Pay and cost of living in Polk County, IA
Polk County, IA is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA labor market, and this page summarizes 9 occupations with published wages there. The median of their median salaries is $46,370 a year. The best-paid occupation listed is General and Operations Managers at $98,780, and the lowest is Fast Food and Counter Workers at $29,140.
A one-bedroom apartment in Polk County, IA has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,145 a month and a two-bedroom $1,360. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $20,432 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $40,953 a year, and every one of the 9 occupations listed here earns enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.
Each occupation links to a detailed page with gross pay, take-home pay, rent, food and energy costs, and the monthly budget margin. All pages share one method, which makes it easy to compare jobs inside Polk County, IA or against other counties.
Housing, taxes and commute in Polk County, IA
The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Polk County, IA, set beside the Iowa and national medians.
Median household income in Polk County, IA is $83,576, 11% above the Iowa median of $75,059 and $80,734 nationally. A year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($13,740) equals 16.4% of that income. The median of the occupation medians listed here, $46,370, is 45% below household income, which is expected because a household can hold more than one earner.
Homeowners in Polk County, IA pay a median of $4,396 a year in real estate taxes, 52% above the Iowa median of $2,897. With a median home value of $262,100, 26% above the Iowa median of $208,000, the ratio of the two medians is 1.68% a year.
Renters in Polk County, IA pay a median gross rent of $1,149 a month in the Census survey, 18% above the Iowa median of $972. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent used for the budgets on this site is $1,145; the Census figure covers rental units of every size.
Workers in Polk County, IA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 20.0 minutes each way, 1% above the Iowa average of 19.8. 15.7% of workers work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally.