county

Des Moines County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Des Moines County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Des Moines County, IA is a small county of 38,597 residents with a labor force participation rate of 61.3% and median worker earnings of $36,545, supported by a high school attainment rate of 94.0% though bachelor's degree holders represent only 23.8% of the population. The county posted a -2.5% population decline over five years, and a 14.1% poverty rate sits alongside a median household income of $62,928 and GDP per capita of $55,548. Housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $137,000 and median gross rent of $908/month, and a mean commute time of 18.6 minutes reflects a compact geographic footprint.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

38,597

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$62,928

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.5% since 2018

Des Moines County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone32,890 (85.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,830 (4.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,788 (4.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,163 (3.0%)
  • Asian Alone464 (1.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone225 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish811
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island254
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic68
  4. 4.Other Indo-European51
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)44

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,425

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$55,548

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,246

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,446
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)3,482
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,357
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,867
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,322

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,174
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,789
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,659
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,262
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,688

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.84×)3,422
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.61×)479
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.22×)2,467
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.17×)1,918
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.13×)487

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$137,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$908/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,9991,576 (12.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,413 (11.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,224 (9.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,180 (9.2%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999949 (7.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999825 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,545

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

18.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone15,132 (82.8%)
  • Carpooled1,712 (9.4%)
  • Worked At Home770 (4.2%)
  • Walked285 (1.6%)
  • Public Transit173 (0.9%)
  • Taxi80 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Des Moines County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.