Hillsborough County vs Polk County
Two neighbouring counties in Florida, compared on population, size, income and housing. They share 39 mi of border.
Hillsborough County
Florida
Polk County
Florida
Both outlines are drawn at true relative size. Polk County spans about 105.3 km at its widest.
Side by side
| Measure | Hillsborough County | Difference | Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,574,115 | +79.9% | 874,790 |
| Change since 2020 | 7.4% | -12.4 pp | 19.8% |
| Land area | 1,023 sq mi | -43.1% | 1,798 sq mi |
| Population density | 1,539 per sq mi | +216.7% | 486 per sq mi |
| Median household income | $79,540 | +20.6% | $65,978 |
| Median home value | $371,500 | +39.4% | $266,500 |
| Median age | 37.9 | -4.1% | 39.5 |
| Households | 583,192 | +101.5% | 289,425 |
| Housing units | 630,692 | +85.1% | 340,748 |
Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026; US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. The difference column is computed here: the first county's figure against the second, expressed as a percentage of the second. The change-since-2020 row is the exception: two growth rates differ in percentage points (pp), not percent. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
What the numbers say
- Hillsborough County holds about 1.8 times the population of Polk County: 1,574,115 against 874,790.
- Polk County covers more ground, at 1,798 square miles against 1,023.
- Hillsborough County is the more crowded of the two, at 1,539 people per square mile against 486.
- Median household income is higher in Hillsborough County, by 13,562 dollars a year.
- Since 2020, Hillsborough County has grown by 7.4% and Polk County has grown by 19.8%.
- They share 39 mi of common border, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which almost no other county reference presents.
Full pages
Want a different pair? Compare any two of the 3,144 US counties.
Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.