Polk City, Florida
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Haines City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33868. The Survey maps it on the Polk City quadrangle. 2,713 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 171 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1944 to 1979The same ground, surveyed 35 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1944 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresPolk City grew from 1,562 to 2,713 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,562 | |
| 2020 | 2,713 | +1,151 (+74%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1944 USGS Polk City quadrangle1:24000
- 1944 USGS Polk City quadrangle1:31680
- 1955 USGS Orlando quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Orlando quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Orlando quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Orlando quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Polk City quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Kissimmee quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
231 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 231 fires within 5 miles of Polk City between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,357 acres in total. 37 started naturally. 11 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 58 |
| Debris and open burning | 46 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 |
| Natural | 37 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 22 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 98 acres | Florida Forest Service | 53 SOUTH MATTIE MARSH |
| 25 September 1992 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 18 September 1997 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 3 August 1993 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 28 August 2020 | Natural | 5.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | RESEARCH WAY (53) |
| 24 August 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 53 PARKWAY |
| 20 August 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 15 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 18 August 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | 53 EPICENTER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Polk City: 3 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Sand. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk City Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Standard Sand and Silica - Polk City Mine | Sand | Producer | ||
| No. 2 Mine | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Polk City Mine | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Polk City Mine | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
19 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Polk City in 19 storm reports between 1993 and 2018: 9 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 lightning, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1998 | Lightning | Polk City | 1 killed, 2 hurt | Under partial sunshine, sideflash from a lightning bolt of a distant thunderstorm struck and killed a 47 year old male, injured a 27 year old male and a 20 year female while they stood within 15 feet of a seven foot tall wooden pole on the 300 block of West Fussell Road north of Polk City. The lightning bolt struck the pole which was part of a pole barn under construction next to a 30 foot tall tree.The lightning strike blew off the boots of the injured female and knocked to the ground the 27 year old injured male. |
| June 2015 | Lightning | Polk City | 1 hurt, $10,000 | A broadcast media outlet reported that a car in one of the east bound lanes of Interstate 4 was apparently struck by lightning near Polk City. The driver reported two of the air bags were deployed, the glove box popped open, and power shut down to the car at the time of a bright flash during a thunderstorm. Several burn marks were later found on the car. The driver suffered bruises to her ribcage from the airbags. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $100,000 | Skywarn Spotters and Bay News Nine Cable of Tampa reported that thunderstorms caused scattered roof, carport, lanai, glass and tree damage to several homes and businesses across northern and eastern Polk county. |
| March 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $50,000 | Downburst winds destroyed a barn and damaged a house roof. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged the roof of a carport and tore down screen walls of the lanai of a home in Polk City. A few commercial buildings received roof damage from the thunderstorm wind which also downed telephone poles and lines. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $12,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged the roofs of a couple of homes in Polk City. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds ripped off the roof of a mobile home on Sonora Road near State Road 557-A. |
| June 1995 | Tornado (F0) | Polk City | $10,000 | Tornado touchdowns damaged mobile homes, and downed trees and power lines near Polk City. Tornado touchdown reported near Bartow but caused no damage. |
| November 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $5,000 | A local amateur radio operator had the roof off of his mobile home blown off. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed trees and powerlines in rural northeast Polk County. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed trees and blew the roof off a mobile home. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk City | $3,000 | Thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees and numerous branches. One tree fell onto a home on the 400 block of Honeybee Lane. At least one car port and one metal shed were destroyed. |
| March 2001 | Hail | Polk City | - | Golfball to dime sized hail was reported by Skywarn Spotters from Haines City to Polk City in northern Polk county. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Polk City | - | The public reported quarter sized hail along State Road 33 in Polk City through Pinellas Park, Florida cable station Bay News Nine. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Polk City | - | Nickel sized hail was reported by the public through St Petersburg, Florida television station WTSP. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Polk City | - | Dimed sized hail was reported near State Road 544 and County Road 655 by a Skywarn Spotter. |
| February 1998 | Hail | Polk City | - | Nickel sized hail was observed in Polk City along State Road 33. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Polk City | - | no account filed |
| February 2001 | Wildfire | Polk City | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orangedale | 4.6 miles | 12 | |
| Fox Town | 5.8 miles | 12 | |
| Lynchburg | 7.5 miles | 13 | |
| Holiday Manor | 7.5 miles | 12 | |
| Fussells Corner | 7.9 miles | 13 | |
| Providence | 8.2 miles | 12 | |
| Lake Alfred | 8.2 miles | 12 | |
| Auburndale | 8.3 miles | 13 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Polk City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q941420 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 289150. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







