IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Van Meter, IA
Van Meter is a small town of 1,628 people in Dallas County, Iowa. It's about 18 miles from Des Moines, IA and 169 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 85°F and winter highs 30°F, with about 35 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $264k and rent runs about $1k a month.
1,628people
$264kTypical home
$1,063/moRent
85° / 30°Summer / winter
35"Snow
237Sunny days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,628
- Part of a metro area
- About 372 people per sq mi
- 169 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 18 mi to Des Moines, IA
- 6 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $264k (≈$1,665/mo)
- Median rent $1,063/mo
- Median household income $135k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 85°F
- Winter highs around 30°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (89 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 35" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 32 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (71 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (252 per 100k)
People
- Median age 38
- 41% of households have kids
- 12% are 65 or older
- 45% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 24 min
- 0% walk or take transit to work
- 15 mi to DSM airport
- 15 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 39 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 90% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1990
- 95% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 994 ft
- 797 mi to the ocean
- 258 mi to a big lake
- 17 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 22 mi to the nearest ski area
- 8 mi to the nearest campground
- 34 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 463 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 135 bars within 25 mi
- 146 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 4 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 31 museums within 25 mi
- 12 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 35 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 4% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 15 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 39 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 9 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 7 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Dallas County: R+5 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk