Best PlacesDowntown Des Moines, Des Moines, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines ranks 1,535th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines' strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines ranks high
- Short commute11.7 minutes each way, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$776 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,957, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines' effective rate of 1.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines.
Who works in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines, and how
Work in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines, month by month
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 15° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
Schools across Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines average a B, better than 76% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Downtown SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Greenwood Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Walnut Street SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brody Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Callanan Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Hiatt Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Roosevelt High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Lincoln High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- East High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines
Is Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines ranks 1,535th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and transit, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $301,638. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $63,957 median income, cost of living beats 66% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines safe?
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $515 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.