- Polk County, Nebraska
Infobox U.S. County
county = Polk County
state = Nebraska
founded = 1856
seat wl = Osceola
largest city wl = Stromsburg
area_total_sq_mi =441
area_land_sq_mi =439
area_water_sq_mi =2
area percentage = 0.43%
census yr = 2000
pop = 5639
density_km2 =5
web = www.polkcounty.ne.gov
|Polk County is a
county located in theU.S. state ofNebraska . As of 2000, the population is 5,639. Itscounty seat is OsceolaGR|6. Thecenter of population of Nebraska is located in Polk County, near the village of Shelby [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt] .In the Nebraska
license plate system, Polk County is represented by the prefix 41 (it had the forty-first-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,141
km² (441 mi²). 1,137 km² (439 mi²) of it is land and 5 km² (2 mi²) of it (0.43%) is water.Adjacent counties
*
Butler County, Nebraska - (East)
*York County, Nebraska - (South)
*Hamilton County, Nebraska - (Southwest)
*Merrick County, Nebraska - (West)
*Platte County, Nebraska - (North)History
Polk County was formed in 1856. It was named after President
James K. Polk . [ [http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/polk.htm] Retrieved onMarch 15 ,2008 .]Demographics
USCensusPop
1790=
1800=
1810=
1820=
1830=
1840=
1850=
1860 =19
1870 =136
1880 =6846
1890 =10817
1900 =10542
1910 =10521
1920 =10714
1930 =10092
1940 =8748
1950 =8044
1960 =7210
1970 =6468
1980 =6320
1990 =5668
2000 =5639
footnote=As of the
census GR|2 of 2000, there were 5,639 people, 2,259 households, and 1,570 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 5/km² (13/mi²). There were 2,717 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.92% White, 0.02% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 2,259 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.90% were married couples living together, 4.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 21.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,819, and the median income for a family was $45,081. Males had a median income of $30,286 versus $19,595 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $17,934. About 4.40% of families and 5.80% of the population were below thepoverty line , including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 4.70% of those age 65 or over.Cities and villages
*Osceola
*Polk
*Shelby
*StromsburgPopular culture
Polk County is the locale for the fictional town of Hemingford Home in Stephen King's novel
The Stand .fact|date=June 2008References
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