ZIP Code 50266 — West Des Moines city, IA Demographics & Data

ZIP code 50266 covers West Des Moines, IA in Dallas County with a population of about 36,770.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 35.0 versus a U.S. median of about 38.9.

It sits in telephone area code 515; U.S. House district IA-3; the DES MOINES - AMES media market.

West Des Moines, IA sits in a university / college context (near des moines university-osteopathic medical center (2.2 mi)). Expect stronger interest in student housing, rentals, walkability, transit, and a younger adult age mix versus typical suburban ZIPs.

Median household income in ZIP 50266 is about $85,282 — about 13% above the U.S. median ($75,149).

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a poverty rate of 7.2%; unemployment rate near 2.6%; 60.0% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 26.3 points above the national share (33.7%)).

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Finance and insurance, Healthcare, and Professional services; about 19.3% of workers reporting work-from-home (about 4.1 points above the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 180.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

Median home value is about $325,100 — about 7% below the U.S. median home value ($348,079).

Housing tenure and rents show median gross rent around $1,189 (about even with the U.S. median rent ($1,163)), and owner-occupancy near 50.1% (about 15.3 points below the national owner-occupancy rate (65.4%)).

To comfortably buy a median-priced home in ZIP 50266 in West Des Moines, IA, a household would need roughly $89,000 in annual income under a 20% down, 30-year loan at 6.8% (illustrative), keeping housing costs near 28% of income. Estimated monthly PITI is about $2,088. That is roughly in line with the local median household income ($85,282). Rates, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees vary — treat this as a planning estimate, not a lender quote.

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates natural-hazard risk for West Des Moines city, IA as Relatively Low (composite score 60.6), which is near the middle of the national distribution. The strongest component scores on US5 are flood (60.4) and wildfire (40.6). These scores are county-linked NRI values published for planning context — all ZIP codes in the same county share the same composite score on US5. Useful when comparing insurance and disaster exposure across areas, not a substitute for a parcel-level flood or fire determination.

Climate normals for West Des Moines city, IA show little to no average snow and around 36.5 inches of annual precipitation.

IRS migration statistics show a net inflow of about 2,109 for ZIP 50266 (West Des Moines city, IA) on US5’s published series — a signal of people/tax filers moving in relative to those leaving. Inflows often track job growth, housing demand, or lifestyle migration; treat the figure as a directional indicator rather than a precise headcount.