Best PlacesWest Des Moines, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Des Moines, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Des Moines ranks 128th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West 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.
West Des Moines' strengths and weaknesses
Where West Des Moines ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 94% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of cities
- BikingBetter than 94% of cities
Where West Des Moines ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 37% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 82 pleasant days a year, better than only 47% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Des Moines
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Des Moines home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $102,530, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 West Des Moines' effective rate of 1.42%, 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 West Des Moines
West 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 West Des Moines.
Who works in West Des Moines, and how
Work in West Des Moines centers on finance & insurance and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Des Moines
West Des Moines has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of cities and more parkland per resident than 92% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Des Moines and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Des Moines, month by month
West 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 West Des Moines
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Des Moines
Schools across West Des Moines average an A, better than 94% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Westridge ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Maple Grove Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Brookview Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Norwalk Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Stilwell Junior High SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Waukee High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Valley High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Norwalk Senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Des Moines school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West 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 West Des Moines against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Des Moines suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Des Moines
Is West Des Moines a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Des Moines ranks 128th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and good schools, and lowest on noise and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Des Moines expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $315,841. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $102,530 median income, cost of living beats 90% of cities.
Is West Des Moines safe?
Yes, West Des Moines is safer than 79% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Des Moines?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 15. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of cities.
Is West Des Moines good for families?
Schools beat 94% of cities, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $787 a month.
Compare West Des Moines with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Des Moines. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West 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.
West Des Moines detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Des Moines: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Des Moines: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Des Moines: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Des Moines: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West 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.