Best PlacesNorth Hill, Des Moines, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Hill, Des Moines, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Hill, Des Moines ranks 1,805th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Hill, 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.
North Hill, Des Moines' strengths and weaknesses
Where North Hill, Des Moines ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Household income$125,794 median, better than 83% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where North Hill, Des Moines ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Hill, Des Moines
A household needs to earn about $165,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Hill, Des Moines home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,794, 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 North Hill, Des Moines' effective rate of 0.92%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Hill, Des Moines
North Hill, Des Moines's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Hill, Des Moines.
Who works in North Hill, Des Moines, and how
Work in North Hill, Des Moines centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in North Hill, Des Moines
The coast is about 1 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Hill, Des Moines, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Hill, Des Moines, month by month
North Hill, Des Moines sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 61° | 51° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 67° | 56° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 46° |
Flying in and out of North Hill, Des Moines
Seattle-Tacoma International sits about 2 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.4 million passengers in 2025, with 172 nonstop destinations.
North Hill, 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 North Hill, Des Moines against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Hill, Des Moines
Is North Hill, Des Moines a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Hill, Des Moines ranks 1,805th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, civic engagement, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Hill, Des Moines expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $622,170. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $125,794 median income, cost of living beats 78% of neighborhoods.
Is North Hill, Des Moines safe?
North Hill, Des Moines is safer than 49% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $611 per resident a year.
Compare North Hill, Des Moines with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Hill, Des Moines. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Hill, 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.
North Hill, Des Moines detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Hill, Des Moines: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Hill, Des Moines: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Hill, Des Moines: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Hill, Des Moines: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Hill, 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.