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ZipVitals

How the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro's ZIP codes measure up on health

The ZipVitals Score across the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area — built one ZIP code at a time, then rolled up by resident population.

Data release 202685 of 87 ZIP codes scored · 0.74M residents represented

Score snapshot

56.64Metro-wide ZipVitals Scorepopulation-weighted average of its ZIP codes
56.35Median scoremiddle of 85 scored ZIPs
68.51Highest score50323 · Urbandale
32.60Lowest score50314 · Des Moines
35.91Spreadpoints between highest & lowest ZIP

People & national context

#69Among 386 metrosby population-weighted average
27%Residents in below-average ZIPs0.20M of 0.74M, in ZIPs scoring under the national average (53.48)
0.44MResidents in the top 50 ZIPs60% of the metro
0.32MResidents in the bottom 50 ZIPs44% of the metro
0ZIPs in the national top 100

The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro's ZIP codes, ranked

Highest-scoring

Top 50 of 85
  1. 88650323in Urbandale · 17,265 residents68.51
  2. 1,34950263in Waukee · 29,611 residents66.78
  3. 1,46850266in West Des Moines · 37,523 residents66.44
  4. 1,68550069in De Soto · 1,109 residents65.83
  5. 2,05050325in Clive · 19,012 residents64.88
  6. 2,09650038in Booneville · 235 residents64.77
  7. 2,13950007in Alleman · 444 residents64.66
  8. 2,63450073in Elkhart · 1,208 residents63.65
  9. 2,67750309in Des Moines · 10,110 residents63.58
  10. 2,75150035in Bondurant · 10,131 residents63.42
  11. 2,86250261in Van Meter · 3,399 residents63.20
  12. 2,99450023in Ankeny · 46,306 residents62.96
  13. 3,05550109in Granger · 3,309 residents62.85
  14. 3,11850021in Ankeny · 30,283 residents62.73
  15. 3,36450226in Polk City · 7,759 residents62.25
  16. 3,40050131in Johnston · 24,583 residents62.19
  17. 3,78150276in Woodward · 2,679 residents61.54
  18. 3,89450312in Des Moines · 15,802 residents61.37
  19. 4,22450003in Adel · 9,948 residents60.86
  20. 4,25650211in Norwalk · 16,835 residents60.81
  21. 4,42750061in Cumming · 2,123 residents60.58
  22. 4,68850063in Dallas Center · 2,720 residents60.23
  23. 4,78950111in Grimes · 16,865 residents60.09
  24. 5,39850265in West Des Moines · 33,488 residents59.26
  25. 5,42050324in Windsor Heights · 5,143 residents59.23
  26. 5,65750072in Earlham · 2,979 residents58.92
  27. 5,68050161in Maxwell · 2,296 residents58.89
  28. 5,68450218in Patterson · 346 residents58.88
  29. 6,06450001in Ackworth · 650 residents58.41
  30. 6,21150156in Madrid · 4,575 residents58.23
  31. 6,23750233in Redfield · 1,406 residents58.19
  32. 6,54650039in Bouton · 344 residents57.83
  33. 6,56050322in Urbandale · 31,931 residents57.81
  34. 6,60250240in St. Charles · 2,393 residents57.75
  35. 6,90750125in Indianola · 20,121 residents57.38
  36. 6,97950167in Minburn · 592 residents57.31
  37. 7,34250229in Prole · 1,585 residents56.93
  38. 7,53550170in Monroe · 3,024 residents56.72
  39. 7,67350166in Milo · 2,023 residents56.58
  40. 7,73550273in Winterset · 8,950 residents56.52
  41. 7,81950251in Sully · 1,365 residents56.45
  42. 7,91150070in Dexter · 1,221 residents56.37
  43. 7,92050210in New Virginia · 1,487 residents56.35
  44. 7,99050228in Prairie City · 2,120 residents56.28
  45. 8,00050232in Reasnor · 569 residents56.27
  46. 8,15750153in Lynnville · 890 residents56.11
  47. 8,17950028in Baxter · 1,981 residents56.09
  48. 8,23850127in Ira · 10 residents56.04
  49. 8,53550237in Runnells · 3,635 residents55.78
  50. 8,68250160in Martensdale · 569 residents55.65
Open the full Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro ranking →One page, all 85 scored ZIPs — sortable by score, residents, or place

Where each domain sits inside this metro

The Score above is one number for the whole Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro. Nine domains make it up, and they are not spread the same way across the people who live here. Each row divides this metro's ZIP codes into fifths by how they stand against each other on that domain, then counts who lives at each end. If a domain were spread evenly across the metro's residents, every row would read about 20%.

The highest-standing fifth

17 of 85 ZIPs

Share of the metro's residents living in the fifth of its ZIP codes that stand highest on each domain.

Healthcare Access50%372,002 people

2 ZIP codes tie at this end: 50310 Des Moines50314 Des Moines50316 Des Moines

Social Need / SDOH42%307,839 people

Standing highest: 50266 West Des Moines50309 Des Moines50323 Urbandale

Chronic Disease Burden37%270,229 people

Standing highest: 50035 Bondurant50266 West Des Moines50309 Des Moines

Disability35%259,152 people

Standing highest: 50035 Bondurant50073 Elkhart50323 Urbandale

Climate / Disaster Risk24%177,818 people

Standing highest: 50127 Ira50263 Waukee50311 Des Moines

Risk Behavior23%166,098 people

Standing highest: 50007 Alleman50069 De Soto50323 Urbandale

Mental Health11%83,688 people

Standing highest: 50127 Ira50216 Panora50323 Urbandale

Preventive Care9%67,108 people

Standing highest: 50001 Ackworth50127 Ira50216 Panora

Environmental Hazard7%49,524 people

Standing highest: 50127 Ira50218 Patterson50222 East Peru

Each fifth is about 17 of this metro’s 85 compared ZIP codes, and the shares are out of 737,682 residents. A ZIP code is compared here only if it carries a resident count to weight it by and enough measured data on that domain — the rest are left out of that domain’s fifths rather than filled in from a coarser geography, which is why this count can sit just below the metro’s scored total.

The mark shows 20% — where a row would sit if that domain were spread evenly across the metro's residents.

Each ZIP code is compared with the other ZIP codes in this metro that are measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain.

Why this matters

The ZipVitals Score combines nine domains of health — from chronic disease and preventive care to environmental hazard, social need, and healthcare access — into one 0–100 index for each ZIP code, computed the same way everywhere from public federal and academic data. The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA figures on this page are population-weighted rollups of those per-ZIP scores, so they describe the metro's residents rather than a coarser geography relabeled as the metro.

A high score describes favorable documented conditions; it is not a claim about individual residents, and it does not capture everything that shapes a community's health. Where a ZIP code scores low, that pattern reflects structural conditions — investment, environment, and access — far more than the choices of the people who live there.