County Maps US

Polk County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 53 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31143

Within Nebraska
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 Osceola, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

Download SVGFull Nebraska map downloads

Population
5,270
+56 (+1.1%) since 2020
Land area
438.8
square miles. A further 0.4% of the total area is water
Population density
12.0
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Osceola
Seat of county government.
Established
1856
169 years ago
Largest city
Stromsburg city
Population 1,159.

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, Nebraska 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 793 by 800 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 93 counties of Nebraska, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn NebraskaNationally
Population5,27053rd of 932,799th of 3,144
Land area438.8 sq mi83rd of 932,309th of 3,144
Population density12.0 per sq mi39th of 932,499th of 3,144
Median household income$69,76841st of 931,211th 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
Population5,270Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20205,214Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?5,211Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area438.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area1.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area440.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?12.0 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$69,768American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$189,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age43.4American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households2,114American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units2,531American 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
-22
54 births, 76 deaths
Net migration
+6
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 6 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
Butler CountyNebraska24 mi8,507
York CountyNebraska24 mi14,564
Merrick CountyNebraska18 mi7,905
Platte CountyNebraska13 mi35,649
Hamilton CountyNebraska8.9 mi9,678
Seward CountyNebraskaa single point18,032

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

All 93 counties of Nebraska

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

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