The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...

and the

Raccoon River The Raccoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the long ...

. Des Moines serves as the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa:

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

, Guthrie, and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

. The

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

–

Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...

–

West Des Moines 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. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 68,723. West Des ...

Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the separate metropolitan area of Ames ( Story Country), and the separate micropolitan area of Boone ( Boone County). The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area.

Demographics

Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area

Geography

The lowest geographical point in the metropolitan area is the

, where it passes the northeastern corner of Warren County, and the southeastern corner of Polk County.

Historical definitions

Polk County was originally the only county in the Des Moines metropolitan area when the United States Bureau of the Budget (now the

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

) began defining metropolitan areas in 1950. Warren County was added in 1973 and Dallas County was added in 1983. Guthrie and Madison counties were added in 2003 after metropolitan areas were redefined. In 2005 the area was renamed the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area after a special census showed that West Des Moines had topped the 50,000 mark in population. Jasper county was added in September 2018.

Communities by size

Population as of 2020 Census

Principal City

(214,133)

Places with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

(68,723) * Ankeny (67,887)

Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

* Urbandale (45,580) *

Waukee Waukee is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,940 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. It is part of the Des Moines – West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2017, Apple Inc. chose Waukee as th ...

(31,823) *

Johnston Johnston may refer to the surname Johnston or people with that name. It may also refer to: Places Australia * Johnston, Northern Territory ** Electoral division of Johnston, an electoral division in the Northern Territory United Kingdom ...

(24,064) * Altoona (19,565) * Clive (18,601) * Indianola (15,833) *

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

(15,760) *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

(15,392) * Norwalk (12,799) * Pleasant Hill (10,147)

Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

(7,836) * Bondurant (7,365) * Adel (6,153) * Polk City (5,543) * Winterset (5,353) * Windsor Heights (5,252) *

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

(4,160) * Saylorville (

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) (3,301) * Mitchellville (2,485) * Colfax (2,255) *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

(1,967) *

Dallas Center Dallas Center is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,901 during the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Dallas Center got its start in the year 186 ...

(1,901) *

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

(partial) (1,782) * Prairie City (1,700) *

Granger Granger may refer to: People and fictional characters * Granger (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Granger (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Granger (Tourtechot) (c. 1680s–1734), French physician a ...

(1,654) * Guthrie Center (1,593) * Van Meter (1,484) * Earlham (1,410) * Woodward (1,346) * Coon Rapids (partial) (1,300) * Panora (1,091)

Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants

* Baxter (962) *

De Soto De Soto commonly refers to * Hernando de Soto (c. 1500 – 1542), Spanish explorer * DeSoto (automobile), an American automobile brand from 1928 to 1961 De Soto, DeSoto, Desoto, or de Soto may also refer to: Places in the United States of Ameri ...

(915) * Elkhart (882) * Sully (881) * Adair (partial) (791) *

Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Milo (magazine), ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine * ''Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * Milo (video game), ''Milo'' (video game) * Milo ( ...

(778) *

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

(733) * Redfield (731) *

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

(640) * St. Charles (640) * Kellogg (606) *

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

(509) * New Virginia (498) * Runnells (457) * Cumming (436) * Alleman (423) * Martensdale (421) *

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places Antarctica * Bayard Islands, off the coast of Graham Land, Antarctica Canada * Bayard, Saskatch ...

(405) * Casey (partial) (387) * Lynnville (380) * Lacona (345) * Menlo (345) * Minburn (325) *

Mingo The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, a ...

(302) * Sheldahl (partial) (297) *

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

(267) * Bagley (233) * Linden (200) *

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

(195) * Oakland Acres (176) *

Patterson Patterson may refer to: People * Patterson (surname) * Patterson family Places ;Australia * Patterson railway station ;Canada * Pattersons Corners, Ontario * Patterson Township, Ontario * Patterson, Calgary a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta. ...

(176) * Lambs Grove (174) * Reasnor (152) * Bouton (127) * Dawson (116) * Ackworth (115) * East Peru (115) * St. Marys (108) * Macksburg (97) * Spring Hill (68) * Sandyville (58) * Bevington (57) * Valeria (39)

Unincorporated places

* Avon * Berwick * Booneville * Farrar * Ira * Killduff * Rushville * Liberty Center

Demographics of metropolitan area

As of the census of 2000, there were 481,394 people, 189,371 households, and 126,177 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 90.24%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.85%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.24%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 2.15% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.00% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 1.46% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.02% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $44,667, and the median income for a family was $52,617. Males had a median income of $34,710 versus $25,593 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $21,253. The census tracts for 2000 are shown in the map from the Iowa Data Center.

Economy

Des Moines is a major center of the US insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. The city was credited as the "number one spot for U.S. insurance companies" in a ''

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

'' article and named the third-largest "insurance capital" of the world. The city is the headquarters for the

Principal Financial Group Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) is an American global financial investment management and insurance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History PFG was first founded under the name Bankers Life Insurance Company. Ba ...

, Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is a mutual insurance in the United States with more than two million members in Iowa and South Dakota. It is the dominant health insurance in Iowa. It is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Assoc ...

. Other major corporations such as

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

Cognizant Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology consulting and outsourcing company originally founded in India. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States. Co ...

Voya Financial Voya Financial is an American financial, retirement, investment and insurance company based in New York City. Voya began as ING U.S., the United States operating subsidiary of ING Group, which was spun off in 2013 and established independent fina ...

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in ...

ACE Limited Chubb Limited is an American–Swiss company incorporated in Zürich, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where it is a component of the S&P 500. Chubb is a global provider of insurance products covering property and casualty, accide ...

, Marsh,

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...

, and

Corteva Corteva, Inc. (also known as Corteva Agriscience), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a producer of products for seed and crop protection. The company produces herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and biologicals (natural herbicides) tha ...

have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

, and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

have built data-processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines area. The Des Moines area is home to 5

Fortune 1000 {{location map+ , United States , float=right , width=400, relief=1 , caption=''Fortune'' 1000 company headquarters locations. Top 20 companies labeled, places= {{location map~ , United States , lat= 36.365378 , long= -94.217629 , label= Walmart, ...

headquarters – 2021 rankings

Education

Colleges and universities

Des Moines Area Community College Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in central Iowa. The college served 35,488 credit students and 29,021 noncredit students in 200 programs in 2019. Hi ...

- Des Moines, Ankeny, Boone, Carroll, Newton and West Des Moines *

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

- Des Moines *

Des Moines University Des Moines University (DMU) is a private medical school in West Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1898, Des Moines University is the second oldest osteopathic medical school and the fifteenth largest medical school in the United States. DMU's three c ...

- West Des Moines * Faith Baptist Bible College - Ankeny *

Grand View University Grand View University is a private liberal arts university in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1896 and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the university enrolls approximately 2,000 students and is accredited by the Highe ...

- Des Moines *

Mercy College of Health Sciences Mercy College of Health Sciences is a private Roman Catholic college focused on healthcare and located in Des Moines, Iowa. Established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1899, Mercy College offers master’s, bachelor's, and associate degrees, as well a ...

- Des Moines *

Simpson College Simpson College is a Private college, private United Methodist Church, Methodist college in Indianola, Iowa. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and enrolled 1,151 students in ...

- Indianola and West Des Moines *

Purdue University Global Purdue University Global, Inc. (Purdue Global) is a public online university that is a separately accredited part of the Purdue University system. Its primary focus is educating working adults. Purdue Global was created in 2018 by Purdue Unive ...

- Urbandale *

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa, United States. It enrolls around 3,000 students and offers distance education programs that include centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, an ...

- West Des Moines

Sports

Transportation

Airports

Des Moines International Airport Des Moines International Airport is a joint civilian-military commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, the capital of Iowa. The airport's 2,600 acre campus includes two runways, 46 buildings, 7 parking facilitie ...

(DSM) ''Relief Airports'' *

Ankeny Regional Airport Ankeny Regional Airport is a mile (2 km) southeast of Ankeny, in Polk County, Iowa. It is owned by the Polk County Aviation Authority. Facilities The airport covers at an elevation of 910 feet (277 m). It has two concrete runways: 18/ ...

(IKV) * Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) * Boone Municipal Airport (BNW) * Grinnell Regional Airport (GGI) * Guthrie County Regional Airport (GCT) * Newton Municipal Airport (TNU) * Oskaloosa Municipal Airport (OOA) * Winterset Municipal Airport (343)

Major highways

Interstates *

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

* I-235 U.S. Highways * US 6

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the Grand Army of the Republic, American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbere ...

US 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of I ...

US 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway in the central United States. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's ...

Iowa Highways * Elongated circle 5

IA 5 *

IA 28 *

IA 141 *

IA 163 *

IA 415

Transit

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) operates mass transit service in Greater Des Moines. It is the largest public transit agency operating in the state of Iowa. History DART was founded in 1973 as the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Des Moines Metropolitan Area Regions of Iowa Geography of Des Moines, Iowa