Waukee, Iowa
Area Profile
29,236 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Waukee, in Dallas County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesWaukee ranks in the top 2% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $101,029.
Public schools test above most of the state: 84% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 8% of published profiles for schools.
818 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.3%, lower than in 87% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 19,478 employed residents.
58% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsDallas County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $79,479 | 61st percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftDallas County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $86,914 | 73rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$11,2512024 ACS 5-Year | $101,029 | Top 18%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,6932024 ACS 5-Year | $55,193 | Top 13%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.8% | Top 37%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 20.9 min | Top 21%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 58.0% | Top 8%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 71.0% | 31st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 19,478 | Bottom 22%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +8.1% | Top 1%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.4% | Top 28%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 20,136 | 22nd percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 89.4% | Top 12%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $65,970 | Bottom 35%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $51,820 | Top 45%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | 0.0% | Bottom 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.3% | Top 13%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.0% | 88th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Service Representatives | 12,070 | $48,880 |
| Retail Salespersons | 11,000 | $33,430 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 10,060 | $29,140 |
| Cashiers | 8,720 | $29,640 |
| General and Operations Managers | 8,370 | $98,780 |
| Registered Nurses | 8,130 | $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.
84% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 84% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest High School | Waukee Comm School District | 1,574 | 21.6 | — | — |
| Waukee High School | Waukee Comm School District | 1,375 | 17.0 | 74% | 80% |
| South Middle School | Waukee Comm School District | 1,092 | 15.0 | 84% | 84% |
| Timberline School | Waukee Comm School District | 992 | 16.3 | 81% | 80% |
| Waukee Middle School | Waukee Comm School District | 867 | 13.3 | 89% | 87% |
| Trailridge School | Waukee Comm School District | 754 | 20.9 | — | — |
| Waukee Elementary School | Waukee Comm School District | 706 | 15.7 | 87% | 84% |
| Grant Ragan Elementary School | Waukee Comm School District | 666 | 14.2 | 92% | 88% |
| Eason Elementary School | Waukee Comm School District | 590 | 15.1 | 90% | 85% |
| Prairieview School | Waukee Comm School District | 539 | 15.4 | 84% | 85% |
| Vince Meyer Early Learning Center | Waukee Comm School District | 348 | 24.9 | — | — |
19.9% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →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 $5,475 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.56% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,488, some 8% above the $1,383 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,488 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $59,500 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $101,029.
The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,383 a month.
A median home at $350,500 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $139,911, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
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.
The figures above are measured against Waukee’s median household income of $101,029, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 92.8 | Top 16%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +2.3% | 36th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +35.2% | 28th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +69.7% | 15th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 2.5 | Bottom 49%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 66.5% | 31st percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±4572024 ACS 5-Year | 12,216 | 95th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,249 | Top 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,028 | Top 43%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,488 | Top 40%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$852024 ACS 5-Year | $1,383 | Bottom 23%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$12,6892024 ACS 5-Year | $350,500 | 78th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3602024 ACS 5-Year | $5,475 | 91st percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$8,0782024 ACS 5-Year | $139,911 | Top 9%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.56% | 81st percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.8% | Top 36%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±192024 ACS 5-Year | 0 | 1st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.2% | 27th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1972024 ACS 5-Year | 386 | 87th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
Population has grown 41% since 2020, reaching 34,420 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 678 units authorized in 2025, 48% below the prior year.
Federal tax returns show Dallas County, which contains Waukee, gained about 1.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $79,479, below the $86,914 of households that moved out.
At 28.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Polk County, IA 4,241 people · 48% of arrivals
- Warren County, IA 203 people · 2.3% of arrivals
- Story County, IA 154 people · 1.7% of arrivals
- Black Hawk County, IA 114 people · 1.3% of arrivals
- Madison County, IA 109 people · 1.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Polk County, IA 3,341 people · 46% of departures
- Warren County, IA 279 people · 3.8% of departures
- Madison County, IA 167 people · 2.3% of departures
- Story County, IA 141 people · 1.9% of departures
- Boone County, IA 129 people · 1.8% 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 Dallas County, IA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 36.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 36.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 14°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 86°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 54°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% 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.
Low or minimal exposure: hail, winter weather, inland flooding, landslide, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Waukee's police department reported 139 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 621.
Dallas County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 8.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.2 per 100,000 residents in Dallas County.
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.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Waukee’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Waukee (Dallas County) rather than Waukee itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- 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
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Des Moines Intl at 12 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.8% | Top 31%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 12 mi | Top 33%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.3% | Top 21%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Intl | DSM | 12 mi | 9,004 ft |
| Waterloo Rgnl | ALO | 101 mi | 8,399 ft |
| Eppley Airfield | OMA | 106 mi | 9,502 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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Other cities in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | Polk County | 212,421 | 62 | Des Moines vs Waukee |
| Ankeny | Polk County | 72,615 | 80 | Ankeny vs Waukee |
| West Des Moines | Polk County | 71,083 | 75 | West Des Moines vs Waukee |
| Urbandale | Polk County | 46,595 | 79 | |
| Johnston | Polk County | 24,384 | 78 | |
| Altoona | Polk County | 21,495 | 77 | |
| Clive | Polk County | 19,012 | 71 | |
| Grimes | Polk County | 16,366 | 81 | |
| Indianola | Warren County | 16,044 | 72 | |
| Newton | Jasper County | 15,700 | 64 | |
| Norwalk | Warren County | 14,183 | 77 | |
| Pleasant Hill | Polk County | 11,136 | 73 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Waukee side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Waukee from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
ZIP codes in Waukee
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Waukee with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Waukee closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50263 | 29,611 | $102,762 | $352,800 | — |