18,338 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.4% since 2020)
435 square miles of land · 42 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
4 active community water systems list Polk County in the area they serve, reporting 6,765 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| COPPER BASIN UTILITY DISTRICT surface water · local government · TN0000844 | 2,710 served |
| BENTON WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · TN0000048 | 2,580 served |
| COPPERHILL WATER DEPT buys surface water · local government · TN0000136 | 1,217 served |
| CHEROKEE HILLS U.D. groundwater · local government · TN0000138 | 258 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 141 people were held in Polk County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 1,220 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 184.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Polk County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $27.9 million — $25.9 million to run schools, about $12,066 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.2 million local (mostly property tax), $15.6 million state, $7.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.3 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Polk County about $6.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
139 bridges in Polk County: 68 in good condition, 59 fair, and 12 poor (8.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FAP 33 347920N over OCOEE RIVER · built 2012 | 8,437 vehicles a day |
| FAP 402 (SR 40) over CLOUD BRANCH · built 1929 | 6,975 vehicles a day |
| FAP 68 over DAVIS MILL CREEK · built 1931 | 5,918 vehicles a day |
| FAP 402 (SR 40) over BURRA-BURRA CREEK · built 1940 | 4,700 vehicles a day |
| FAP 68 over SR 40 · built 1966 | 3,340 vehicles a day |
| FAP 68 over BRUSH CREEK · built 1943 | 3,340 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $16.6 million of work in Polk County in fiscal 2025, about $946 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-29. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-24. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State: elections calendar · Tennessee Secretary of State: registration deadline FAQ · Tennessee Secretary of State: GoVoteTN
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Polk County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Polk County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Bradley County (18 mi) · Fannin County, GA (21 mi) · McMinn County (22 mi) · Murray County, GA (24 mi) · Cherokee County, NC (27 mi) · Monroe County (29 mi).