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Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area: population growth, jobs and income

The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area gained 7,762 residents between 2024 and 2025 (+1.0%).

The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area had an estimated 758,539 residents in 2025, up 6.7% (47,342 more people) since 2020.

Data as of 2025 · updated

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Headline numbers

Population, migration, employment, permits, unemployment and income are the figures each agency publishes for the area itself (OMB Bulletin 23-01 delineation; ACS 2016-20 and CBP 2018 use the delineation of their year). IRS migration is the sum of the member counties.

What the numbers say

Net domestic migration added 2,791 people in 2025: more people moved in from other U.S. counties than moved out.

Private employers had 364,757 paid employees in mid-March 2023, +11.4% since 2018 (County Business Patterns).

Unemployment averaged 3.5% in 2025, 0.9 points higher than in 2019 (before the pandemic).

Builders were authorized to start 6,249 new homes in 2025, or 8.2 per 1,000 residents.

Median household income was $85,890 in the 2020–24 American Community Survey, +19.7% since 2016–20.

Population growth over five years ranks 1st of 9 Iowa metro areas and 59th of 362 U.S. metro areas.

IRS tax-return data for 2022-2023 show a net gain of 2,543 people (the sum of its counties).

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How it ranks

MeasureAmong U.S. metro areas
Population growth59th of 362
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents105th of 362
Private-sector job growth58th of 352
Median household income75th of 362
Lowest unemployment rate87th of 362
New homes permitted per 1,000 residents34th of 362

1st = highest (lowest for unemployment), against areas with a figure for the same period.

Fastest-growing metro areas in Iowa · Fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S.

Get the Polk County report — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for Polk County, IA, the principal county of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area, as a PDF: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

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Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Counties in this metro area

Polk County, IA led the change: of the 47,342 residents the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area gained from 2020 to 2025 (the sum of its counties), it added 23,533 (50%).

The 6 counties of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area: Census population estimates
CountyRoleResidents2025Share of residents2025Change2020–2025Share of the change2020–2025
Polk County, IACentral516,54668.1%+23,533 (+4.8%)50%
Dallas County, IACentral118,45715.6%+17,936 (+17.8%)38%
Warren County, IAOutlying57,3317.6%+4,734 (+9.0%)10%
Jasper County, IAOutlying38,1535.0%+332 (+0.9%)1%
Madison County, IAOutlying17,2702.3%+639 (+3.8%)1%
Guthrie County, IAOutlying10,7821.4%+168 (+1.6%)0%

Census Bureau population estimates (July 1). Shares are of the member counties' total; a share of the change shows only when every county moved the same way. – means no figure for the common period.

All Iowa counties

Nearby and similar metro areas

Next to this metro area

Similar in size

Questions

Is the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area growing?

Yes. Its population grew 6.7% between 2020 and 2025, about 47,342 more people (Census Bureau population estimates).

Which county in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area is growing fastest?

Dallas County, IA. Its population grew 17.8% between 2020 and 2025, the fastest of the 6 member counties (Census Bureau population estimates).

How many people moved to the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area?

On net, about 2,791 people in 2025: that many more moved in from other U.S. counties than moved out (Census Bureau net domestic migration estimate).

What is the unemployment rate in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area?

It averaged 3.5% in 2025 (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual average).

What is the population of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area?

About 758,539 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimate for July 1, 2025.

Polk County data alerts

Email me when Polk County gets new Census numbers: population, building permits, jobs and income. About 4 emails a year, one click to stop.

We use your address only to email you when new data for Polk County is out: what changed, with a link to that county's report. No newsletter, no other sales emails. Delete it any time with the link in every email. We'll email you a link to confirm first; nothing starts until you click it. Privacy notice.

Sources and method

Each number shows its own period. Changes compare the latest period with five years earlier (or the earliest period available). Beacon CRE last refreshed these figures on 2026-11-05. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how we compute every number. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Jobs outside North and South Carolina use County Business Patterns (paid private-sector employees in mid-March); wages and government jobs are not included.