Polk County is larger than the state of Rhode Island and equal in size to Delaware. The total area of the county is approximately 2,010 square miles which makes it the fourth largest county in Florida, exceeded only by Dade, Palm Beach, and Collier counties. Polk County has 554 natural freshwater lakes which occupy approximately 135 square miles, or over seven percent of the total area of the county. The total land area of Polk County is approximately 1,875 square miles.

Population

According to the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Polk County's population grew 20.1 percent since the 2000 census, from 483,924 people on April 1, 2000, to an estimated 581,058 in 2007. This represents an average annual growth rate of 2.9 percent or an average annual increase of 13,876 persons. Polk ranks as the eighth most populous of Florida's of 67 counties. Polk's total population is expected to grow to an estimated 587,600 by 2010 and 675,000 by 2020.

Polk County's population in 2004 was estimated to be 528,389. In terms of numerical population change between 2000?2004, Polk ranked 12th in the state but ranked 32nd over this same period for percent of change (9.2%). Approximately 61.8 percent of Polk County's total population resides in the unincorporated area of the county. The other 38 percent of the population live in Polk County's 17 cities. Polk County's largest city is Lakeland , with a 2007 population of 93,428, followed by Winter Haven with a population of 32,577. Other municipalities include: Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, Dundee, Eagle Lake, Fort Meade, Frostproof, Haines City, Highland Park, Hillcrest Heights, Lake Alfred, Lake Hamilton, Lake Wales, Mulberry, and Polk City.

The median age of Polk's population in 2005, was estimated to be 38.6 years old with 17.2 percent of the total population 65 years old or older. Persons under the age of eighteen represented 23.9 percent of the County's total population. In fact, population growth between 1990 and 2000 was primarily fueled by people in the age range of 35 to 54, which accounted for 43.6% of the entire increase over this period. There were approximately 95,000 students enrolled in Polk County's public schools (kindergarten through 12th grade) for the 2007-2008 school year. An estimated 7,600 students attend private schools and another 3,531 students in Polk County are taught at home.

Recreation and Leisure

Polk County contains a total of 4,303 acres of public parkland which is owned and managed by both the county and municipalities. The Board of County Commissioners owns and manages approximately 2,461 acres of this total parkland acreage. Lake Kissimmee State Park, which consist of 48,156 acres, is also located in Polk County . In addition to public parks, Polk has over 100,000 acres of pastoral lands open to the public for resource-based recreation such as fishing, boating, hunting, nature study, bird watching, and similar passive recreation pursuits. With 554 natural, freshwater lakes and numerous rivers and flooded phosphate pits, Polk County is a haven for the boating and fishing enthusiast. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that over 74,000 people fish Polk County's lakes annually. Pleasure boating is also a popular outdoor activity. According to the Polk County Tax Collector's Office, there were approximately 26,300 boats registered in Polk County as of June 30, 1999. Polk County owns and maintains 53 boat ramps and municipalities own an additional 34 boat ramps. Together, these boat ramps provide public access to 88 lakes. Polk County has long been recognized as the "Water Ski Capital of the World," due in large measure to its hundreds of accessible fresh water lakes. For the golfing enthusiast, Polk has 32 public and 13 private golf courses located throughout the County.