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 and the Raccoon River. Des Moines serves as the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Iowa. The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, Guthrie, and Jasper. The Des Moines–Ames–West Des Moines Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the separate metropolitan area of Ames (Story and Boone Counties), and the separate micropolitan areas of Oskaloosa (Mahaska County) and Pella (Marion County). The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area.
Demographics
Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area CountySeat2025 estimate2020 CensusChangeAreaDensityPolkDes Moines DallasAdel WarrenIndianola JasperNewton MadisonWinterset GuthrieGuthrie Center Total
Des Moines–West Des Moines–Ames, IA Combined Statistical Area
Statistical Area2025 estimate2020 CensusChangeAreaDensityDes Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical AreaAmes, IA Metropolitan Statistical AreaPella, IA Micropolitan Statistical AreaOskaloosa, IA Micropolitan Statistical AreaTotal
Geography
The lowest geographical point in the metropolitan area is the Des Moines River, where it passes the northeastern corner of Warren County, and the southeastern corner of Polk County.
Historical growth Polk County was the only county in the Des Moines metropolitan area when the United States Bureau of the Budget first defined 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
The following are cities and villages categorized based on the United States Census Bureau 2025 population estimates. No population estimates are released for census-designated places (CDPs), which are marked with an asterisk (*). These places are categorized based on their 2020 Census population.
Principal City Des Moines (212,086)
Places with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants Ankeny (77,833) West Des Moines (74,224)
Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants
Urbandale (48,570) Waukee (34,890) Johnston (25,065) Altoona (22,796) Clive (19,861) Grimes (17,405) Indianola (16,829) Newton (15,741) Norwalk (15,004) Pleasant Hill (11,239)
Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants
Bondurant (9,647) Perry (8,208) Adel (7,098) Polk City (6,630) Winterset (5,520) Windsor Heights (5,059) Carlisle (4,532) Saylorville* (3,584) Mitchellville (2,671) Colfax (2,303) Granger (2,179) Dallas Center (2,042) Monroe (2,022) Van Meter (1,978) Stuart (partial) (1,882) Prairie City (1,724) Guthrie Center (1,583) Woodward (1,426) Earlham (1,396) Lake Panorama* (1,266) Coon Rapids (partial) (1,251) Elkhart (1,097) Panora (1,094)
Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants
Baxter (984) De Soto (976) Sully (891) Milo (784) Adair (partial) (776) Hartford (747) Redfield (741) Dexter (641) St. Charles (641) Kellogg (599) Cumming (560) Truro (509) New Virginia (507) Runnells (461) Alleman (440) Martensdale (426) Bayard (401) Casey (partial) (386) Lynnville (383) Diamondhead Lake* (371) Menlo (346) Lacona (344) Minburn (323) Mingo (313) Sheldahl (partial) (306) Yale (264) Bagley (228) Linden (210) Jamaica (197) Oakland Acres (178) Patterson (176) Lambs Grove (171) Reasnor (158) Bouton (127) St. Marys (124) Ackworth (121) East Peru (119) Dawson (114) Macksburg (103) Spring Hill (71) Sandyville (61) Bevington (60) Valeria (41)
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, 3.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.00% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 area top non-government employers (2024)RankEmployer# of employees1Hy-Vee Inc.11,7822Wells Fargo & Co.11,000+3MercyOne5,6414Principal5,5955UnityPoint Health5,1476Amazon4,1007John Deere3,8008Vermeer Corporation3,6009Nationwide3,30010JBS USA2,300 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 article and named the third-largest "insurance capital" of the world. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Cognizant, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Marsh, Monsanto, and Corteva have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Facebook have built data-processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines area.
The Des Moines area is home to 2 Fortune 1000 headquarters – 2026 rankings DSMRankCompanyCitySectorFortuneRank1Casey's General StoreAnkenyConvenience2822Principal Financial GroupDes MoinesInsurance287
Education
Colleges and universities
Des Moines Area Community College - Des Moines, Ankeny, Boone, Carroll, Newton and West Des Moines Drake University - Des Moines Des Moines University - West Des Moines Faith Baptist Bible College - Ankeny Grand View University - Des Moines Mercy College of Health Sciences - Des Moines Simpson College - Indianola and West Des Moines Purdue University Global - Urbandale Upper Iowa University - West Des Moines
Sports + Professional and Division I sports teams Club Sport League Venue City Founded Iowa Barnstormers American football Indoor Football League Casey's Center Des Moines 1995 (2008) Iowa Cubs Baseball International League, Minor League Baseball Principal Park Des Moines 1969 Iowa Wolves Basketball NBA G League Casey's Center Des Moines 2007 Des Moines Buccaneers Ice hockey United States Hockey League Buccaneer Arena Urbandale 1980 Iowa Wild Ice hockey American Hockey League Casey's Center Des Moines 2013 Des Moines Menace Soccer USL League Two Drake Stadium Des Moines 1994 Drake Bulldogs Multi NCAA Division I, Missouri Valley Conference Drake Stadium, Knapp Center Des Moines 1881
Transportation Airports Des Moines International Airport (DSM)
Relief Airports
Ankeny Regional Airport (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 I-80 I-235
U.S. Highways
US 6 US 65 US 69
Iowa Highways
IA 5 IA 28 IA 141 IA 163 IA 415
Transit Des Moines Area Regional Transit
References