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 of the U.S. state of Iowa The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa: Polk, Dallas,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Guthrie, and Jasper. The

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

– Ames– West Des Moines Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the separate metropolitan area of Ames (Story County), and the separate micropolitan areas of Pella (Marion County), Boone (Boone County) and Oskaloosa (Mahaska County). The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area. 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 Des Moines River, 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) 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

* West Des Moines (68,723) * Ankeny (67,887)

Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

* Urbandale (45,580) * Johnston (24,064) *

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 the loc ...

(23,940) * Altoona (19,565) *

Clive Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include: People Given name * Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player * Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister * ...

(18,601) *

Indianola Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...

(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: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

(15,760) *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...

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

Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

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

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

(4,160) * Saylorville ( census-designated place) (3,301) * Mitchellville (2,485) * Polk City (2,344) * Colfax (2,255) * Monroe (1,967) * Dallas Center (1,901) *

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

(partial) (1,782) * Prairie City (1,700) * Granger (1,654) * Guthrie Center (1,593) * Van Meter (1,484) * Earlham (1,410) *

Woodward A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects the ca ...

(1,346) * Coon Rapids (partial) (1,300) * Panora (1,091)

Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants

* Baxter (962) * De Soto (915) * Elkhart (882) * Sully (881) * Adair (partial) (791) * Milo (778) * Hartford (733) * Redfield (731) *

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

(640) * St. Charles (640) * Kellogg (606) * Truro (509) * New Virginia (498) * Runnells (457) * Cumming (436) *

Alleman Allman (variants Alleman, Allmand) is an English surname from the Norman French ''aleman'' "German". In North American usage, the spelling ''Allman'' likely also stands in for the cognate Spanish name Aleman (to avoid the reading /eɪlmæn/ as in ...

(423) * Martensdale (421) * Bayard (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, and ...

(302) * Sheldahl (partial) (297) * Yale (267) * Bagley (233) * Linden (200) * Jamaica (195) * Oakland Acres (176) *

Patterson Patterson may refer to: People * Patterson (surname) Places ;Canada * Pattersons Corners, Ontario * Patterson Township, Ontario *Patterson, Calgary a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta. ;United States of America * Patterson, Arkansas * Patterson ...

(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, 3.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.15%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.00% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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

Principal Financial Group Principal Financial Group is an American global financial investment management and insurance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. Business operations Four segments comprise the company: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal G ...

, 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 Associ ...

. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Cognizant, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company,

ACE Limited An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

, Marsh, Monsanto, and Corteva have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years, Microsoft,

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

, and Facebook have built data-processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines area. The Des Moines area is home to 5 Fortune 1000 headquarters – 2021 rankings

Education

Colleges and universities

* Central College - Pella * Des Moines Area Community College - Des Moines, Ankeny, Boone, Carroll, Newton and West Des Moines * Drake University - Des Moines *

Faith Baptist Bible College Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary is a private Christian college and seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. History Early Omaha years At the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, William H. Jordan heard Dwight L. Moody speak about the importanc ...

- Ankeny * Grand View University - Des Moines * Iowa State University - Ames *

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 bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificate programs ...

- Des Moines *

Purdue University Global Purdue University Global, Inc (PG), formerly Kaplan University, is a public university, public Distance education, online university that operates as a public-benefit nonprofit corporation, public-benefit corporation and is part of the Purdue Un ...

- Des Moines * Simpson College - Indianola and West Des Moines * University of Phoenix - Des Moines * William Penn University - Oskaloosa

Sports

Transportation

Airports

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

(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: 18/36 ...

(IKV) *

Ames Municipal Airport James Herman Banning Ames Municipal Airport is southeast of Ames, in Story County, Iowa. Originally consisting of two turf runways, the airport was created after a 1943 vote by the city of Ames. A new terminal and hangar were constructed in 20 ...

(AMW) *

Boone Municipal Airport Boone Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southeast of the central business district of Boone, a city in Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Inte ...

(BNW) *

Grinnell Regional Airport Grinnell Regional Airport , known locally as ''Billy Robinson Field'', is a city-owned public-use airport located one mile (1.6 km) south of the central business district of Grinnell, a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. I ...

(GGI) * Guthrie County Regional Airport (GCT) * Newton Municipal Airport (TNU) * Oskaloosa Municipal Airport (OOA) * Winterset Municipal Airport (343)

Major Highways

Interstates * I-35 (IA)

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 Mexican border ...