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Suburb
Des Moines

Urbandale

#5 in Best Suburbs to Live in Iowa
  • A+
    Overall Grade
  • Suburb of Des Moines, IA
  • 83 reviews
A+
Overall Niche Grade
How are grades calculated?
  1. Public Schools
    A
  2. Crime & Safety
    B
  3. Housing
    A
  4. Nightlife
    B+
  5. Good for Families
    A+
  6. Diversity
    B
  7. Jobs
    A
  8. Weather
    B-
  9. Cost of Living
    B+
  10. Health & Fitness
    B+
  11. Outdoor Activities
    B-
  12. Commute
    A-
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Urbandale is a suburb of Des Moines with a population of 41,578. Urbandale is in Polk County and is one of the best places to live in Iowa. Living in Urbandale offers residents a suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Urbandale there are a lot of parks. Many families and young professionals live in Urbandale and residents tend to lean conservative. The public schools in Urbandale are highly rated.
About Urbandale...
Population
41,578

Real Estate

Median Home Value
$204,700
National
$184,700
Median Rent
$850
National
$949
Area Feel
Suburban
Rent vs. Own
  • Rent
    20%
  • Own
    80%
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Urbandale Rankings

Niche ranks thousands of places to live based on key statistics from the U.S. Census and and expert insights.

Crime & Safety

Crime & Safety
B
Based on violent and property crime rates.
Violent Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Assault
    109
    283
  • Murder
    2
    6
  • Rape
    16
    41
  • Robbery
    18
    136
Property Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Burglary
    389
    500
  • Theft
    1,066
    2,043
  • Motor Vehicle Theft
    100
    284
Home Security Options for Urbandale
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  • 24/7 Whole home protection with no contract
  • CNET Editor’s choice winner 2018

Residents

Diversity
B
Based on ethnic and economic diversity.
Median Household Income
$81,862
National
$55,322
Children
21%
Education Levels
National
  • Master's degree or higher
    14%
    12%
  • Bachelor's degree
    35%
    19%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    29%
    29%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    18%
    28%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3%
    13%
  • Public Schools
  • Private Schools
  • Colleges
Places like Urbandale
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Urbandale Reviews

83 reviews
All Categories
Urbandale is just a short uber drive away from downtwon Des Moines which has a large farmers market every Saturday, historic east village with shops and restaurants, a fun night life, and events taking place every weekend throughout the summer. It is always close to west Des Moines which offers a large mall, restaurants, outdoor retail stores. It is also located close to Saylorville Recreation Area and Big Creek State Park. The bike trail system in the Des Moines area. Wells Fargo Arena get a lot of great music acts that come through. Downtown Des Moines also has several places that host live music including Simon Estes Amphitheater, which is an outdoor venue on the river.

What I’d like to see change is more local organic food stores in Urbandale itself.
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It's a very nice neighborhood, nice neighbors and nice looking. Urbandale has a very comfortable atmosphere and there are a lot of pets running around. The school system could be better, there are a lot of student fights at the school and surrounding neighborhood, the food is not good, and the school atmosphere is less than ideal
I love Urbandale. My parents moved here when I was almost one year old. We moved into a house in the middle of the town. Most of the schools are within a five mile radius, there are parks and recreational area nearby. We are in the house of Urbandale. The people are amazing, and the schools have been perfect to me. They are the perfect size and I have always been comfortable in these settings.