Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
De Soto’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, above both Iowa’s towns (19 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 4 of the 141 Iowa towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than De Soto. De Soto has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 347 in 1880, 915 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and a map from 1982 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in De Soto, 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 De Soto.
Most working residents leave De Soto for work: only 2% work in town. De Soto’s median household income is $97,000, above both the Iowa town median ($69,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Since 2013, De Soto has added 206 jobs, to 329 in 2023.
| De Soto | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $97,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Adel DeSoto Minburn Community School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeSoto Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 337 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
De Soto has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 12° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 28% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (37% statewide). De Soto’s median age is 32 years. De Soto has grown 6.4% since 2020, to 976 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| De Soto | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 28% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| De Soto | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.4% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.8% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.4% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.8% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.7% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.2% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,000, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 crimes were reported in De Soto in 2025: 6 property and 1 violent. In a town this small, a few incidents move the numbers a lot, so rates aren't shown.
De Soto is small, so we show counts rather than rates.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
27% of De Soto adults sleep under 7 hours. Only 5 of the 141 Iowa towns we compare have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than De Soto. 23% of De Soto adults binge drink.
| De Soto | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | De Soto | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 12% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical De Soto home is worth about $256,000, down 1% in a year, 8% above the Iowa typical home. 85% of households own their home in De Soto.
| De Soto | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,089 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little Bridge Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around De Soto. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaCasey's Center
21 mi MuseumIowa State Capitol28 mi Theme parkAdventureland
17 mi MuseumDes Moines Art Center
20 mi Zoo & aquariumBlank Park Zoo
19 mi Stadium & arenaDrake StadiumCasey's Center: Iowahwyman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Iowa State Capitol: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Des Moines Art Center: Nhandler at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blank Park Zoo: Lawrence Lansing, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Drake Stadium: U.S. Navy photo by James Woods, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of De Soto
About 3 of every 100 De Soto residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
1,050 counted in 2010 and 915 in 2020; an estimated 976 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
City in Iowa, United States
De Soto is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 915 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
De Soto has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
