# Polk County, Wisconsin: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Alden, Amery and Osceola

Polk County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Polk County is home to Alden, Amery, Osceola and St. Croix Falls. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “Proposed county moratorium on data centers”. Construction employs 660, up 14.2% since 2019. 104 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 146 MW of capacity, 72% of it solar.

146 MW
of operating power plants, mostly solar

-1.0%
total jobs since 2019, now 15,663

15.83¢
per kWh for Northern States Power Co residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Polk County

Polk County is home to Alden, Amery, Osceola and St. Croix Falls.

Alden3,019 residents
Amery2,927 residents
Osceola2,890 residents
St. Croix Falls2,370 residents
Lincoln2,144 residents
Farmington2,027 residents
Garfield1,775 residents
Eureka1,756 residents
Black Brook1,471 residents
Apple River1,205 residents
Frederic1,133 residents
Clear Lake1,100 residents
Luck1,063 residents
Laketown1,047 residents
Georgetown1,034 residents
Balsam Lake945 residents
Milltown932 residents
Dresser930 residents
Centuria877 residents
Beaver807 residents
West Sweden760 residents
Sterling735 residents
Bone Lake701 residents
Clam Falls568 residents

And 5 smaller places.
- Turtle Lake also extends into [Barron County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/barron-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Lewis.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Polk County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 45,028 | 45,803 | ▲ 1.7% | 33rd of 72 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 15,826 | 15,663 | ▼ 1.0% | 41st of 72 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,089 | $50,000 | ▲ 31.3% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 578 | 660 | ▲ 14.2% | 37th of 61 by growth |
| Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7 | 19 | ▲ 171.4% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.2% | 3.6% | ▼ 0.6pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 104 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

Unemployment was 3.6% in August 2026, against 4.2% in 2019. Northern States Power Co is the largest utility serving Polk County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.83¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.25¢ median for Wisconsin utilities. Employers here counted 15,663 jobs in 2025, down 1.0% from 2019. 45,803 people live here, up 1.7% since 2020.

## Who powers Polk County

### Utilities with service territory in Polk County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern States Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 220,574 | 15.83¢ | 40% |
| Polk-Burnett Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 20,379 | 15.90¢ | 22% |
| Barron Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 19,266 | 15.72¢ | 9% |
| Northwestern Wisconsin Elec Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 12,990 | 13.84¢ | 29% |
| St Croix Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 106 MW | 72% |
| Hydro | 23 MW | 16% |
| Petroleum | 14 MW | 9% |
| Other technologies | 3 MW | 2% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple River Solar, LLC | Geronimo Power | Solar | 100 MW | 2025 |
| St Croix Falls | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota | Hydro | 23 MW | 1910 |
| Frederic Diesel | Northwestern Wisconsin Elec Co | Petroleum | 14 MW | 1948 |
| Viresco Turtle Lake | Viresco Turtle Lake | Other technologies | 3 MW | 2013 |
| Luck | OneEnergy, Inc. | Solar | 2 MW | 2025 |
| Georgetown (Polk Burnett) | Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation | Solar | 2 MW | 2023 |

## The Polk County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 15,663 | $50,000 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 660 | $64,597 | 0.80 |
| Power and communication line construction | 19 | $75,314 | 0.75 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Polk County

### Local measures 

| Measure | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Proposed county moratorium on data centers | In force | 2026-08 |

## Polk County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Polk County, Washington County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County | 45,803 | ▼ 1.0% | 146 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Barron County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/barron-county) | 46,484 | ▼ 3.6% | 33 MW | 5 MW | — | — |
| Burnett County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/burnett-county) | 17,223 | ▲ 12.8% | 11 MW | 2 MW | — | — |
| Chisago County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/chisago-county) MN | 59,142 | ▲ 4.2% | 191 MW | 80 MW | — | — |
| Dunn County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/dunn-county) | 46,223 | ▲ 3.2% | 15 MW | — | 1 | — |
| St. Croix County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/st-croix-county) | 98,276 | ▲ 9.5% | 10 MW | 101 MW | — | 1 |
| Washington County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/washington-county) MN | 286,895 | ▲ 9.3% | 924 MW | — | 3 | 1 |

## More of Wisconsin

[All Wisconsin countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin)[St. Croix County98,276 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/st-croix-county)[Barron County46,484 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/barron-county)[Dunn County46,223 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/dunn-county)[Burnett County17,223 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/burnett-county)

## Polk County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Polk County, Wisconsin?

5 utilities have service territory in Polk County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Northern States Power Co, Polk-Burnett Electric Coop, Barron Electric Coop, Northwestern Wisconsin Elec Co. The largest, Northern States Power Co, charged residential customers 15.83¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Polk County?

7 operating plants with 146 MW of capacity. The largest is Apple River Solar, LLC (100 MW, solar).

### Are there data centers in Polk County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Polk County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Washington County.

### Is Polk County adding jobs?

Employers counted 15,663 jobs in 2025 against 15,826 in 2019 (-1.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 578 to 660.

### Does Polk County have a data center moratorium?

The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Polk County, 1 in force.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/polk-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).