July 1, 2025 Census estimate.
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City profile
West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines, Iowa is part of the Iowa top-10 coverage expansion, with Census all-place population estimates, BLS state unemployment, young-professional fit, schooling access, job tags, cost pressure, safety checks, commute, and lifestyle signals.
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Change from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 estimate for population age 25 and over.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 3.2% for June 2026 (preliminary).
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean from travel-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
Strong short-list for 22-25 college grads; medium-high source confidence.
ACS gross rent is 17.1% of median household income; compare utilities, tax, insurance, and personal debt separately.
City crime rates are not scored yet; verify FBI CDE and local police data before choosing a neighborhood.
Recent grad lens
What matters for a 22-25 year old college grad
Use these sectors for first-pass job-board and LinkedIn searches.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 3.2% for June 2026 preliminary.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates bachelor's-or-higher share for age 25+. Check nearby universities, community colleges, certificates, and employer-paid education benefits.
ACS rent-to-income baseline using $1,237 median gross rent and $86,594 median household income. Verify utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual offer.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates median gross rent and owner-occupied median home value. Treat home value as a survey estimate, not a live listing price.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share below poverty. Useful context for opportunity and service access; not a neighborhood-level measure.
Exact city/neighborhood rates are not scored yet; use FBI CDE, city police dashboards, and neighborhood-level checks.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates approximate commute from travel-time buckets. Confirm your actual route, parking, transit frequency, and remote-work expectations.
Useful for social fit, networking, dating, outdoor access, and first-apartment quality of life.
Profile combines Census population estimates, ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates, BLS state unemployment, and transparent city/state tags.
Full profile
West Des Moines data coverage
U.S. Census July 1, 2025 city estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates: ACS median gross rent divided by ACS median household income. This is a city-wide baseline, not a personal budget.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25077 owner-occupied median value estimate; not a live listing-price feed.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate for renter-occupied units paying cash rent.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment estimate; labor-force participation is 72.7%. BLS state unemployment is still shown as a separate current job-market proxy.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
Needs FBI Crime Data Explorer and local agency caveats before any rate or safety score is shown.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 bachelor's degree or higher share for population age 25 and over. K-12 ratings still require NCES/state sources and boundary caveats.
Prioritize winter cold, snow, tornado/severe-storm exposure, and seasonal swings. Use NOAA normals and hazard history before comparing weather.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean travel time from commute-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
Needs FCC Broadband Data Collection or provider availability source.
Current employer view is sector-level. Named employer lists require a sourced city/MSA employer layer.
Needs FAA airport records and drive-time checks.
Current lifestyle tags are transparent place signals. Venue and recreation detail remains queued.
Relocation read
Should West Des Moines be on your shortlist?
West Des Moines has added population since the 2020 estimates base, which can point to demand, job access, housing expansion, migration inflow, or some combination of those forces.
Midwestern cities often require careful checks on wage levels, winter climate, property taxes, commute patterns, and neighborhood-specific school access. WhereToLive.us keeps those categories separate so a reader can see what is verified and what still needs source review.
ACS adds a city-level baseline for West Des Moines, Iowa: median gross rent is $1,237, median household income is $86,594, bachelor's-or-higher share is 54.9%, city civilian unemployment is 2.4%, and approximate commute time is 19.6 min.
For a recent college grad, the first-pass profile is 84/100: strong short-list. The main career tags are regional employers, healthcare, local services, schooling access is regional college access, and the BLS state unemployment proxy is 3.2% for June 2026.
For monetization and search quality, this page answers a specific relocation query without hiding the source gaps. It gives a reliable population, ACS, and state-job baseline, then points readers toward the school-boundary, crime, weather, tax, healthcare, and lifestyle checks that usually drive move decisions.
What the current data says
West Des Moines, Iowa is part of the Iowa top-10 city coverage expansion. Its July 1, 2025 Census all-place population estimate is 74,224, compared with a 2020 estimates base of 68,727.
The current move signal is growing, and the young-grad fit score is 84/100. This score is a transparent research shortcut, not a final recommendation. ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates are now live for rent, income, home value, education, poverty, employment, and commute context. Crime, school-boundary, weather, healthcare, tax, internet, utility, live wage, and live listing layers still need source-specific refreshes before stronger advice is issued.
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Cost of living
ACS rent/income is live where matched; add MIT living wage, utilities, insurance, and local tax inputs.
Data layer queuedHousing
ACS rent and owner-occupied home value are live where matched; add vacancy, roommate, starter-apartment, and live listing data for West Des Moines, Iowa.
Data layer queuedJobs
ACS city employment and BLS state unemployment are live; add BLS MSA occupation, wage, job posting, and industry concentration data.
Data layer queuedCrime and safety
Add FBI CDE, local police, and neighborhood-level caveats before publishing crime-rate scores.
Data layer queuedWeather
Needs NOAA climate normals and hazard history.
Data layer queuedSchools
ACS education attainment is live where matched; add NCES, College Scorecard, state education records, graduate-program, and certificate data.
Data layer queuedMilitary
Needs installation proximity, BAH area, VA services, and reserve component data where applicable.
Data layer queuedHealthcare
Needs CMS hospital, HRSA shortage area, and provider access data.
Data layer queuedTaxes and utilities
Add state/local tax, electric, water, gas, broadband, phone, and renters-insurance estimates.
Data layer queuedWest Des Moines pros
- 74,224 residents in the verified 2025 Census estimate.
- Strong short-list young-professional signal at 84/100.
- ACS rent, income, education, poverty, employment, and commute estimates are live for this city.
- Strong career signal from state job proxy and sector tags.
- 54.9% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal.
West Des Moines cons and checks
- ACS housing and income are city-wide survey estimates; verify a specific lease, salary offer, neighborhood, and listing market before deciding.
- Standard city check is still a verification step, not a crime score.
- 19.6 min still needs route-level commute confirmation.
- Taxes, healthcare, utilities, broadband, and weather hazards still need source-specific layers.
West Des Moines research checklist
- Compare the 2025 population estimate against nearby cities and the state shortlist.
- Check whether population growth matches the local housing supply and commute tradeoffs.
- Layer in verified rent, wage, school, healthcare, tax, and safety data before making a move decision.
- Use official city, county, Census, BLS, HUD, NOAA, NCES, CMS, FCC, and state tax sources for final confirmation.
Common West Des Moines questions
- Is West Des Moines growing?
- West Des Moines, Iowa is growing on the verified population measure, with +8.00% change from the 2020 estimates base to the 2025 estimate.
- Is West Des Moines good for a 22-25 year old college grad?
- West Des Moines, Iowa currently scores 84/100 on the young-grad fit model, with a strong career signal, 54.9% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal, rent-friendly cost-pressure label, and 19.6 min commute signal. Treat that as a shortlist signal, not a guarantee.
- Is West Des Moines affordable?
- West Des Moines, Iowa has ACS median gross rent of $1,237 and ACS median household income of $86,594. Use this as a city-wide baseline, then verify current apartments, utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual salary offer.
- What should I verify before moving to West Des Moines?
- Verify current rent or mortgage cost, wage expectations, commute route, school or graduate-program access, city and neighborhood crime data, healthcare access, utility costs, taxes, internet availability, and social fit using primary sources.
- Does WhereToLive.us recommend West Des Moines?
- Not as final advice. The current page is a research baseline. A recommendation requires verified affordability, occupation wages, job postings, safety, school, healthcare, tax, weather, and commute layers.
Nearby comparison queue
Use these same-region cities as a fast starting point. The comparison tool keeps the math transparent and avoids hidden scores until each data layer is verified.