Where are the jobs?
Where are the jobs?
Affordability
Housing cost burden
Among households earning under $50,000 in West Des Moines, an estimated 4070 households are paying more than they can afford for a home they rent, and 1621 households are paying more than they can afford for a home they own.
Cost burden refers to a household paying more than 30% of income on housing.
Severe cost burden refers to a household paying more than 50% of income on housing.
Housing cost burdens can break apart family budgets. High housing costs take up money otherwise needed for transportation, education, and other basic necessities.
Wages needed to afford housing
The National Low Income Housing Coalition releases an annual estimate of the hourly wage a person would need to earn to afford a typical two bedroom apartment. Here's local data:
Zip Code | Housing Wage |
|---|---|
50061 | $20.77 |
50263 | $22.12 |
50265 | $19.04 |
50266 | $21.73 |
Wages paid by essential jobs
The National Housing Conference's Paycheck to Paycheck report highlights the wages commonly paid by important occupations in our region:
Childcare worker
$13.86/hour
Retail salesperson
$12.56/hour
Home health/personal care aide
$13.86/hour
Restaurant cook
$14.39/hour
Income Profile
Median household income
$74,159
Number of people in poverty
4,492
That's 7% of the population.
ALICE threshold by United Way
ALICE was developed by United Way to provide a more complete picture of who is struggling in our communities. Incomes for ALICE households are higher than the poverty level but too low to afford a basic survival budget.
Households in poverty
2,073
Households above poverty but below the ALICE threshold
7,114
Households above ALICE threshold
4,492
ALICE data is drawn from the 2021 5-Year American Community Survey.
Number of households earning under $50k/year
9,263
Housing Stock
Number of housing units
31,756
Percentage that are occupied
93%
Median value, owner occupied home
$228,300
Median rent
$1,058
Percentage of all housing units that are...
Owner occupied
59%
Renter occupied
41%
Get involved
We're continuing to improve this section over time.
Mayor and Council
Coming soon
Comprehensive plan
The comprehensive plan sets the tone for a city's priorities, including on the subject of housing.
Coming soon
Zoning map
A city's zoning map provides a picture of what type of housing may be built in which areas.
Coming soon
Find contact information for the city's elected leaders.
About the data
You are viewing Community Profiles v 2.1 last updated in May, 2023. CORRECTION: Community Profiles version 2.0 incorrectly identified individuals living in poverty as households in poverty.
Community data is drawn from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey with analysis by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund. Job map data is from the US Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies, LEHD via On the Map. Other data sources are noted where shown.
