Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,414.
Polk Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 948th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 48% of the state's. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $262K for a typical one and 3.1 times the East Stroudsburg area’s $84K median household income. Polk Township’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. On history, just 24 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Bethlehem Authority Wild Creek, 2,528 acres with 14.9 miles of trail.
Where Polk Township beats most towns.
Where Polk Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Polk Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 876 in 1930, 7,473 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 5 maps from 1943 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Polk Township. Close and well known come first.
24 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
36 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
12 mi Ski areaCamelback Mountain Resort37 runs · 804 ft vertical
22 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center
12 mi State parkHickory Run State Park
34 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a yearDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Wallenpaupack: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Camelback Mountain Resort: Calzarette at en.wikipedia, Public domain · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hickory Run State Park: Mtruch, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Steamtown National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain
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.
Ordered by what stands out in Polk Township.
25 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Polk Township is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bethlehem Authority Wild Creek | 14.9 mi | 2,528 |
| 2. Jonas Mountain Nature Preserve | 3.9 mi | 398 |
| 3. Polk Township Community Walking Park | 0.5 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Pleasant Valley SD. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley Intermediate SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 906 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Polk Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Polk Township has 770 jobs for its 2,951 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 40.1 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Polk Township for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Polk Township grew to 770 in 2023, 38 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Chestnuthill Township (8%), Stroud Township (3%) and Pocono Township (3%).
| Polk Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Polk Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Polk Township’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Polk Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 40% of Polk Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Polk Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Polk Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.1% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 18.1% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Polk Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Polk Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Polk Township is a township in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,473 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Polk Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk Township | #948 | C− | C− | — | B− | B− |
| Chestnuthill Township | #853 | C | C | — | B− | B |
| Penn Forest Township | #969 | C− | C | — | C+ | B− |
| Eldred Township | #904 | C | C− | — | B− | B− |
| Indian Mountain Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tunkhannock Township | #890 | C | B− | — | B− | C− |
Polk Township, Chestnuthill Township, Penn Forest Township, Eldred Township and Tunkhannock Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Indian Mountain Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Polk Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Polk Township grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #948 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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