Des Moines, Iowa demographics

Des Moines, IA demographics: median age 34.6; 29.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Des Moines city, Iowa · Incorporated city · GEOID 1921000. The survey estimates a population of 212,421 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Des Moines is 34.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.4 years. There are 90,105 households (±1,262). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.6 ±0.4	38.6 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 212,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Under 18	49,229 ±1,497	23.2% ±0.7 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	58,630 ±1,619	27.6% ±0.8 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	77,517 ±1,868	36.5% ±0.9 pp	36.5%	38.0%
65 and older	27,045 ±1,090	12.7% ±0.5 pp	18.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 212,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Male	106,234 ±1,223	50.0% ±0.6 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	106,187 ±1,199	50.0% ±0.6 pp	49.8%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 212,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
White alone	136,202 ±2,065	64.1% ±1.0 pp	84.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	23,970 ±1,752	11.3% ±0.8 pp	3.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,089 ±402	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	14,105 ±1,164	6.6% ±0.5 pp	2.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	238 ±163 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	13,484 ±1,677	6.3% ±0.8 pp	2.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	23,333 ±2,000	11.0% ±0.9 pp	6.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 212,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	177,848 ±1,448	83.7% ±0.7 pp	92.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	34,573 ±1,457	16.3% ±0.7 pp	7.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 90,105
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Married-couple family	30,718 ±1,115	34.1% ±1.1 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	5,215 ±599	5.8% ±0.7 pp	4.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	12,103 ±742	13.4% ±0.8 pp	9.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	33,751 ±1,363	37.5% ±1.4 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	8,318 ±711	9.2% ±0.8 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 90,105
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Households with people under 18	26,291 ±895	29.2% ±0.9 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	63,814 ±1,455	70.8% ±1.3 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 90,105
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	33,751 ±1,363	37.5% ±1.4 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	27,236 ±1,203	30.2% ±1.3 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	11,868 ±850	13.2% ±0.9 pp	12.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	8,846 ±763	9.8% ±0.8 pp	11.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,849 ±529	5.4% ±0.6 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,206 ±353	2.4% ±0.4 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,349 ±309	1.5% ±0.3 pp	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 212,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Native	182,280 ±1,575	85.8% ±0.7 pp	94.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	30,141 ±1,611	14.2% ±0.8 pp	5.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 198,621
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
English only	155,191 ±2,261	78.1% ±1.1 pp	90.9%	77.7%
Spanish	22,907 ±1,365	11.5% ±0.7 pp	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	851 ±371	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	271 ±122	0.1% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	1,391 ±509	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	2,454 ±700	1.2% ±0.4 pp	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	163 ±154 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	394 ±192	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	1.1%
Vietnamese	1,869 ±519	0.9% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	167 ±105 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	6,657 ±912	3.4% ±0.5 pp	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	1,945 ±731	1.0% ±0.4 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	4,361 ±727	2.2% ±0.4 pp	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 140,200
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	18,219 ±1,179	13.0% ±0.8 pp	6.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	39,673 ±1,660	28.3% ±1.2 pp	30.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	27,280 ±1,204	19.5% ±0.8 pp	19.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	13,360 ±1,047	9.5% ±0.7 pp	12.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	28,597 ±1,383	20.4% ±1.0 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	13,071 ±964	9.3% ±0.7 pp	10.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 209,617
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Same house	176,660 ±2,155	84.3% ±1.0 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	21,827 ±1,716	10.4% ±0.8 pp	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	5,930 ±857	2.8% ±0.4 pp	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	4,334 ±894	2.1% ±0.4 pp	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	866 ±359	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

7.2% of Des Moines residents (±0.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.0% in Iowa and 8.4% nationally. 89.8% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Des Moines	Iowa	U.S.	Compared with Iowa
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	7.2% ±0.5 pp	5.0%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.8% ±0.9 pp	88.9%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.0% ±0.4 pp	6.5%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Des Moines . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Des Moines housing and cost context or return to the city profile.