View Community Listings

Des Moines is the capital of and the most populous city in the State of Iowa, United States. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, owing its name to the Des Moines River (French: Rivière Des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks"), until it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is also the county seat of Polk County. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 92nd in terms of population in the United States according to 2006 estimates with 534,230 residents according to United States Census Bureau.
Des Moines is a major center for the insurance industry and also has a sizeable financial services and publishing business base. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, and Ruan Transportation. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, ING Group, Marsh, and Pioneer Hi-Bred have large operations in or near the metro area. Forbes Magazine ranked Des Moines as the fourth "Best Place for Business" in 2007.
Recently, Des Moines has been experiencing rapid growth in the western and southern suburbs and is quickly becoming a large metropolitan area and national center for financial business.

Of Interest

News from The Des Moines Register

Update: Police identify woman who was pulled from burning car

Jul 19, 2008 7:50 pm

Toby Ames saw what was about to happen, but he didn’t have to think about how to react.

Flood victims’ personal information was stolen

Jul 19, 2008 3:16 pm

FEMA officials have confirmed that a housing inspector’s briefcase containing personal information of flood victims has been stolen.

When floodwaters creep closer, officials turn to Iowan for help

Jul 19, 2008 6:04 am

Roger Less spent his 25th wedding anniversary alone on soggy Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Director rejects calls for DHS staff changes

Jul 19, 2008 4:40 am

The director of the state agency that manages the troubled Glenwood Resource Center says there is no excuse for the facility’s lack of progress in improving its care of disabled Iowans.

Touchplay payments pass $15 million

Jul 19, 2008 4:39 am

The Iowa attorney general’s office has reached a tentative agreement to pay $8.9 million to 32 operators of the former TouchPlay gambling machines to settle a Polk County lawsuit that had bee...

College professor gets $20,000 to settle claim

Jul 19, 2008 4:37 am

A community college professor who was fired after he offended students with remarks about the Bible will get $20,000 to settle his wrongful termination claim.

Dateline Iowa

Jul 19, 2008 4:34 am

A roundup of news from across the state

Harkin has $4.1 million for race; Reed has $292

Jul 19, 2008 4:33 am

Washington, D.C. - Republican candidate for Senate Christopher Reed had $292 in the bank as of June 30, as he launches his campaign to unseat Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., reports filed with the Federal Ele...

Metro Communities

Jul 19, 2008 4:33 am

A roundup of news from across the Des Moines metro area

Culver says Utah’s workweek worth a look

Jul 19, 2008 4:30 am

Gov. Chet Culver has weighed the idea of switching state employees to a four-day workweek in order to cut energy costs, as the state of Utah is about to do.

See more articles

New search

To view related LOCATIONS, choose from the list below:

• Iowa
• Southwest Iowa
• Northern Iowa
• Southeast Iowa
• Eastern Iowa and Cedar Rapids

To change LIFESTYLE, choose from the list below:

• All Communities
• Golf
• RV
• Luxury Living
• Manufactured Home Communities