Research
Grief and widowhood in Polk County
In Census Bureau estimates for 2020-2024, 9.3% of Polk County residents aged 15 and older were widowed, more than twice Mecklenburg County's 4.0%, because Polk is older: 32.6% of its residents are 65 or older, against 11.9% in Mecklenburg.
By Laura Bass, MSW, LCSW. Published November 12, 2026.
How many people in Polk County are living after the death of a husband or wife, and how does that compare with Charlotte? We used the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for marital status by age and sex, and its population estimates for deaths, for Polk County, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and the US.
The short answer: widowhood is much more common in Polk County, and the reason is age. Polk’s older residents are no more likely to be widowed than older people in Mecklenburg; there are simply far more of them.
Key numbers
- Figure 1
9.3% vs 4.0%
of residents aged 15 and older are widowed, Polk and Mecklenburg counties.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024
- Figure 2
1,630
widowed residents of Polk County (margin of error ± 247), about three in four of them women.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024
- Figure 3
32.6% vs 11.9%
of residents are 65 or older, Polk and Mecklenburg counties.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024
- Figure 4
31.4%
of Polk County women aged 65 and older are widowed, against 11.8% of men.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024
- Figure 5
306
deaths of Polk County residents from July 2024 to June 2025: 15.0 per 1,000 residents, against 5.9 in Mecklenburg County.
Source: Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (March 2026)
The data
By age, sex and place
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, table B12002. The thin line on each bar is the margin of error.
| Age | Polk County | Mecklenburg County | North Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% ± 3.6 | 12.4% ± 0.8 | 13.0% ± 0.2 | 12.0% ± 0.1 |
| 75 to 84 | 27.3% ± 5.6 | 25.2% ± 1.5 | 28.2% ± 0.3 | 26.7% ± 0.1 |
| 85 and older | 51.6% ± 7.9 | 55.7% ± 2.9 | 58.0% ± 0.8 | 54.8% ± 0.1 |
| All 65 and older | 22.8% ± 3.1 | 20.5% ± 0.8 | 22.1% ± 0.2 | 21.2% ± 0.0 |
| All 15 and older | 9.3% ± 1.4 | 4.0% ± 0.2 | 5.9% ± 0.1 | 5.6% ± 0.0 |
Widowed: people whose husband or wife has died and who have not remarried. Margins of error are at the 90% level; for groups of age bands they are approximations using the Census Bureau's formulas.
| Group | Polk County | Mecklenburg County | North Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women 15 and older | 13.3% ± 2.0 | 6.0% ± 0.3 | 8.7% ± 0.1 | 8.4% ± 0.0 |
| Women 65 and older | 31.4% ± 4.3 | 28.9% ± 1.2 | 30.9% ± 0.3 | 29.8% ± 0.1 |
| Women 85 and older | 63.6% ± 8.7 | 69.4% ± 3.3 | 71.0% ± 0.9 | 67.8% ± 0.1 |
| Men 15 and older | 5.0% ± 1.7 | 1.7% ± 0.2 | 2.8% ± 0.1 | 2.7% ± 0.0 |
| Men 65 and older | 11.8% ± 4.1 | 9.2% ± 0.8 | 11.0% ± 0.2 | 10.6% ± 0.1 |
| Men 85 and older | 29.6% ± 12.4 | 29.6% ± 4.5 | 34.2% ± 1.5 | 32.5% ± 0.2 |
Every age group by sex, with counts, is in the download.
| Place | Residents | 65 and older | 85 and older | 65+ living alone | Deaths, July 2024 to June 2025 | Deaths per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County | 19,891 | 32.6% ± 2.0 | 4.5% ± 0.8 | 25.1% ± 3.2 | 306 | 15.0 |
| Mecklenburg County | 1,154,681 | 11.9% ± 0.2 | 1.2% ± 0.1 | 27.0% ± 0.9 | 7,178 | 5.9 |
| North Carolina | 10,730,404 | 17.2% ± 0.1 | 1.7% ± 0.0 | 27.2% ± 0.3 | 107,917 | 9.7 |
| United States | 334,922,499 | 17.2% ± 0.0 | 1.9% ± 0.0 | 26.6% ± 0.2 | not in file | not in file |
Residents, age and living alone: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 (tables B01001 and B09020). Living alone: people 65 and older who live by themselves, as a share of everyone 65 and older. Deaths: Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (March 2026); the county file has no national row.
Findings
What the numbers show
Widowhood is more than twice as common in Polk. 9.3% of Polk County residents aged 15 and older are widowed, against 4.0% in Mecklenburg County, 5.9% across North Carolina and 5.6% in the US. That is about 1,630 people in Polk (margin of error ± 247).
The reason is age. 32.6% of Polk’s residents are 65 or older, against 11.9% in Mecklenburg and 17.2% statewide. Within each age group, Polk’s older residents are no more likely to be widowed than Mecklenburg’s: among everyone 65 and older the figures are 22.8% and 20.5%, a gap inside the margin of error, and none of the age-group differences passes the Census Bureau’s test for a real difference. If Polk had Mecklenburg’s mix of ages and sexes, about 3.8% of its residents aged 15 and older would be widowed, close to Mecklenburg’s 4.0%.
Mostly women. About three in four widowed Polk residents are women. Among Polk residents 65 and older, 31.4% of women are widowed, against 11.8% of men; among women 85 and older the figure is 63.6%.
More deaths per resident. 306 Polk County residents died from July 2024 to June 2025, 15.0 per 1,000 residents, against 5.9 in Mecklenburg and 9.7 statewide. Over the five years from July 2020 to June 2025, the average was 328 deaths a year. This, too, mostly reflects Polk’s older population.
About a quarter of older residents live alone. 25.1% of Polk residents 65 and older live by themselves, against 27.0% in Mecklenburg, a difference inside the margin of error.
For you
What this means if you are grieving
- Losing a husband or wife is a common experience in Polk County. If you are grieving, many of your neighbors have been through a loss like yours.
- Grief does not only follow the death of a spouse. Each death in the county leaves family and friends behind, and these figures count only one kind of loss.
- If you live alone after a loss, practical support matters as well as emotional support. Our page of crisis and support resources for Polk County lists local numbers.
- Counseling is one place to talk about a loss; family, friends, faith communities and support groups are others. Our pages on grief counseling in Tryon and grief and loss say more.
- If grief ever feels unbearable, or you think about ending your life, call or text 988 at any time.
Method
Method, sources and limits
The American Community Survey is the Census Bureau’s continuous survey of households. We used its 2020-2024 five-year estimates, which pool five years of answers so that a county the size of Polk has enough of them: table B12002 for marital status by age and sex, B01001 for age, and B09020 for older residents living alone. Margins of error are at the 90 percent level, as the Census Bureau publishes them; for groups of age bands and for shares we combined them with the Bureau’s formulas for derived estimates. Differences are called real only when they pass the Bureau’s significance test at the same level.
Deaths come from the Census Bureau’s county population estimates (Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (March 2026)), which count deaths of county residents for each year from July to June. We did not use CDC WONDER, which gives calendar-year deaths, because its data service does not allow county-level queries.
A script in the site’s code downloads the data and computes every figure on this page; a second script checks the figures against separate copies of the data: the Census Bureau’s summary files and subject tables, and its state population estimates table.
Limits
- The survey is a sample. For Polk County the margins of error are wide, so small differences between Polk and other places should not be read as real; the tables show each margin.
- “Widowed” counts only people whose spouse has died and who have not remarried. It leaves out people who lost an unmarried partner and widowed people who have married again.
- We do not give figures for Tryon itself: the town is too small for reliable survey estimates by age and sex.
- The death figures are Census Bureau estimates for July-to-June years, not calendar-year counts.
- These figures count people, not grief. They say nothing about how anyone is coping with a loss.
Sources
- American Community Survey, table B12002 (sex by marital status by age), U.S. Census Bureau. 2020-2024 five-year estimates.
- American Community Survey, table B01001 (sex by age), U.S. Census Bureau. 2020-2024 five-year estimates.
- American Community Survey, table B09020 (living arrangements, 65 and older), U.S. Census Bureau. 2020-2024 five-year estimates.
- County population estimates and components of change (CO-EST2025-ALLDATA), U.S. Census Bureau. Vintage 2025, released March 2026.
These are population figures for places, not a description of any person, and not medical advice. In a crisis, call or text 988.
Reuse
Cite this study
Laura Bass (2026). Grief and widowhood in Polk County. Laura Bass Counseling. laurabasscounseling.com/research/grief-widowhood-polk-county/
Download the data (CSV). You may reuse the table and the figures on this page under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, with a link back to this page. The underlying public data belongs to the agencies named in the sources.
Journalists and researchers can ask questions about the method through the contact page.
More from our research, including loneliness and support in Tryon and Charlotte and how many therapists Polk County has, and our mental health statistics for Tryon, Polk County and Charlotte.
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