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Polk, PA

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Polk is a tiny borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 623 people and just one neighborhood, Polk is the 935th largest community in Pennsylvania. Much of the housing stock in Polk was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.

Occupations and Workforce

Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Polk is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 51.54% of the Polk workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 27.7%. Overall, Polk is a borough of transportation and shipping workers, service providers, and production and manufacturing workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Polk who work in healthcare suport services (10.13%), healthcare (7.05%), and management occupations (7.05%).

Setting & Lifestyle

Overall, Polk’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which makes a great place to live if safety is an important concern.

Residents will find that the borough is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Polk is worth considering.

As is often the case in a small borough, Polk doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Demographics

The percentage of people in Polk with college degrees is quite a bit lower than the national average for cities and towns of 21.84%: just 11.61% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Polk in 2022 was $21,262, which is low income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $85,048 for a family of four. However, Polk contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Polk also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 34.97% of its population below the federal poverty line.

The people who call Polk home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Polk residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Polk include German, Irish, Italian, English, and Austrian.

The most common language spoken in Polk is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and German/Yiddish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.

Real Estate

One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.

People

If you're nearing retirement age, or in retirement, the is an excellent choice for you to consider for top-quality retirement living. This neighborhood is rated by NeighborhoodScout as among the top 9.0% of retiree-friendly neighborhoods in Pennsylvania, combining peace and quiet, safety from crime, and offering diverse housing options from which retirees can choose. Maybe it's because of these amenities that a large proportion of the residents here are college educated seniors, mixed with other age groups. For these and other reasons, NeighborhoodScout identifies this neighborhood as a top-notch place to consider if you are thinking of or planning to retire in Pennsylvania.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Austrian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Austrian ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Polk are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 65.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 8.7% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 53.3% of America's neighborhoods.

What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.

In the neighborhood, 32.6% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 28.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (24.4%), and 14.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.5% of households. Some people also speak Italian (4.5%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.

In the neighborhood in Polk, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (27.6%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (19.5%), and residents who report English roots (11.1%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (6.5%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (3.5%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (82.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (8.5%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


Real Estate includes:
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Economics & Demographics include:
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Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Crime includes:
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Schools include:
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