57 census tracts
Des Moines.Iowa housing market
This Des Moines housing market report covers about 94,100 homes across 57 census tracts. At $286,593, the average of 851 active listings costs 4.6 times the median household income, lower than in 130 of the 139 markets PriceDNA tracks.
- Average listing price
- $286,593 851 active listings · Realtor.com Economic Research, Monthly Housing Inventory · August 2026
- Approximate homes
- 94,100 across 57 assigned tracts
- Renter-occupied
- 40% of occupied homes
Des Moines housing market context
- Population fell 0.1% a year from 2020 to 2025, slower than in 105 of the 137 markets with Census population estimates.
- Owners occupy most homes; renters hold 40%, lower than in 105 of the 139 markets.
- The property insurance rate is 0.75%, higher than in 103 of the 139 markets.
These are city-level figures. To see how one property measures up against your goal, run a specific address.
Location score distribution
How location scores vary across 57 census tracts in Des Moines.
Half of Des Moines's tracts score between 73 and 79. The full range spans 65 to 88, with a median of 75.8.
What the location score shows
PriceDNA Location Score™ is a 0 to 100 signal designed to summarize local strength and risk context for rental-property analysis. Higher scores generally point to stronger location fundamentals.
The middle half of Des Moines's tracts is 6.0 points wide on the score, narrower than in 81 of the 139 markets PriceDNA tracks.
To see the location score for your specific property, analyze a property
Housing composition
Key housing statistics for approximately 94,100 homes in Des Moines, including occupancy, tenure, and structure type.
Of about 94,100 homes, 7.8% are vacant. Among occupied homes, 40% are renter-occupied, providing context on the size of the local rental base.
By structure type, about 66% of Des Moines’s housing units are in single-family structures, 5% in small multifamily buildings (2 to 4 units), and 27% in larger multifamily buildings (5+ units). Percentages are rounded; small residual structure categories are not shown.
How Des Moines compares
Des Moines's median is above the Iowa median on 5 of these 8 measures and above the U.S. median on 4. The city range shows the lower quarter, median and upper quarter of its census tracts.
| Metric | Des Moines lower · median · upper Des Moines | Iowa IA | United States US |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Census ACS B19013 · 2020 to 2024
|
$56,615 $62,474 $75,939 | $72,060 | $77,171 |
|
Census ACS B15003 · 2020 to 2024
|
26% 31% 51% | 38% | 41% |
|
Census ACS B01001 · 2020 to 2024
|
33% 36% 39% | 30% | 32% |
|
FHFA HPI · 2025
|
4.7% 4.9% 5.4% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
|
HUD SAFMR · 2018 to 2027 + Census ACS B25064 · 2014 to 2024
|
3.7% 4.0% 4.4% | 3.4% | 3.8% |
|
Census ACS B25103 · 2020 to 2024 + Lincoln Institute
|
1.80% every tract | 1.71% | 1.65% |
|
Census ACS B25141 · 2020 to 2024 + U.S. Treasury FIO
|
0.62% 0.75% 0.76% | 0.80% | 0.56% |
|
Census ACS B25064 + B19013 · 2020 to 2024
|
28.0% 30.1% 32.9% | 27.2% | 30.8% |
About this data
PriceDNA uses the most local reliable data available for each metric. Some signals are available at the census-tract level. Others are published or more reliable at broader geographies such as county, metro, state, or national level.
Housing-unit totals are approximate. PriceDNA sums Census ACS counts for the tracts assigned to the city by centroid, so the market total can differ from a municipal boundary count when a tract crosses the city line.
The property-tax assumption combines local residential tax data with a state-level apartment benchmark to provide more conservative context for rental-property underwriting. Insurance assumptions use available residential property insurance data and should be verified for the specific property and coverage.
These pages are designed for market screening and investor education. They do not replace property-level underwriting, inspections, appraisals, insurance quotes, lender review, or professional advice.
Nearby markets
Market pages for other cities within 300 miles.
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