Welcome to Des Moines ...
The city of Des Moines is primarily located in Polk County<1>. It is the County Seat and the capital of Iowa. A portion of Des Moines extends into Warren County.
Des Moines was established in 1843.
When the people of Des Moines refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Des Moinesite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Des Moines has a population of 214,877 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Des Moines is 790 feet [241 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Des Moines lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Des Moines lies within the (515) area code.
The ZIP codes for Des Moines: 50301-50321, 50328-50336, 50338-50340, 50347, 50350, 50359-50364, 50367-50369, 50380-50381, 50391-50397, 50936, 50940, 50947, 50950, 50980-50981<5>
The Pronunciation of Des Moines ..
We have heard more than one pronunciation for Des Moines:<6>
de-MOYN
de-MOYNZ
DUH-moin
Websites for Des Moines ...
Official Website: www.dmgov.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.desmoinesmetro.com/
Junior League: www.jldesmoines.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Des Moines had an population of 214,877 people. This is an increase of 5.63% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 8.15% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Des Moines had a population of 203,433 people (which is 47.24% of the total population of Polk County). This makes Des Moines the county's most populous community.
The population of Des Moines represents 6.68% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 203,433 people, the population of Des Moines increased 2.39% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 198,682 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Des Moines.
Communities Also Named Des Moines ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Des Moines - they are located in California, New Mexico (2) and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Des Moines.
Communities near Des Moines ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Des Moines.
- Ankeny
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
- Ankeny is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <8>
- West Des Moines
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Des Moines have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Des Moines
- West Des Moines is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,057 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Des Moines <8>
- Urbandale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbandale have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
- Urbandale is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbandale <8>
- Waukee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukee
- Waukee is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,166 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waukee <8>
- Johnston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
- Johnston is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <8>
- Altoona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
- Altoona is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <8>
- Clive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clive have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
- Clive is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <8>
- Indianola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianola
- Indianola is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,072 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indianola <8>
- Grimes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes
- Grimes is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grimes <8>
- Norwalk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Norwalk is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Des Moines. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Des Moines.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Des Moines. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Des Moines.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Des Moines. Our list includes 169 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Des Moines.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Des Moines ...
Looking for more information about Des Moines? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Des Moines, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Des Moines.
Adding Des Moines to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Des Moines in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Des Moines was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Des Moines post office opened in 1857.
We also found Des Moines in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Des Moines.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Des Moines: www.dmgov.org/
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Polk, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Des Moines refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Des Moines may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Des Moines. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Des Moines - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Des Moines). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Des Moines or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Des Moines includes: 50301, 50302, 50303, 50304, 50305, 50306, 50307, 50308, 50309, 50310, 50311, 50312, 50313, 50314, 50315, 50316, 50317, 50318, 50319, 50320, 50328, 50329, 50330, 50331, 50332, 50333, 50334, 50335, 50338, 50339, 50347, 50350, 50359, 50360, 50361, 50362, 50363, 50367, 50368, 50380, 50391, 50392, 50393, 50394, 50395, 50396, 50936, 50940, 50947, 50950, 50980 & 50981. |
| <6> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Des Moines. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |