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Small city

Living in Des Moines, WA

Des Moines is a small city of 32,823 people in King County, Washington. It's about 16 miles from Seattle, WA. Summer highs average 78°F and winter highs 48°F, with about 6 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $597k and rent runs about $2k a month.

32,823people
$597kTypical home
$1,799/moRent
78° / 48°Summer / winter
6"Snow
169Sunny days
155Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Small city of 32,823
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 5,117 people per sq mi
  • 16 mi to Seattle, WA
  • 16 mi to Seattle, WA
  • Has its own stores and services

Money

  • Typical home $597k (≈$3,765/mo)
  • Median rent $1,799/mo
  • Median household income $92k
  • Property tax about 0.9% of value
  • 7.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 78°F
  • Winter highs around 48°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
  • 169 sunny days a year (62 totally clear)
  • 196 cloudy days a year
  • 65 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 155 days a year with rain or snow
  • 6" of snow a year
  • 2 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • Low violent crime (238 per 100k)
  • Above-average property crime (2,253 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 38
  • 30% of households have kids
  • 17% are 65 or older
  • 34% have a college degree
  • Very diverse community
  • 6% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 33 min
  • 7% walk or take transit to work
  • 4 mi to SEA airport
  • 4 mi to SEA (major hub)
  • 12 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 58% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1974
  • 93% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 190 ft
  • Right on the coast
  • 98 mi to a big lake
  • 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 41 mi to the nearest ski area
  • Campground in town
  • 77 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 3,188 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 363 bars within 25 mi
  • 1,248 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 40 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 101 museums within 25 mi
  • 55 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 2 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 21% of Washington districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 5 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • Vet in town
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 4 congregations per 10k people
  • College in town

Politics

  • King County: D+52 in 2024
  • Washington: D+18 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Very low tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • High earthquake risk
  • Very low flood risk
  • Very low drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Low heat wave risk
  • High volcano risk

Places near Des Moines

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