Des Moines, WA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Washington·Des Moines

King County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue · population 33,207

Des Moines, WA
Image: Wikipedia · Des Moines, Washington
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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59
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Des Moines stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $614,916
1-year -1.4%
5-yr CAGR +3.4%
vs 5-yr peak -2.4%
Population +0.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-02$615k$293k$414k$535k$656k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
80/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,035/mo$1,508$1,837$2,166202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent112127100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 25.2
Rent

At a 25.2 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Des Moines for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
43 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
55 · w22%
Distance from peak
75 · w18%
Population growth
50 · w16%
Rent YoY
72 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
74 · w10%
Long thesis

Des Moines has held up across the cycle: home values at $614,916 with +3.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Des Moines's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Des Moines

Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, with an estimated population of 33,207. It anchors the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. The median home value in Des Moines is $614,916 as of 2026-04, down 1.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.4% annual growth (-2.4% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Des Moines average $2,035 per month, up 4.0% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 59 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -2.4% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: Des Moines has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Des Moines (Wikipedia)

Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by the suburbs of Federal Way to the south, Kent to the east, SeaTac to the northeast, Burien to the north, and Normandy Park to the northwest.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for King County right now.

NWS active alerts (WA)Washington Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. King County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Des Moines

8 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Redondo$761,354-2.5%
2North Hill$651,193-2.9%
3Central Des Moines$650,248-1.2%
4Woodmont$617,050+0.4%
5South Des Moines$587,633-0.5%
6Zenith$583,969-1.7%
7Marina District$441,399-3.0%
8Pacific Ridge$311,248-2.0%

Cities like Des Moines

University Place, WA58 · StableTukwila, WA58 · StableBurien, WA54 · StablePuyallup, WA59 · Stable

Run the numbers for Des Moines

ToolCan I afford Des Moines?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Des Moines rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Des Moines to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolDes Moines cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
45° / 35°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
77° / 56°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
152
~42% of year
Annual precip
38″ rain
10″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Des Moines listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$90,400
Washington state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Amazon/MS)Aerospace (Boeing)Agriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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