Living in Des Moines, WA
Suburb in Washington
Des Moines is a suburb in Washington, home to about 33,000 people, with 3.5 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Des Moines a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 12 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Mild summers: highs around 75°F
- Easy flying: SEA is 4 mi away
- Great outdoors: coast or a lake close by
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $575k, and rent is $3,270 a month
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Des Moines ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Des Moines: common questions
What is the cost of living in Des Moines?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $575k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $3,270 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 111, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Des Moines?
Washington collects about $70 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.01% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Des Moines safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.7× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Des Moines?
Public schools in Des Moines test close to the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 20 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Des Moines?
Des Moines has cool winters: winter days average around 48°F and summer days around 75°F, with roughly 6″ of snow a year.
Does Des Moines get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 13 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.26 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Des Moines?
The nearest major airport is SEA, about 4 mi away.
How Des Moines scores
Each bar compares Des Moines with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Des Moines
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Washington.
Is Des Moines right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.