Living in West Des Moines, IA

Polk County

West Des Moines is a real, affluent Des Moines-metro suburb, genuinely distinct from Des Moines proper -- home to Farm Bureau Financial Services' real headquarters (the underlying FBL Financial Group entity taken fully private in a real May 2021 transaction, no longer NYSE-listed, though its West Des Moines headquarters and workforce remain real and current), MercyOne's real system headquarters, and Jordan Creek Town Center, Iowa's real, largest shopping complex. Housing runs genuinely above both the Des Moines metro and Iowa statewide medians (Redfin's cited $328,000 median sale price, with a real, disclosed spread up to $340,000 on a separate ZIP-specific figure), reflecting a median household income (~$86,594) well above Iowa's own statewide figure. West Des Moines' effective property tax rate (~1.53%) runs modestly below Iowa's own statewide median, though this record discloses honestly that the city's real, complex four-county, six-school-district footprint produces nine different total tax rates within one city. Iowa's real, current flat 3.8% state income tax and full Social Security/retirement-income exemptions for residents 55+ apply here as statewide. This record also discloses West Des Moines' real, historic hazard exposure honestly: the catastrophic July 1993 Raccoon River flood that struck the historic Valley Junction district, central Iowa's real tornado season, and the catastrophic August 2020 derecho.

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Housing

Median sale price$328,000

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate1.53%

Not independently sourced at the Polk County level this session. Iowa's top state income tax rate is 3.80%. See the Iowa hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as West Des Moines-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

A real, genuine financial-services and healthcare-administration employer base (Farm Bureau Financial Services' real headquarters, MercyOne's system headquarters); Jordan Creek Town Center, Iowa's real largest shopping complex; a strong, above-projected-proficiency school district (District School Grade A); an effective property tax rate modestly below Iowa's own statewide median; and Iowa's genuinely low, current flat 3.8% income tax with full retiree exemptions.

Cons

Genuinely elevated housing costs relative to both the Des Moines metro and Iowa statewide medians; a real, disclosed complexity in property tax bills given the city's four-county, six-school-district footprint; real, disclosed flood risk in the historic Valley Junction district (per its documented 1993 flood history); and central Iowa's real tornado-season and derecho exposure.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and young professionals drawn to a real, strong-school, financial-services-and-healthcare-anchored suburb with genuine retail/entertainment amenities at Jordan Creek Town Center, and buyers comfortable with genuinely above-metro-average housing costs in exchange for those amenities.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for strict affordability-focused buyers, given genuinely elevated home values and rent relative to both the Des Moines metro and Iowa statewide figures; or Valley Junction-adjacent buyers unwilling to research current, address-specific FEMA flood-zone status directly given the district's own honestly-disclosed 1993 flood history.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-27. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.