Who is the Polk County County Attorney?

Kimberly Graham (Democratic) is the County Attorney of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Polk County County Auditor?

Jamie Fitzgerald (Democratic) is the County Auditor of Polk County, Iowa.

Who is the Polk County County Recorder?

Julie M. Haggerty (Democratic) is the County Recorder of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Polk County Sheriff?

Kevin J. Schneider (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Polk County, Iowa.

Who is the Polk County County Treasurer?

Mary Wells (Democratic) is the County Treasurer of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who are the Polk County commissioners?

Matt McCoy (County Supervisor, District 1); Jill Altringer (County Supervisor, District 2); Mark E. Holm (County Supervisor, District 3); Tom Hockensmith (County Supervisor, District 4); Angela Connolly (County Supervisor, District 5).

What is the population of Polk County?

About 503,175 people, with a median age of 36.2; the median household income is $83,576 and 10.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Polk County?

3.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 9,646 people unemployed in a labor force of 282,996, against 3.4% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Polk County?

43 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 17 municipal, 10 school district and 15 special district governments.

Polk County, IA elected officials: county supervisors, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Polk County: 10 seats on 6 elected bodies. 6 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of Supervisors

Polk County Board of Supervisors

Each member is elected by the voters of their district.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Supervisor, District 1	Matt McCoy Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Supervisor, District 2	Jill Altringer Republican source
County Supervisor, District 3	Mark E. Holm Republican source
County Supervisor, District 4	Tom Hockensmith Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Supervisor, District 5	Angela Connolly Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet

County officers

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Attorney	Kimberly Graham Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Auditor	Jamie Fitzgerald Democratic source
County Recorder	Julie M. Haggerty Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Sheriff	Kevin J. Schneider Democratic source
County Treasurer	Mary Wells Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet

How many local governments Polk County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 43 local governments in Polk County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	17	0
School districts (school boards)	10	0
Special districts (elected boards)	15	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Polk County

503,175people

36.2median ageU.S.: 38.9

$83,576 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

10.3%below the U.S.: 12.5%

40.3%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$262,100median home valueU.S.: $332,700

4.4%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

10.1%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

5.6%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

5.3%U.S.: 8.4%

46.2%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

20.4%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 10.4% · White 73.2% · Black 7.3% · Asian 4.9% · Other or more than one race 4.2% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Polk County

3.4%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.4%. Iowa: 3.2%.

9,646people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

273,350people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

282,996in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	3.4%	9,646	273,350	282,996
August 2026	3.8%	10,920	275,696	286,616
July 2026	3.5%	10,172	279,001	289,173
June 2026	3.3%	9,554	279,963	289,517
May 2026	3.0%	8,636	278,568	287,204
April 2026	2.6%	7,534	278,527	286,061
March 2026	3.4%	9,624	276,127	285,751
February 2026	3.6%	10,257	276,151	286,408
January 2026	3.9%	11,085	275,487	286,572
December 2025	3.5%	10,133	278,492	288,625
November 2025	3.5%	10,224	280,793	291,017
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.4%	9,781	278,003	287,784
August 2025	4.1%	11,977	279,784	291,761
July 2025	3.9%	11,303	278,505	289,808
June 2025	3.7%	10,768	279,407	290,175
May 2025	3.4%	9,867	276,319	286,186
April 2025	3.2%	9,025	275,587	284,612
March 2025	3.7%	10,522	273,132	283,654
February 2025	3.9%	11,028	274,519	285,547
January 2025	4.2%	11,997	273,504	285,501
December 2024	3.4%	9,489	272,947	282,436
November 2024	3.5%	9,835	274,576	284,411
October 2024	3.3%	9,483	273,890	283,373

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.7%	10,602	277,095	287,697
2024	3.2%	9,013	273,622	282,635
2023	2.9%	8,076	271,839	279,915
2022	2.8%	7,793	266,516	274,309
2021	4.1%	11,069	257,581	268,650
2020	5.9%	15,589	249,655	265,244
2019	2.7%	7,501	267,181	274,682
2018	2.6%	6,933	261,461	268,394
2017	3.0%	7,927	255,810	263,737
2016	3.4%	8,956	253,199	262,155

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. Iowa's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 3.2% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Polk County

385.7 per 100,0002025. Iowa: 233.9.

1,908.3 per 100,0002025. Iowa: 1,171.7.

4murders2025, 1,639 violent crimes in all.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2025	1,639	385.7	8,110	1,908.3
2024	1,762	417.6	8,952	2,121.4
2021	1,696	411.8	9,326	2,264.6
2020	1,903	466.1	11,129	2,725.8
2019	1,949	480.6	12,165	3,000.0
2017	1,820	461.7	12,457	3,160.1
2016	1,838	482.6	11,665	3,062.9

By police agency (9)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Des Moines Police Department	2025	1,364	5,992	212,933
Ankeny Police Department	2025	117	810	78,916
Polk County Sheriff's Office	2025	78	439	55,862
Johnston Police Department	2025	20	170	25,287
Altoona Police Department	2025	43	326	23,376
Pleasant Hill Police Department	2025	5	94	12,434
Polk City Police Department	2025	1	34	6,657
Windsor Heights Police Department	2025	4	220	5,074
Carlisle Police Department	2025	7	25	4,436

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in Iowa · the U.S.

Police staffing

1.74 per 1,000 residents2023, 9 agencies serving 414,942 people.

721sworn officers2023, full-time, as of October 31.

503civilian staff2023, full-time.

2023 is the latest year every agency here sent the FBI its staff count.

Agencies counted (9), 2023

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Polk County Sheriff's Office	156	361	56,619
Des Moines Police Department	377	118	209,658
Ankeny Police Department	70	11	74,233
Altoona Police Department	40	3	22,492
Johnston Police Department	30	6	24,532
Pleasant Hill Police Department	21	2	11,732
Windsor Heights Police Department	10	1	5,046
Polk City Police Department	9	0	6,287
Carlisle Police Department	8	1	4,343

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2023	721	1.74	503	9
2021	694	1.69	470	9
2020	696	1.70	471	9
2019	680	1.68	487	9
2017	642	1.63	456	9
2016	617	1.62	452	9

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Polk County County Attorney?: Kimberly Graham (Democratic) is the County Attorney of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Polk County County Auditor?: Jamie Fitzgerald (Democratic) is the County Auditor of Polk County, Iowa.
Who is the Polk County County Recorder?: Julie M. Haggerty (Democratic) is the County Recorder of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Polk County Sheriff?: Kevin J. Schneider (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Polk County, Iowa.
Who is the Polk County County Treasurer?: Mary Wells (Democratic) is the County Treasurer of Polk County, Iowa. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who are the Polk County commissioners?: Matt McCoy (County Supervisor, District 1); Jill Altringer (County Supervisor, District 2); Mark E. Holm (County Supervisor, District 3); Tom Hockensmith (County Supervisor, District 4); Angela Connolly (County Supervisor, District 5).
What is the population of Polk County?: About 503,175 people, with a median age of 36.2; the median household income is $83,576 and 10.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Polk County?: 3.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 9,646 people unemployed in a labor force of 282,996, against 3.4% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Polk County?: 43 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 17 municipal, 10 school district and 15 special district governments.

Officeholders as of November 6, 2026, from county election offices' elected-officials pages where they publish one, and elsewhere from the Iowa Secretary of State's certified 2022 and 2024 general election results (each seat's last election); officials appointed since then may differ; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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