Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 74,224, settled in 1893.
West Des Moines grades B+ overall, ranked 58th of 140 in Iowa, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 89% of the country and the median household earns $87K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 74% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $321K, 3.7 years of the Des Moines metro’s $86K median household income. 55% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in West Des Moines, against 25% in Iowa’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. West Des Moines is home to Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center. On the outdoors, just 27 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better.
Where West Des Moines beats most towns.
56,609 counted in 2010 and 68,723 in 2020; an estimated 74,224 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8% since 2020, after 21.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far West Des Moines is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,700 in 1900, 68,723 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 4 maps from 1905 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Des Moines. Close and well known come first.
9 mi Stadium & arenaCasey's Center
10 mi MuseumIowa State Capitol16 mi Theme parkAdventureland
6 mi MuseumDes Moines Art Center
8 mi Zoo & aquariumBlank Park Zoo
8 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Des Moines, 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 West Des Moines.
West Des Moines draws workers from Des Moines and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Iowa, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
44 miles of trail in 36 parks and preserves. The trail density in West Des Moines is 0.9 miles per square mile. Raccoon River Park, at 721 acres with 8.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| West Des Moines | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Raccoon River Park | 8.2 mi | 721 |
| 2. Brown's Woods | 4.4 mi | 481 |
| 3. Purple Martin Lake Water Resource Area | 2.4 mi | 358 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the West Des Moines Community School District. Three of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westridge ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 744 | A |
| Valley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 2,178 | A− |
| Maple Grove Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 577 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
67,051 jobs are based in West Des Moines, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of West Des Moines’s working residents works in town. 19% of workers work from home in West Des Moines. Since 2013, West Des Moines has added 12,967 jobs, to 67,051 in 2023.
| West Des Moines | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Iowa is tooth loss: 6.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.6% statewide.
22% of West Des Moines adults binge drink. West Des Moines beats the Iowa average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 11% of West Des Moines adults report frequent physical distress.
| West Des Moines | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | West Des Moines | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.6% | 6.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 75% | 77.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $4,711, against $2,897 across Iowa, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Only 5 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than West Des Moines. The typical West Des Moines home is worth about $321,000, about the same as a year ago, 36% above the Iowa typical home. West Des Moines’ median rent is $1,237 a month.
| West Des Moines | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,237 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 42% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
307 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 307 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Des Moines.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
West Des Moines has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 13° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 1,698 to 1,249 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of West Des Moines
About 6 of every 100 West Des Moines residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
7 places in West Des Moines on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in West Des Moines.
City in Iowa, United States
West Des Moines is a city in Iowa, United States. Most of the city is in Polk County, some of it is in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and Madison Counties. The city population was 68,723 as of the 2020 census, and according to 2025 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 74,224. West Des Moines is the third most populous city in the Des Moines metropolitan area and the seventh most populous city in Iowa.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with West Des Moines.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Des Moines | #58 | B+ | C | C+ | B+ | A |
| Des Moines | #134 | D | B− | D | D− | C |
| Cumming | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clive | #49 | A− | C | B− | B+ | A |
| Waukee | #36 | A− | C− | B+ | A | A |
| Windsor Heights | #119 | C− | C | D | D− | A− |
| Norwalk | #2 | A+ | B | A | A | A− |
Cumming isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Des Moines with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. West Des Moines grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #58 of 140 in Iowa. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
7 notable people were born here, including Peter Hedges and Teagan Kavan.
