50322 — Urbandale, Iowa

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 50322. Its median household income runs 18% below Urbandale as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

78out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 7% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured80
SchoolsTop 17% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured76
GrowthTop 3% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured82
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured76
Climate2,799th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured59
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured89
AccessTop 41% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured95
Economic stabilityTop 27% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured67
The quick read

50322 ranks in the top 7% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $92,085. The unemployment rate is published for Urbandale, IA, which contains 50322, rather than for 50322 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 72% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 17% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 597 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 44% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Urbandale, IA, which contains 50322, rather than for 50322 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
31,931
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$92,085
Top 25% nationally
Density
2,950/sq mi
10.8 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Urbandale
Iowa
Nearest major airport
DSM
8 mi · Des Moines Intl
Median home value
$276,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Urbandale, IA, which contains 50322, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Urbandale, IA, which contains 50322, grew 0.6% over the past year, to 25,496 employed residents.

44% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 83% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPolk County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,43044th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPolk County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,83550th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,7872024 ACS 5-Year$92,085Top 25%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5532024 ACS 5-Year$46,565Top 25%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%Top 44%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.0 minTop 13%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year44.1%Top 17%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.4%34th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentUrbandale, IA’s figureJuly 202625,496Bottom 27%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Urbandale, IA’s figureJuly 2026+1.5%Top 28%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Urbandale, IA’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceUrbandale, IA’s figureJuly 202626,34827th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Top 16%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,970Bottom 45%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,820Top 33%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%79th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Urbandale, IA’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateUrbandale, IA’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.0%72nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202492k78k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $92,085 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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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 Urbandale, IA, the city containing this ZIP code.

72% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.1 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
72.3%
Top 28% in Iowa
Reading proficiency
74.9%
Top 16% in Iowa
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Urbandale High SchoolUrbandale Comm School District1,30115.066%74%
Urbandale Middle SchoolUrbandale Comm School District89215.479%77%
Olmsted Elementary SchoolUrbandale Comm School District62213.0——
Valerius Elementary SchoolUrbandale Comm School District59813.0——
Karen Acres Elementary SchoolUrbandale Comm School District23312.382%72%

42.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Iowa’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area is up 35% over five years, and up 2.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,642 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.68% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,330, some 12% above the $1,186 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,330 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,200 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $92,085.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,186 a month.

A median home at $276,200 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $109,358, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.8

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,330
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,186
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$276,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 50322’s median household income of $92,085, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure202392.8Top 24%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.3%36th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+35.2%25th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+69.7%14th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 43%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%35th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4532024 ACS 5-Year13,64690th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,120Top 39%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,810Top 43%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,330Top 37%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$452024 ACS 5-Year$1,186Bottom 36%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,8502024 ACS 5-Year$276,20063rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1042024 ACS 5-Year$4,64286th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,4392024 ACS 5-Year$109,358Top 22%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.68%88th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.4%Bottom 49%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±222024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%36th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2152024 ACS 5-Year67580th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

82/ 100
Top 3% of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

At 12.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Urbandale, IA, which contains 50322, rather than for 50322 alone.

Units permitted
597
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.8
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
+44%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
36.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,430
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$68,835
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Dallas County, IA 3,341 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Story County, IA 1,203 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  3. Warren County, IA 1,001 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  4. Jasper County, IA 535 people · 2.7% of arrivals
  5. Linn County, IA 380 people · 1.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Dallas County, IA 4,241 people · 21% of departures
  2. Warren County, IA 1,629 people · 8.1% of departures
  3. Story County, IA 965 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Jasper County, IA 562 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Johnson County, IA 297 people · 1.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Polk County, IA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Urbandale, 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, 8.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year592024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals36.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals14°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year452024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals54°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
45
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
59
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

89 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 44% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 90% of measured US ZIP areas.

Strong windElevated
TornadoElevated
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
15.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 50322 (Polk County) rather than 50322 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Urbandale carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Des Moines Intl at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year92.7%Top 32%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 18%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 9%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%Top 31%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Des Moines IntlDSM8 mi9,004 ft
Waterloo RgnlALO94 mi8,399 ft
The Eastern IowaCID106 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
78
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

50322 vs Urbandale

How this ZIP area compares with Urbandale as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

50322
Urbandale
Median household income: Urbandale is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$92,085
vs
$112,795
Per capita income: Urbandale is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$46,565
vs
$54,506
Population density
2,950/sq mi
vs
2,067/sq mi
Median home value
$276,200
vs
$335,500
Median gross rent: 50322 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,186
vs
$1,211
Homeownership rate
72.8%
vs
78.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Urbandale is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
44.1%
vs
51.2%
Poverty rate: Urbandale is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
9.2%
vs
6.5%
Median age
40.5
vs
39.2

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.