Polk is a tiny borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 628 people and just one neighborhood, Polk is the 935th largest community in Pennsylvania. Polk has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.
When you are in Polk, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 39.80% of Polk’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, Polk is a borough of service providers, transportation and shipping workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Polk who work in healthcare (9.18%), office and administrative support (8.84%), and maintenance occupations (8.84%).
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.
It is a fairly quiet borough because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Polk has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Polk has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Polk than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Polk may be for you.
As is often the case in a small borough, Polk doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The rate of college-level education in Polk is quite a bit lower than the national average among all cities of 21.84%: just 10.26% of people here over 25 have a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree.
The per capita income in Polk in 2022 was $21,014, which is low income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $84,056 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 37.86% 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, Austrian, and English.
The most common language spoken in Polk is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and German/Yiddish.
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.
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.
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 8.2% 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.
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, 1.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Austrian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 95.8% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 60.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 12.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 55.6% of U.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, 32.7% 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 26.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (25.2%), and 14.6% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.1% of households. Some people also speak Italian (4.5%).
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Polk, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (25.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (15.6%), and residents who report English roots (10.2%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (6.0%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (3.4%), among others.
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 (45.5% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (84.7%) 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 (8.4%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.