Polk TownshipWashington County, IN
A town of 2,720.
Is Polk Township a good place to live?
Polk Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $212K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income. It grades B overall, 287th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. On the plus side, the median household earns $91K. Polk Township’s average trip to work is 42 minutes, above both Indiana’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 105 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do worse.
96% of working residents leave Polk Township for work
Where Polk Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Polk Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Polk Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Polk Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Polk Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Polk Township.
Polk Township trails even towns with similar incomes on health, but it has commutes longer than most of Indiana.
Conserved land covers 8.7% of Polk Township
8.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Clark State Forest, at 1,984 acres with 7.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Polk Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.7% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clark State Forest | 7.5 mi | 1,984 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
On state tests, Polk Township’s schools beat 56% of Indiana districts
Its public schools are run by East Washington School Corp. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Eastern High School, with 392 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Washington Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 506 | B |
| Eastern High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 392 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Polk Township’s workers commute out
The average commute for its 1,036 working residents takes 41.6 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
Most working residents leave Polk Township for work: only 4% work in town. 5.7% of Polk Township residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are New Albany (11%), Salem (9%) and Jeffersonville (8%).
| Polk Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.7% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 11% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On CDC estimates, Polk Township is less healthy than 74% of U.S. towns
Against the 9,803 U.S. towns with household incomes like Polk Township’s, it is less healthy than 90%, so it trails even them.
Polk Township beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Polk Township.
| Polk Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Polk Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.2% | 15.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.3% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Polk Township
Polk Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Polk Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sons of the American Revolution and 26 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Polk Township. Close and well known come first.
25 mi Theme parkKentucky Kingdom
21 mi Stadium & arenaKFC Yum! Center
22 mi Stadium & arenaLynn Family Stadium
24 mi Stadium & arenaL&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
21 mi MuseumMuhammad Ali CenterPhoto credits
Kentucky Kingdom: Stevietheman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · KFC Yum! Center: Jamesmac96, CC BY 3.0 · Lynn Family Stadium: Bpluke01, CC BY-SA 4.0 · L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium: Perthsider, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Muhammad Ali Center: The original uploader was Stevietheman at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0
Everything we know about Polk Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Polk Township
About 4 of every 100 Polk Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Polk Township
Township in Indiana, United States
Polk Township is one of thirteen townships in Washington County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,708 and it contained 1,084 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 768 ft
Polk Township’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Polk Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk Township | #287 | B | A | — | B | C |
| Franklin Township | — | — | A+ | — | B | D |
| Wood Township | #65 | A | A− | — | B | B+ |
| Pierce Township | #498 | C | A | — | B | C− |
| Monroe Township | #279 | B | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Jackson Township | — | — | A | — | B | C |
| Washington Township | #554 | C− | A | — | C | D |
Franklin Township and Jackson Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Polk Township, Franklin Township, Wood Township, Pierce Township, Monroe Township, Jackson Township and Washington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Polk Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Polk Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Polk Township, IN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Polk Township grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #287 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Polk Township, IN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.