County · Oregon

Polk County, Oregon

Polk County, Oregon. Polk County had 90,037 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 3.0% since 2020, faster than Oregon (+0.9%). It holds 10 places (6 cities, villages and boroughs and 4 census-designated) and 16 census tracts. GEOID 41053.

Polk County is one of the 2 counties of the Salem, OR metropolitan statistical area (the Census Bureau's July 2023 delineation).

Residents, July 2025 estimate

90,037

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 87,433 · ACS 2020-2024: 89,662

Median household income

$85,118

±$3,655 (90% margin)
Oregon: $83,011

Median home value

$454,700

±$10,323 (90% margin)
Oregon: $477,600

Median gross rent

$1,299

±$56 (90% margin)
Oregon: $1,525

How many people live in Polk County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 87,433 residents in Polk County. The Census Bureau estimates 90,037 for July 1, 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, faster than Oregon (+0.9%). The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 89,662 over 741 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +1,453 (89,436)
2021→2022 +487 (89,923)
2022→2023 +215 (90,138)
2023→2024 +67 (90,205)
2024→2025 −168 (90,037)

Polk County in Oregon. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Polk County	Oregon	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	89,662	4,254,293	+6,625
Households	32,986±487	1,718,422	+2,681
Average household size	2.65±0.04	2.42	no clear change
Housing units	34,867±72	1,857,992	+2,763

Polk County's population since 2000

From 62,380 in 2000 to 90,037 in 2025: up 44.3%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 62,380
2005 (estimate) 68,585
2010 Census 75,403
2015 (estimate) 79,012
2020 Census 87,433
2025 (estimate) 90,037

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Polk County?

Polk County holds 10 places: 6 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places) and 4 census-designated places. The largest is Salem with 181,779 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Polk County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Salem	city	175,535	178,865±60	$75,487	$416,900	14.4%	17%
Dallas	city	16,854	17,531±56	$71,549	$389,100	15.5%	100%
Monmouth	city	11,110	11,428±22	$69,170	$413,200	16.1%	100%
Independence	city	9,828	10,199±31	$85,375	$378,800	12.5%	100%
Grand Ronde	CDP	2,010	1,549±314	$52,669	$318,500	24.8%	71%
Falls City	city	1,051	1,222±282	$51,250	$302,900	19.8%	100%
Willamina	city	2,239	2,193±438	$58,906	$317,600	6.8%	41%
Fort HillGEOID 4126400	CDP	154	123±52	$19,418	$10,000 or less	0.0%	99%
RickreallGEOID 4161800	CDP	76	52±91	not published	not published	26.9%	100%
EolaGEOID 4123550	CDP	60	0±13	not published	not published	–	100%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Polk County?

The median resident of Polk County is 37.8 years old; 21.6% are under 18 and 19.0% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 73.9%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 15.6%. 6.3% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Polk County	Oregon	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	37.8±0.4	40.4	+0.8
Under 18 years	21.6%±0.1 pts	19.9%	–
65 years and over	19.0%±0.2 pts	19.1%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	15.6%	14.7%	+1.7 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	73.9%±0.5 pts	71.4%	−4.2 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	0.6%±0.2 pts	1.8%	no clear change
Asian alone, not Hispanic	1.9%±0.2 pts	4.4%	no clear change
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	1.1%±0.2 pts	0.6%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.6%±0.1 pts	0.4%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	5.7%±0.6 pts	6.1%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.6%±0.4 pts	0.6%	–
Born outside the United States	6.3%±0.6 pts	9.8%	−1.5 pts
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	12.0%±1.2 pts	15.2%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	9.1%±0.8 pts	7.2%	–
With a disability	17.1%±1.1 pts	15.5%	–
No health insurance coverage	4.9%±1.0 pts	5.9%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	91.7%±1.0 pts	91.8%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	31.2%±1.6 pts	36.8%	no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	12.3%±1.2 pts	14.1%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	2.1%±0.5 pts	3.0%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Polk County earn?

Half of Polk County's 32,986 households earn less than $85,118 a year (±$3,655), against $83,011 in Oregon. In 2015-2019 the median was $77,153 in 2024 dollars, so it rose by $7,965 after inflation. 12.7% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Polk County	Oregon	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$85,118±$3,655	$83,011	+$7,965
Mean household income	$107,909±$4,711	$111,542	–
Per capita income	$40,635±$1,811	$45,612	+$4,403
People below the poverty line	12.7%±1.5 pts	11.9%	no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line	13.8%±3.5 pts	13.2%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	19.8%±2.0 pts	16.0%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	91.3%±1.1 pts	92.4%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Polk County?

Owners occupy 64.7% of Polk County's occupied homes and renters 35.3%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $454,700 by its owner (±$10,323). The median renter pays $1,299 a month including utilities, and 39.7% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Polk County	Oregon	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$454,700±$10,323	$477,600	+$128,320
Median gross rent	$1,299±$56	$1,525	+$76
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	39.7%±4.1 pts	43.1%	no clear change
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$2,095±$71	$2,157	–
Owner-occupied homes	64.7%±2.2 pts	63.3%	no clear change
Housing units	34,867±72	1,857,992	+2,763
Homeowner vacancy rate	0.2%±0.1 pts	0.7%	–
Rental vacancy rate	4.5%±1.9 pts	4.2%	–
Single-family detached homes	66.5%±1.9 pts	62.7%	–
Mobile homes	6.2%±0.9 pts	7.1%	–
Built 2020 or later	2.6%±0.8 pts	2.1%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	6.9%±0.8 pts	10.7%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Polk County building?

Builders took permits for 103 new housing units across Polk County in 2025 (89 single-family), 1.1 per 1,000 residents.

2019 398 units
2020 265 units
2021 316 units
2022 255 units
2023 219 units
2024 177 units
2025 103 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Polk County get to work?

66.9% of Polk County's workers drive alone and 17.5% work from home. The average trip to work takes 25.3 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 5.7%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Polk County	Oregon	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	59.8%±1.4 pts	62.3%	–
Unemployment rate	5.7%±1.1 pts	5.4%	no clear change
Drove alone to work	66.9%±2.1 pts	64.5%	–
Carpooled	10.2%±1.4 pts	8.5%	–
Public transportation	0.4%±0.3 pts	2.2%	–
Walked	3.3%±0.8 pts	3.3%	–
Worked from home	17.5%±1.7 pts	19.0%	+11.1 pts
Mean travel time to work	25.3 min±0.9	23.0 min	no clear change

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Polk County's census tracts?

Polk County is divided into 16 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $44,405 (Tract 52.06) to $133,281 (Tract 53.01).

Census tracts of Polk County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 5141053005100	Salem	2,234	2,486±455	$59,109	$339,100	$1,197	20.3%
Tract 52.0341053005203	Salem	6,406	6,419±595	$96,317	$483,100	$1,391	11.2%
Tract 52.0441053005204	Salem (81%)	3,813	4,450±729	$102,972	$469,100	$1,679	7.3%
Tract 52.0541053005205	Salem	8,747	8,574±917	$117,058	$487,200	$1,669	10.4%
Tract 52.0641053005206	Salem (59%)	2,629	2,391±601	$44,405	not published	$1,196	27.1%
Tract 53.0141053005301	Salem (42%)	8,524	8,540±800	$133,281	$583,100	$2,112	7.1%
Tract 53.0241053005302	Salem (4%)	2,109	2,371±364	$77,625	$756,600	$1,028	9.3%
Tract 202.0241053020202	Dallas (57%)	7,477	7,411±904	$60,106	$399,500	$1,288	16.6%
Tract 202.0341053020203	Dallas	3,051	3,408±406	$50,136	$355,400	$1,214	24.2%
Tract 202.0441053020204	Dallas (67%)	5,010	4,733±522	$86,125	$441,900	$1,194	9.6%
Tract 203.0341053020303	Monmouth (45%)	4,728	5,466±480	$69,708	$486,300	$1,361	20.3%
Tract 203.0441053020304	Monmouth (90%)	8,074	7,594±482	$79,948	$386,500	$1,083	14.8%
Tract 203.0541053020305	Independence (89%)	8,792	9,236±278	$84,429	$372,600	$1,589	13.5%
Tract 203.0641053020306	Independence (5%)	1,988	2,187±354	$114,500	$593,600	$1,643	5.1%
Tract 20441053020400	Grand Ronde (10%)	6,608	6,676±708	$58,928	$383,700	$1,099	11.3%
Tract 20541053020500	Dallas (25%)	7,243	7,720±811	$109,648	$471,000	$945	8.6%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Polk County compare with Oregon's other counties?

Polk County's rank among Oregon's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	12th of 36
Growth 2020-2025	7th of 36
Residents per square mile	7th of 36
Median household income	8th of 36
Median home value	10th of 36
Median gross rent	13th of 36
Poverty rate	21st of 36
Bachelor's degree or higher	10th of 36
Median age	31st of 36

Every county in Oregon

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Polk County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.