AreaProfile

50310Des Moines, Iowa

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 50310.

77
Area Score
Top 6% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 13% of 4,073 published ZIP areas75
Growth1980th of 3,947 published ZIP areas50
Housing affordabilityTop 6% of 4,553 published ZIP areas100
Climate4123rd of 4,621 published ZIP areas59
Physical resilienceTop 11% of 4,554 published ZIP areas89
Access2162nd of 4,623 published ZIP areas95
Economic stabilityTop 39% of 4,591 published ZIP areas65
The quick read

50310 ranks in the top 13% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $76,381.

Residential permitting has slowed: 860 units authorized over the past twelve months, 37% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published ZIP profiles, placing 50310 in the top 11% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
31,177
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$76,381
Top 43% nationally
Density
3,880/sq mi
8.0 sq mi of land
Median age
37.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Des Moines
Iowa
Metro area
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Nearest major airport
DSM
6 mi · Des Moines Intl
Median home value
$222,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5% is lower than 87% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.3% over the past year, to 115,414 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$4,706$76,381Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,271$39,191Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate10.8%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.8 minBottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher36.8%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment115,414Top 23%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.6%Top 31%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.3%Top 22%June 2026
Labor force119,596Top 23%June 2026
Labor force participation68.2%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,970Bottom 41%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,820Top 39%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.5%Bottom 18%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.5%Bottom 13%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202476k68k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $76,381 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Customer Service Representatives12,070$48,880
Retail Salespersons11,000$33,430
Fast Food and Counter Workers10,060$29,140
Cashiers8,720$29,640
General and Operations Managers8,370$98,780
Registered Nurses8,130$78,630

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Des Moines, IA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,113 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.9 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
17.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,113
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$222,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.92Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate69.6%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±64914,288Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$73$1,113Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,094$222,700Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.5%Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.0%Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
50/ 100
Ranks 1980 of 3,947 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

63% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 4.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
860
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.0
Top 39% nationally
Year over year
−37%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
63.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Des Moines, IA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 14°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.5 inches, including 36.5 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DES MOINES INTL AP, 6.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation36.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall36.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low14°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing54°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

89 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, strong wind and cold wave.

Strong windElevated
TornadoElevated
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: hail, heat wave, inland flooding, ice storm, winter weather, lightning, landslide, earthquake, wildfire, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 6 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Des Moines IntlDSM6 mi9,004 ft
Waterloo RgnlALO92 mi8,399 ft
The Eastern IowaCID103 mi8,600 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
77
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

50310 vs Des Moines

How this ZIP area compares with Des Moines as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

50310
Des Moines
Median household income
$76,381
vs
$65,932
Per capita income
$39,191
vs
$37,863
Population density
3,880/sq mi
vs
2,409/sq mi
Median home value
$222,700
vs
$194,700
Median gross rent
$1,113
vs
$1,090
Homeownership rate
69.6%
vs
60.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
36.8%
vs
29.7%
Poverty rate
10.8%
vs
15.0%
Median age
37.1
vs
34.6

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.