County Maps US

Polk County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 80 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37149

Within North Carolina
Polk County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Columbus, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
20,533
+1,155 (+6.0%) since 2020
Land area
237.7
square miles. A further 0.3% of the total area is water
Population density
86.4
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Columbus
Seat of county government.
Established
1855
170 years ago
Largest city
Tryon town
Population 1,634.

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; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Polk County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Polk County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 581 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Polk County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population20,53380th of 1001,802nd of 3,144
Land area237.7 sq mi94th of 1002,933rd of 3,144
Population density86.4 per sq mi64th of 1001,024th of 3,144
Median household income$67,75829th of 1001,359th of 3,143

Full data for Polk County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population20,533Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202019,378Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?19,322Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area237.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area0.76 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area238.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?86.4 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$67,758American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$315,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age54.9American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households8,976American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units11,042American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

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. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-178
128 births, 306 deaths
Net migration
+324
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 4 areas bordering Polk County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Rutherford CountyNorth Carolina31 mi65,745
Henderson CountyNorth Carolina18 mi122,375
Spartanburg CountySouth Carolina14 mi380,857
Greenville CountySouth Carolina9.1 mi583,125

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.