Polk County, Florida
Polk County () is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046 in the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 818,330 in July 2023. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland. Polk County comprises the Lakeland–Winter Haven metropolitan statistical area (MSA). This MSA is the 77th-most populous one and the 89th-most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.
The center of Florida's population is located in Polk County, near the city of Lake Wales. Polk County is home to one public university, one state college, and four private universities.
The county is sometimes included in definitions of the Tampa Bay area, and Lakeland has close historical and economic ties to Tampa, though eastern parts of Polk County are more closely oriented toward the Orlando metropolitan area.