County profile
Des Moines County, IA
United States · GDP 2024
#995 of 3,127 US counties by GDP73rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 53% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$2.9B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+6.5%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
18,107
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
1,065
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$50.7k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
38,077
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.8%
Median HH income
$62.9k±$3.4k
Bachelor's degree+
23.8%±1.8%
Poverty rate
12.8%±1.8%
Business applications
396 · 2025
Retail establishments
167
43.8/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Farmers & Merchants Bancshares, Inc.Financial Services$12.0M39DHQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Manufacturing32%
Health care22%
Retail trade22%
Food & accommodation14%
Construction6%
Admin & support5%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
38,077
residents · 2025 · -2.0% since 2020
Income per capita $64.3k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−387
International migration+297
Natural change−670
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$2.3B2019
$2.3B2020
$2.5B2021
$2.6B2022
$2.7B2023
$2.9B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$136.5k±$7.0k
Median gross rent
$904/mo±$71/mo
Vacancy rate
8.6%±1.7%
Affordability
2.7× wages
Residential permits
$16.0M
81 units · 2.1/1k pop
FEMA risk score
55.8
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.1k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Hail 90Strong wind 85Drought 85
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
2262016
2322017
2362018
2402019
2402020
2502021
2812022
2862023
3152024
3272025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 102% since 2021402021
132022
512023
552024
812025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
71.3 km
I-74
Nearest freight rail
10.0 km
BNSF
Nearest port
11.9 km
L. W. MATTESON, BURLINGTON DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
16.3 km
SOUTHEAST IOWA RGNL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$50.7k
avg. annual pay · +19% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Des Moines?
Des Moines's economy produced $2.9B in 2024, growing 6.5% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is manufacturing.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.