Why This Capital City is Gaining Attention
The birthplace of vending machines, chocolate-dipped ice cream, and Pinterest inventor Ben Silbermann, Des Moines is a capital city and an incubator of innovation. The city wasn’t officially established until 1857, but it’s grown rapidly ever since, capitalizing on big ideas in agriculture, publishing and insurance.
This capital of the corn belt is home to some of the nation’s most important food producers and distributors, like Hy-Vee supermarkets, which is headquartered in West Des Moines. Fortune 500 company Principal Financial was founded here, as was Dwolla and the Meredith corporation, which merged with Dotdash to become the world’s largest digital and print publisher.
Though the verdant pastures of rural life are never far away, those pastoral ideas of the state shouldn’t diminish your regard for the cultural richness of this central Iowa city. You’ll find incredible museums here, like the Des Moines Art Center — whose buildings were designed by architectural luminaries like I.M. Pei. There are historic sites, like the Jordan House, which was owned by a fierce abolitionist who made his residence a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and the Blank Park Zoo show nature at its finest, but it’s easy to venture out into the spoils of the Des Moines River Valley and explore the region untethered along the High Trestle Trail.
With a population of over 210,000, Des Moines almost never feels too big or too small. This Goldilocks-sized city has gained nearly 7,000 residents since 2010, and newcomers will find an affordable, welcoming and community-centric environment here. This is a city that is proud of its accomplishments, big and small, from blue-ribbon pies to blue-chip companies — just a couple of reasons Des Moines is #2 on Forbes’ Best Cities for Young Professionals list.
If you are looking for a Midwestern metro with small-town charm and big-city perks, Des Moines may be the place for you. Learn more below in our moving guide to Des Moines, where we’ll introduce you to our favorite neighborhoods and things to do while exploring the job market and the cost of living.
Des Moines Offers an Affordable Cost of Living
One of the easiest selling points Des Moines makes is its cost of living. Real estate in the capital is affordable by national standards, and most other common household expenditures typically cost less in the Midwest, from transportation to groceries. Between 2019 and 2023, the median home value in Des Moines averaged only $183,700 — $120K less than the national average. But that figure is also low by Iowa standards. The average Iowa home is valued at $195,900, while cities like Ames, Bettendorf and Iowa City all average more than $260,000.
Rental rates are also affordable in Des Moines — the median is $1,054/month — the middle of the road when it comes to the state’s most popular (and populous) cities.
Wages are another matter. While Des Moines’ average household earnings are, in fact, average compared to these same cities, they trail far behind state and national figures. The U.S. median household income has risen to $78,538, and the statewide median is $73,147. Des Moines, residents, on the other hand, bring home an average of $63,966, which may be one reason that the poverty rate in the city is elevated (14.9%). So, depending on the industry you work in — and the shrewdness of your negotiating skills — you might need to prepare yourself for a slimmer paycheck.
Wondering how far your earnings will go after you move? See how Des Moines’ cost of living stacks up to your current city.
Job Market and Career Growth in Des Moines
Another benefit of moving to Des Moines is the healthy job market. The city is home to many important corporations, including Principal Financial, a Fortune 500 firm founded in the capital. Other major employers in the city include Hy-Vee, Wells Fargo, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa, MercyOne, John Deere, Nationwide and Pella.
From that list, you’ve probably detected a theme. Yes — insurance is king in the capital city, which is one reason why financial activities comprise such a large share of the economic pie in Des Moines. More than 54,200 people work in this sector in the city — even more than professional and business services can claim. But both took a bit of a dive over the last 12 months, shedding nearly 5% of their workforce. That was really nothing compared to manufacturing, though, which plummeted more than 9% between December of 2023 and 2024. But, given that it’s one of the city’s smallest industries in Des Moines, it didn’t have a huge impact on the overall fate of the city’s economy.
The largest single industry in Des Moines is trade, transportation and utilities, which held strong with 79,000 jobs over the past year. Education and health services, the second-largest sector in the Des Moines area, grew more than 5% and now supports 60,000 jobs. The number of government workers also grew, adding 1,500 jobs and bringing its balance up to 51,400. Overall unemployment grew from 2.5% in December of 2023 to 3.1% in December of 2024, still impressively trailing the national rate by more than half a point.
Supporting the region’s nonfarm, civilian workforce of 394,000 are local and state colleges. Drake University, a well-respected private school with an enrollment of about 5,000, offers excellent programs in business and health sciences and pharmacy, and it integrates experiential learning into all its programs to ensure students are confident and capable in whatever career they pursue. Roughly half their students are enrolled in graduate programs, and if you are hoping to continue your education in Des Moines, Grand View University also offers master’s degrees and certificates in everything from analytics to sports management. Other nearby institutions include Iowa State University, located about a half hour north in Ames; Grinnell College, located about an hour east; and the University of Iowa, which is roughly two hours away in Iowa City.
Finding Your Des Moines Neighborhoods
Now for the fun part — picking your new neighborhood! In a city this vibrant and welcoming, you have lots of appealing options, from urban to remote. These are just a few of our favorites, so be sure to research the area thoroughly to find a spot that suits your family best.
Downtown Des Moines is both the business and the cultural heart of the city. Bisected by the Des Moines River, most of the city’s museums fall to the west while the Iowa State Capitol lies to the east. Buzzy coffee shops and bars, trendy boutiques and fun restaurants make this area one of Des Moines’ liveliest. You’ll find cool lofts in the Historic East Village, newer townhomes and condos on the west side, and great apartments everywhere you look. For a swanky night out try Django, a fun brasserie with an exceptional selection of oysters and shellfish, like the Moules Frites — mussels fresh from Prince Edward Island prepared in a buttery, Belgian beer broth with butter, shallots and lemon. The Poulet Basquaise with saffron risotto makes chicken feel like a special occasion.
Beaverdale is what we think of as city-residential — tree-lined streets, charming single-family homes and weekend-walkable. You’ll likely need a car to get to work or run errands, but you can pretty easily bike or walk to neighborhood hotspots, and the Inter-Urban Trail connects directly with the Trestle Trail at the Wakonsa Bridge. Houses in Beaverdale can be on the steeper side, but many still come in below-average compared to U.S. trends. One of your new favorite haunts is sure to be The Dam Pub — a punny public house in the heart of Beaverdale, located on Beaver Ave. — where else? It’s really the best dam place to go to either cure a hangover or try to give yourself one. Another favorite dining establishment is Christopher’s, which has been serving Italian American classics for over 50 years, so if you’re on the hunt for the best chicken parmigiana or something more unexpected, like fettucine gorgonzola — served with flavorful beef tenderloin — this is the place to point your spears. We mean silverware.
If you have your heart set on the suburbs, West Des Moines will answer the call, loud and clear. This sprawling region is close to both the airport and some of the finest greenspaces in the area, like the Badger Creek State Recreation Area, where you’ll find fields of sunflowers in the summertime. At Walnut Woods State Park, you can even rent a 1930’s lodge — with its beautiful stone and wood interior — for family gatherings or business retreats. There is an exceptionally wide range of housing in West Des Moines, from cozy clapboards in Valley Junction to penthouse condos overlooking Jordan Creek, and even the occasional outrageous mansion — because if you only live once, you might as well make it OTT, right?
Unique Experiences in Des Moines
Des Moines is a city of icons — from the High Trestle Trail Bridge to the golden-domed capitol and the flaxen sheen of the famous Butter Cow, sweating it out at the Iowa State Fair. Truly, this is a city with something to see.
Downtown Des Moines is filled with museums and cultural landmarks, and one of our favorite places to visit will surely be the Des Moines Art Center. The depth and breadth of this institution is more than many expect from a city of just over 200,000, but with buildings by I. M. Pei, Richard Meier and Eliel Saarinen, and monumental works by Kerry James Marshall, Sol LeWitt and Huma Bhabha in the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, even coastal snoots will have to admit that DM is a city for art…even if they keep that on the DL.
History buffs have plenty to explore in the city, too, starting with the Capitol. Des Moines wasn’t the first capital of the state, but there’s nothing like a 23-karat gold dome to certify it will be the last. Construction on this lavish hall of government began inauspiciously in 1871 and wasn’t completed until 1886, but every ounce of energy that went into its meticulous craftsmanship is evident in wonderful details, like the glass floor of the rotunda and the gilded statues heralding the painted “lunettes.” But if you’re thinking — Yeah, yeah, my state Capitol is ornate and gold, too — we must ask, does it also have a creepy doll collection? Probs not. Trapped in a wooden vitrine, beneath an imposing, 26-foot-long 1919 photograph of the 168th Infantry, is an incongruous collection of 1976-era porcelain dolls. The commemorative figurines were commissioned by First Lady Billie Ray to celebrate the nation’s 200th birthday. Each doll sports a tiny inauguration gown, fashioned after those worn by each previous First Lady of Iowa. Their faces, however, are all identical. These were modeled after Madam Billie Ray herself, ensuring her presence in the Capitol is palpable in perpetuity.
After being thoroughly steeped in history, a nice breath of fresh air is in order, and there’s no better place to get that in Des Moines than the Downtown Farmers’ Market. From May through October, you can shop the nation’s breadbasket in the heart of the city, picking up incredible produce, baked goods, cheeses and meats. The market has been ranked #2 in the nation by Shape Magazine. And itt’s easy to see why — with bold brews from Iowa Coffee Company, comforting Reyes Tamales and NYC-worthy bagels from newcomer Black Bagel.
The famous bridges of Madison County aren’t far from the fair city of Des Moines, but the High Trestle Trail Bridge is an icon all its own. This 13-story-tall pathway is known for its sequence of steel frames, which create a cool tunnel effect by day and are illuminated at night. The 25-mile trail itself is open to bikers, joggers and horseback riders, so you can easily explore Iowa’s beautiful countryside without a car.
In a nook of the Raccoon River, Gray’s Lake Park has its own trail and illuminated bridgeway. But the real star of this greenspace is the water, so plan a day of swimming, sailing or beach-bumming for an easy weekend escape.
The Principal Riverwalk connects both sides of the Des Moines River in the center of downtown. In the wintertime, Brenton Skating Plaza is a favorite hangout, and when it’s not snowy, the Laurisden Skate Park is the place to show off your tricks. This is no ordinary municipal affair — this is a Dew Tour-hosting venue with pro-level flow bowls, amoeba pools and even skateable art that just happens to be the largest open park in the entire country.
Skating isn’t the only popular sport in the city, either. Des Moines’ minor-league teams like the Cubs, the Wild, the Wolves and the Menace bring pro-level action to this mid-size Midwestern capital. College teams are tops, too. Don’t miss the annual Drake Relays if you’re into Track & Field — you’ll likely spy the next Olympic contenders at this high-stakes competition at Drake University. Go Bulldogs!
But one Des Moines tradition outshines them all — fried food always lends a luminous glow — and that is the Iowa State Fair. This 11-day-long excuse to create and consume food exclusively on a stick has been held since 1854. Des Moines residents know that that Butter Cow is their birthright, and from their cold, greasy hands will you pry the honor of being one of the oldest agricultural expos in the nation, and rightly so. Each year, more than 1 million visitors arrive, hungry for the deeply fried, the handmade and the lovingly raised, entertained by great music and carnival rides in between bites. The Iowa State Fairgrounds are the best place to try new things, of course, like a pickle on a stick, BLT on a stick, bacon pecan pie on a stick and the eponymous Iowa Twinkie on a stick, or a jalapeno stuffed with pulled pork, corn, and cream cheese, then wrapped in bacon, barbequed, and topped with ranch dressing. Please don’t share our roller coaster car after consuming this.
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