Polk County, Oregon

Polk County is a located in the  of. The for, the 11th president of the United States. In 2000, its population was 62,380. The of the county is.

Economy
The major industries of the county are agriculture, forest products, manufacturing, and education. With 1322 acres (5.3 km²), Polk has the second largest area devoted to grape-growing in Oregon. in is a major employer.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,927 (744 ). 1,919 km² (741 sq mi) of it is land and 8 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.42%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 62,380 people, 23,058 households, and 16,140 families residing in the county. The was 32/km² (84/sq mi). There were 24,461 housing units at an average density of 13/km² (33/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.19%, 0.42% or , 1.85% , 1.09% , 0.25% , 4.48% from , and 2.72% from two or more races. 8.78% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 23,058 households out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 11.70% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,311, and the median income for a family was $50,483. Males had a median income of $36,667 versus $26,272 for females. The for the county was $19,282. About 6.30% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

History
The created Polk County from  on, , granting to it the entire southwestern portion of present day Oregon to the  border. County boundaries were periodically changed to reflect the creation of and  counties. Many other counties were subsequently carved out of these as settlement spread towards the south, leaving Polk County many counties away from its former border with California.

The first county seat was a settlement on the north side of named Cynthian (also known as Cynthia Ann). In 1852 city officials renamed Cynthian to after Vice President, vice president to James Polk. During the 1880s and 1890s, there were a series of unsuccessful efforts to move the county seat to nearby.

Incorporated cities

 * (though Salem is mostly in, west Salem is across the Willamette River in Polk County)
 * (in but on the Polk County line)
 * (though Salem is mostly in, west Salem is across the Willamette River in Polk County)
 * (in but on the Polk County line)
 * (though Salem is mostly in, west Salem is across the Willamette River in Polk County)
 * (in but on the Polk County line)

Unincorporated communities and

 * (a )
 * (a ghost town)
 * (a ghost town)
 * (a ghost town)
 * (a ghost town)
 * (a ghost town)
 * (a ghost town)