Rank

2232of 3,144

Polk, Iowa

Score 5.84 / 10· population 505,255

About 505,300 people live in Polk, Iowa. It ranks #2,232 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #97 of 99 in Iowa. The combined sales tax is 7%, higher than in 56% of counties. Property tax takes about 1.57% of a home's value each year, more than in 94% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 90% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 58% of counties. Life expectancy is about 77.7 years, longer than in 72% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 81% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 47), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in 88% of counties. On this site's state scores, Iowa gets 6.91 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 10 of 10 for gun rights.

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values