Polk County, Missouri

Polk County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,519. The county seat is Bolivar. The county was organized January 5, 1835, and is named for Ezekiel Polk. Polk County is part of the Springfield metropolitan area.

History

Polk County was separated and organized from Greene County on January 5, 1835. A supplement to the boundary change was made on March 13, 1835. Its original boundaries were later reduced in creating Dade, Dallas, and Hickory counties. It was named in honor of Col. Ezekiel Polk of Tennessee, a soldier who served under General George Washington and who was the grandfather of John Polk Campbell and Ezekiel Madison Campbell, brothers who helped to settle Polk and Greene counties. Ezekiel Polk was also the grandfather of James K. Polk, who was a member of the US House of Representatives in 1835. He was elected President of the United States in 1844.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Hickory County (north)
Dallas County (east)
Greene County (south)
Dade County (southwest)
Cedar County (west)
St. Clair County (northwest)

Major highways

20px Route 13
20px Route 32
20px Route 83
20px Route 123
20px Route 215

Transit

Jefferson Lines

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Polk County, Missouri – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|18,560

|21,384

|26,024

|29,565

|style='background: #ffffe6; |28,682

|98.61%

|97.97%

|96.41%

|94.95%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |91.00%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|33

|67

|119

|226

|style='background: #ffffe6; |242

|0.18%

|0.31%

|0.44%

|0.73%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.77%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|83

|125

|176

|190

|style='background: #ffffe6; |190

|0.44%

|0.57%

|0.65%

|0.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%

|Asian alone (NH)

|21

|71

|51

|104

|style='background: #ffffe6; |131

|0.11%

|0.33%

|0.19%

|0.33%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|Other race alone (NH)

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |61

|0.09%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|257

|419

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,418

|0.95%

|1.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.50%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|108

|173

|350

|615

|style='background: #ffffe6; |791

|0.57%

|0.79%

|1.30%

|1.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.51%

|Total

|18,822

|21,826

|26,992

|31,137

|style='background: #ffffe6; |31,519

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 31,519. The median age was 39.3 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 92.2% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.5% of the population.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Racial composition in Polk County

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

|White (NH)

|28,682

|91%

|Black or African American (NH)

|242

|0.76%

|Native American (NH)

|190

|0.6%

|Asian (NH)

|131

|0.42%

|Pacific Islander (NH)

|0.01%

|Other/Mixed (NH)

|1,479

|4.7%

|Hispanic or Latino

|791

|2.51%

32.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 67.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,992 households in the county, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 11,183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.26% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Approximately 1.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,917 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 12.60% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,656, and the median income for a family was $35,843. Males had a median income of $25,383 versus $18,799 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,645. About 11.10% of families and 16.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public libraries

Polk County Public Library

Media

The Bolivar Herald-Free Press is published twice weekly.

Communities

Cities

Bolivar (county seat)
Fair Play
Humansville
Morrisville
Pleasant Hope

Villages

Aldrich
Flemington
Goodnight, from 2003 to 2016
Halfway

Unincorporated communities

Adonis
Brighton
Burns
Cliquot
Dunnegan
Eudora
Goodson
Graydon Springs
Huckaby
Huron
Karlin
Knox
Mohawk Corner
Polk
Rimby
Rock Prairie
Rondo
Schofield
Sentinel
Slagle
Sunset
Tin Town
Van
Violet
West Bend
Wishart

Townships

Polk County is divided into 22 townships:

Campbell Township
Cliquot Township
East Looney Township
East Madison Township
Flemington Township
Jackson Township
Jefferson Township
Johnson Township
McKinley Township
Mooney Township
North Benton Township
North Green Township
Northeast Marion Township
Northwest Marion Township
South Benton Township
South Green Township
Southeast Marion Township
Southwest Marion Township
Union Township
West Looney Township
West Madison Township
Wishart Township

Politics

Local

The Republican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Polk County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.

State

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Past gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2024

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|79.38% 12,487

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|18.69% 2,940

|align="center" |1.93% 304

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2020

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|81.74% 12,319

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|16.42% 2,475

|align="center" |1.84% 278

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2016

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|66.92% 9,251

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|30.15% 4,168

|align="center" |2.92% 404

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2012

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|53.89% 7,052

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|43.15% 5,647

|align="center" |2.96% 388

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2008

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|45.76% 6,244

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|49.52% 6,758

|align="center" |4.72% 644

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2004

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|67.84% 8,418

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|30.90% 3,835

|align="center" |1.56% 1.26

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2000

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|58.65% 5,996

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|39.79% 4,068

|align="center" |1.55% 159

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|1996

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|55.64% 5,043

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|40.51% 3,672

|align="center" |3.85% 349

All of Polk County is in the 128th district in the Missouri House of Representatives, and is represented by Christopher Warwick (R-Bolivar), who was elected in 2024.

All of Polk County is a part of Missouri's 28th district in the Missouri Senate, which is currently held by Republican Sandy Crawford.

Federal

All of Polk county is included in Missouri's 4th congressional district and is currently represented by Mark Alford (R-Lake Winnebago) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political culture

Polk County has been a Republican Party stronghold for most of its history at the presidential level. In only four presidential elections from 1896 to the present has a Democratic Party candidate carried the county, the most recent being Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) received more votes, a total of 2,317, than any candidate from either party in Polk County during the 2008 presidential primary.

References

External links

http://www.bolivarmonews.com/
Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Polk County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Polk County Sheriff's Office