While big cities like Des Moines offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Des Moines. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Des Moines without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Des Moines are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Des Moines area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Des Moines for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Des Moines? Huxley ranks as the best suburb of Des Moines for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Huxley, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Des Moines ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Iowa:
The 10 Best Des Moines Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Huxley is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Des Moines area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Huxley.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $120,868 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Des Moines region. And only 1.39% are out of work. Homes average more than $321,023 each.
/10
Population: 18,576
Median Income: $124,908
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Clive: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Clive is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Des Moines for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 5.09% of residents lack insurance, good for 17th best.
/10
Population: 68,392
Median Income: $101,151
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on Ankeny: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Ankeny, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Des Moines metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Ankeny.
/10
Population: 13,057
Median Income: $94,176
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on Norwalk: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Norwalk ranks as the 4th best suburb of Des Moines for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Norwalk and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Coming in as the fifth best is Windsor Heights.
Windsor Heights gets kudos for having the 15th most expensive homes in the Des Moines area, where houses sell for an average of $264,202. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 7,617
Median Income: $120,588
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on Bondurant: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Bondurant is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 0.72%.
According to online reports, Bondurant is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Des Moines area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 45,591
Median Income: $111,888
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Urbandale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Urbandale.
Urbandale schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 9.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 25,045
Median Income: $106,846
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.8%
More on Waukee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Waukee is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 5.4% of people lack insurance, good for 19th in the area.
/10
Population: 23,856
Median Income: $98,324
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Johnston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Johnston?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 20,017
Median Income: $89,100
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Altoona: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Altoona.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
I live in Altoona and pretty much all the suburbs on the west side of Dsm are snobs just saying
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Des Moines for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Des Moines was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Des Moines.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 20 suburbs to evaluate around Des Moines.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 20 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Des Moines.” We’re lookin’ at you, Huxley.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Des Moines suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Des Moines ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Des Moines are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Des Moines but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Iowa reading, check out:
Table: Best Des Moines Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huxley, IA | 4,331 | $120,868 | $321,023 |
| 2 | Clive, IA | 18,576 | $124,908 | $397,338 |
| 3 | Ankeny, IA | 68,392 | $101,151 | $323,344 |
| 4 | Norwalk, IA | 13,057 | $94,176 | $318,235 |
| 5 | Windsor Heights, IA | 5,200 | $85,055 | $264,202 |
| 6 | Bondurant, IA | 7,617 | $120,588 | $319,817 |
| 7 | Urbandale, IA | 45,591 | $111,888 | $326,786 |
| 8 | Waukee, IA | 25,045 | $106,846 | $337,040 |
| 9 | Johnston, IA | 23,856 | $98,324 | $374,570 |
| 10 | Altoona, IA | 20,017 | $89,100 | $300,143 |
| 11 | West Des Moines, IA | 68,744 | $82,345 | $294,330 |
| 12 | Adel, IA | 6,090 | $91,891 | $389,668 |
| 13 | Grimes, IA | 15,402 | $99,896 | $330,335 |
| 14 | Winterset, IA | 5,366 | $71,411 | $258,592 |
| 15 | Indianola, IA | 15,845 | $73,534 | $279,064 |
| 16 | Mitchellville, IA | 2,506 | $75,278 | $242,697 |
| 17 | Carlisle, IA | 4,116 | $94,214 | $262,569 |
| 18 | Madrid, IA | 2,784 | $74,375 | $251,692 |
| 19 | Pleasant Hill, IA | 10,456 | $81,992 | $289,143 |
| 20 | Colfax, IA | 2,186 | $81,076 | $165,992 |