Welcome to Des Moines ...
The coastal city of Des Moines is located in King County<1>.
Des Moines was established in 1889.
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 32,341 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Des Moines is 170 feet [52 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Des Moines lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
The ZIP code for Des Moines: 98198<5>
The Pronunciation of Des Moines ..
We have heard more than one pronunciation for Des Moines:<6>
duh-MOINZ
duh-MOIN
Websites for Des Moines ...
Official Website: www.desmoineswa.gov/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Des Moines had an population of 32,341 people. This is an increase of 8.99% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 10.5% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Des Moines had a population of 29,673 people. This makes Des Moines the county's 14th most populous community.
The population of Des Moines represents 0.44% of the population of Washington (which has 6,724,540 people), making it the state's 38th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 29,673 people, the population of Des Moines increased 1.39% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 29,267 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, Iowa and New Mexico (2).
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.
- Seattle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seattle
- Seattle is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 769,714 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seattle <7>
- Tacoma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma
- Tacoma is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 219,945 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tacoma <7>
- Bellevue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Bellevue is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148,073 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellevue <7>
- Renton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renton
- Renton is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 101,494 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Renton <7>
- Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Auburn is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81,024 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Auburn <7>
- Lakewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Lakewood is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60,976 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakewood <7>
- Puyallup
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puyallup
- Puyallup is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42,569 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Puyallup <7>
- Bremerton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremerton
- Bremerton is located in Kitsap County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bremerton <7>
- Issaquah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Issaquah
- Issaquah is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,681 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Issaquah <7>
- University Place
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Place
- University Place is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,090 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for University Place <7>
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. 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.<8>
From that list, the Des Moines post office opened in 1889.
We also found Des Moines in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Des Moines.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Des Moines: www.desmoineswa.gov/
The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Washington's counties, including King, 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). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |