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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Des Moines vs West Des Moines

Des Moines, IA compared with West Des Moines, IA · 9 miles apart

Des Moines has 212,086 residents to West Des Moines’s 74,224. Des Moines comes out ahead on median rent, homeownership, price to income. West Des Moines does better on median household income, average commute, bachelor's degree +.

Des Moines, IA West Des Moines, IA
Population 212,086 74,224
Density (per sq mi) 2,406 1,562
Median household income $65,932 $86,594
Median home value $194,700 $309,000
Median rent $1,090 $1,237
Homeownership 60.5% 57.4%
Average commute 19.5 min 18.3 min
Median age 34.6 36
Bachelor's degree + 29.7% 54.9%
Poverty rate 15% 8.4%
Unemployment 5.6% 2.4%
Price to income 3.6×

Highlighted where one city is clearly better on that measure. Population, density, home value and median age carry no highlight — a higher number there is good or bad depending on what you want.

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