
- 10Maricopa County, AZ157$10.7M
Where movers went
- 1Dallas County, IA2,531$210M
- 2Warren County, IA843$61.4M
- 3Story County, IA607$31.1M
- 4Jasper County, IA309$18M
- 5Cook County, IL228$14.1M
- 6Johnson County, IA227$11.1M
- 7Maricopa County, AZ192$14M
- 8Hennepin County, MN171$10.5M
- 9Marion County, IA154$9.7M
- 10Linn County, IA150$8.4M
Churn by county · both directions at once
The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 2022–2023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.
| Dallas County, IA | 2,125 | 2,531 | -406 | -$29.5M |
| Warren County, IA | 648 | 843 | -195 | -$25.2M |
| Story County, IA | 863 | 607 | +256 | +$19.3M |
| Jasper County, IA | 337 | 309 | +28 | -$505K |
| Johnson County, IA | 276 | 227 | +49 | +$1.6M |
| Linn County, IA | 253 | 150 | +103 | +$5.1M |
| Cook County, IL | 174 | 228 | -54 | -$2.4M |
| Black Hawk County, IA | 244 | 127 | +117 | +$5.6M |
| Maricopa County, AZ | 157 | 192 | -35 | -$3.2M |
| Marion County, IA | 179 | 154 | +25 | +$286K |
| Boone County, IA | 152 | 132 | +20 | +$1.8M |
| Hennepin County, MN | 112 | 171 | -59 | -$1.1M |
Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.
Net migration by year
| Year | Net AGI | Net people |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -$28.7M | +830 |
| 2013 | -$9.4M | +1,874 |
| 2014 | -$2.5M | +1,862 |
| 2015 | +$18.7M | +2,241 |
| 2016 | -$39.9M | +2,628 |
| 2017 | -$40M | +608 |
| 2018 | +$12.1M | +1,412 |
| 2019 | -$116.8M | -825 |
| 2020 | -$89.5M | -1,067 |
| 2021 | -$104.1M | +1,139 |
| 2022 | -$123.8M | -2,273 |
| 2023 | -$12.6M | -101 |
How big is this move, relative to the county?
In the 2022–2023 filing year, about 101 more people left Polk County, IA than moved in (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net loss of about $12.6M in income (nominal) — in a county of 506,787 people.
The rate lets you compare Polk County, IA with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.
Components of population change · 2023 (Census)
Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.
What a dollar is worth here
Prices around Polk County, IA run about 7% below the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $108 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.
Cost of living shown for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area (BEA publishes price parities by metro, not by county).
Where the cost comes from · price parity by category
Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.
Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.
The people of Polk County, IA
American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).
White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.
Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)
A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.
Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.
Jobs and natural hazards
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.
Elections
National maps →How Polk County, IA has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 140,075 | 112,240 | 4,523 | D +10.8 | 258,067 |
| 2020 | 146,250 | 107,564 | 4,941 | D +15.0 | 258,755 |
| 2016 | 119,804 | 93,492 | 18,259 | D +11.4 | 231,555 |
| 2012 | 128,465 | 96,096 | 4,321 | D +14.1 | 228,882 |
| 2008 | 120,984 | 89,668 | 3,734 | D +14.6 | 214,386 |
| 2004 | 105,218 | 95,828 | 1,572 | D +4.6 | 202,618 |
| 2000 | 89,715 | 79,927 | 4,525 | D +5.6 | 174,167 |
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.
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