Polk County Demographics

County Seat: Bartow, Fla.

Located between Orange and Hillsborough Counties, it is the fourth (4th) largest county in Florida consisting of 1,823 square miles. It has 550 lakes that dot the countryside. Over 3 million people live within a 50 mile radius and 6 million within a 100 mile radius.
Population: 429,943 (1993 estimates)
Incorporated:167,993
Unincorporated: 261,950
Calculated as the 8th in the state for population, Polk County experienced a 26% growth increase for the years 1980 through 1990. The City of Lakeland added 23,170 new citizens during this same period exceeding the combined growth of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Ocala, making it the fourth fastest growing city in Florida for its size.

Cities: 17 municipalities

Auburndale: 9,063
Bartow: 14,902
Davenport: 1,688
Dundee: 2,447
Eagle Lake: 1,934
Fort Meade: 5,247
Frostproof:2,907
Haines City: 12,103
Highland Park: 153
Hillcrest Heights: 220
Lakeland: 73,121
Lake Alfred: 3,622
Lake Hamilton: 1,113
Lake Wales: 9,759
Mulberry: 3,095
Polk City: 1,613
Winter Haven: 25,006

Estimates by race, sex and age: (1992 estimates)

White: 359,494
Black:57,470
Number of Males Total = 205,037 with 152,299 over age 18
Number of Females Total = 215,848 with 166,002 over age 18

During the 1980's there was an increase of 83,730 persons with a natural increase (births) of 19,738 in the population of Polk County and the rest being an in-migration at the rate of approximately 6,399 per year or 4 out of 5 new persons.

Labor Force:

Polk County is designated a labor surplus area by the U.S. Department of Labor, which means companies located in the Polk Urban Area become eligible for preference in obtaining federal contracts. The unskilled labor supply consistently exceeds local demand. Between 1980 and 1990, 40,000 persons were added to the available work force. Polk County's labor pool median age is 34.9 The estimated unemployment rate for 1994 was 8.7% and dipped to 4.9% in early 1995, the lowest level on record.
Florida is a leader in training programs for employees of new and existing businesses. Locally the Industrial Services Training Program (ISTP) is offered in both of Polk County's Vo-Tech Centers and trainees are recruited through the Fla. Dept. of Labor & Employment (Job Service). The Heartland Private Industry Council (PIC) represents the private, public and educational job services of Polk County and the surrounding counties and are subject to federal funds.

The 1993 breakdown of employment and payroll by industry is as follows:
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 10,575 employees with an annual wage of $13,593
Mining: 2,878 employees with an annual wage of $41,980
Construction: 6,908 employees with an annual wage of $22,895
Manufacturing: 19,433 employees with an annual wage of $27,318 (av: 44.6hrs/week)
Transportation, Comm. & Public Utilities: 7,496 employees with an annual wage of $25,089
Wholesale Trade: 7,905 employees with an annual wage of $25,646
Retail Trade: 34,370 employees with an annual wage of $15,798
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate: 7,261 employees with an annual wage of $25,879
Services: 36,273 employees with an annual wage of $21,138
Federal Government: 1,319 employees with an annual wage of $35,850
State Government: 4,054 employees with an annual wage of $23,782
Local Government: 18,147 employees with an annual wage of $22,015
Source: Fla. Dept. of Labor & Employment Security, Bureau of Labor Market Information

Transportation:

Polk County is the center of Florida's industrial belt and is within 500 miles of 40 major metropolitan areas. The county straddles Interstate 4, the main conduit for the Central Florida growth corridor. I-4 connects with I-75 between Lakeland and Tampa (16 miles west of Lakeland to the interchange). I-75 reaches north to Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and Ontario. I-4 runs to Orlando in the east, connecting with the Florida Turnpike, or continuing to Daytona where it connects with I-95. I-95 runs north through Jacksonville, Charleston, Richmond, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York and Boston. U.S. 27 is a north/south route in the county, connecting I-4 at Baseball City to Haines City, Dundee, Winter Haven, Lake Wales and Frostproof. Beyond the county, U. S. 27 connects Tallahassee and points north with Miami in the south. U.S. Highway 92 runs through central Polk County from Tampa to Daytona Beach. U.S. Highway 98 runs through Polk County from West Palm Beach to Natchez, Mississippi. Highway 60 runs from Clearwater on Florida's west coast through southern Polk County to Vero Beach on the east coast.
The following commercial carriers service Polk County: 

AAA Cooper Transportation, Tampa ,Fla.                  Land Span, Inc., Lakeland, Fla.
All American Truck Brokers, Lakeland , Fla.             Mariner Distributors, Lakeland, Fla.
Alterman Transport Lines, Inc., Tampa, Fla.             Miami Transfer, Tampa, Fla.
Carolina Freight Carriers Corp., Lakeland, Fla.         Oakley Transport, Lake Wales, Fla.           
Commercial Carrier Corp., Auburndale, Fla.             Red Wing, Mulberry, Fla.  
C.F. Motor Freight, Lakeland, Fla.                            Roadway Express, Lakeland, Fla.
CTL Distribution, Mulberry, Fla.                               Sabal Transport, Bartow, Fla.
Delane's Truck Brokerage, Haines City, Fla.              Smalley Transport, Lakeland, Fla. 
FFE Transportation, Dundee, Fla.                              Sunco Carriers, Lakeland, Fla.
Florida Eastern Express, Winter Haven, Fla.              Three Star Corp., Winter Haven, Fla.
Gator Freightways, Lakeland, Fla.                             Transus, Inc., Tampa, Fla.
Gold Coast Freightways, Lakeland, Fla.                     Indian River Transport, Winter Haven, Fla. 
Gray Truck Lines, Lake Alfred, Fla.                           Watkins Motor Lines, Lakeland, Fla.
Hester Transport, Lakeland. Fla.                                Westwind International, Bartow, Fla.
Gene Hyde Trucking, Lakeland, Fla.                          Yellow Freight System, Lakeland, Fla. 

The following package delivery services operate in Polk County:

Air Carriers Internat./Sonicair, Tampa, Fla.              Emery Worldwide Air Freight, Tampa, Fla.
Federal Express, Lakeland, Fla.                                General Parcel Service, Tampa, Fla.
Roadway Express, Lakeland, Fla.                             United Parcel Service (UPS) Lakeland, Fla.

Mass transit is provided by:
Greyhound- Trailways
Citrus Connection (dba Lakeland Area Mass Transit and Handy Bus Service)
Central Florida Transit
Polk County Transportation System (PCTS)

Rail:

Freight; CSX Railroad from Waycross Ga. to Lakeland and from St. Petersburg to Richmond, Va. Services also from the Port of Tampa deep water port to Lakeland.
Passenger: Amtrak daily

Airports:

Orlando International Airport
Tampa International Airport

Utilities:

Three principal power companies serve Polk County. Tampa Electric Company serves Auburndale, Eagle Lake, Lake Alfred, Mulberry, Fort Meade and Winter Haven. Lakeland Electric & Water serves the greater Lakeland area and Polk County. Florida Power Corporation (St. Pete) serves Bartow, Davenport, Dundee, Frostproof, Haines City, Highland Park, Hillcrest Heights, Lake Hamilton and Lake Wales. Both TECO and Fla. Power are in the process of constructing new power plants to be located in the southern portion of Polk County. They will have a combined generating capacity of 4,000 megawatts.
Natural gas is provided by People's Gas System Inc., for Lakeland and Central Florida Gas, Winter Haven for Auburndale, Lake Wales, Lake Alfred, Eagle Lake, Bartow, Mulberry, Lake Hamilton, Haines City, Dundee, and Winter Haven.
Water & Sewer is provided by Polk County Utilities Department, Haines City, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Lake Wales, Auburndale, Bartow and Fort Meade.

Finance:

There are 11 commercial banks with 101 offices with deposits of $3,228,704 at end of 1994 and 14 credit unions with over 150,000 members and assets of $528,851,454
Polk County issues industrial revenue bonds through the Polk County Industrial Revenue Bond Authority.

Commerce/Industry:

The local economic strengths are Phosphates, Citrus and Tourism.
Fortune 500 companies are represented locally with Coca-Cola, General Electric, International Minerals and Chemicals, Owens-Illinois, and Sherwin Williams. The Publix supermarket chain is headquartered in Lakeland and employs 7,000 , second only to the Polk County School Board in # of employees.
The Polk Economic Development Council was created in 1985.
Central Florida Development Council is a development initiative of the Economic Council of Polk County ,Inc. and is located at 600 N. Broadway Ave., Suite 33, Bartow, Fla., 33830 Phone (941) 534-4370 Fax (941) 533-1247 for further information.

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