Polk County, Tennessee

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Polk County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1839
Seat	Benton
Largest city	Benton
Area - Total - Land - Water	442 sq mi (1,146 km²) 435 sq mi (1,127 km²) 7 sq mi (19 km²), 1.65%
Population - (2000) - Density	16,050 37/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Polk County Courthouse in Benton

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county had a population of 16,050 in 2000. Its county seat is Benton^[1]. The county was named after then-governor James K. Polk.

It is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent counties
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,146 km²), of which, 435 square miles (1,127 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (19 km²) of it is water. The total area is 1.65% water.

Much of the terrain of eastern Polk County is mountainous, including Big Frog Mountain, constituting part of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Large tracts of Polk County are part of the Cherokee National Forest. The Ocoee River, site of whitewater slalom events in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games, runs through Polk County and is vital to one of the county's major industries, whitewater rafting. The calmer Hiwassee River, a tributary of the Tennessee River which flows through northern Polk County, is also used for rafting and tubing.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 16,050 people, 6,448 households, and 4,752 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 7,369 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²).

Age pyramid Polk County^[3]

There were 6,448 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.60% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,643, and the median income for a family was $36,370. Males had a median income of $27,703 versus $21,010 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,025. About 9.70% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

SCHOOLS K-5 Benton Elementary and South Polk Elementary 6-8 Chilhowee Middle School 9-12 Polk County High School