Urbandale, Iowa | |
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 Living History Farms, a museum in Urbandale | |
 Flag  Logo | |
 Location of Urbandale inIowa | |
  Urbandale, Iowa Location of Urbandale in the United States | |
| Coordinates:41°37′51″N93°45′15″W / 41.63083°N 93.75417°W /41.63083; -93.75417 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Iowa |
| Counties | Polk,Dallas |
| Townships | Webster (Polk County) Walnut (Dallas County) |
| Incorporated | April 16, 1917 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-manager government |
| Area | |
• Total | 22.55 sq mi (58.41 km2) |
| • Land | 22.53 sq mi (58.35 km2) |
| • Water | 0.023 sq mi (0.06 km2) |
| Elevation | 981 ft (299 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 45,580 |
| • Rank | 12th in Iowa |
| • Density | 2,023.3/sq mi (781.19/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 50322, 50323, 50325, 50111, 50131, 50263, |
| Area code | 515 |
| FIPS code | 19-79950 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2397100[2] |
| Website | www |
Urbandale is a city inPolk andDallas counties in theU.S. state ofIowa. The city was incorporated on April 16, 1917 and was astreetcar suburb of Des Moines. As of the2020 census, the city population was 45,580.[3] It is part of theDes Moines–West Des MoinesMetropolitan Statistical Area and is the 12th largest city in Iowa.
Urbandale grew rapidly in the 1960's and 1970's due topost–World War II economic expansion.[4] In recent years Dallas County has been the fastest growing county in Iowa with population increasing more than 50% from 2010 to 2020. Even though Waukee is the main city in Dallas County that has increased population, the western part of Urbandale has also increased its population.[5]
Before Urbandale was incorporated, citizens raised $2,000 to build a two room schoolhouse and by 1916 it was ready to be used. To avoid being part of theJohnston School District, it needed to establish their own school district and could be done if it was legally incorporated.[6]
Urbandale was incorporated as a city on April 16, 1917. In its early days, Urbandale served as astreetcar suburb ofDes Moines with fourcoal mines. The cars mainly served coal miners and students attendingRoosevelt High School or Des MoinesNorth High School. Transit data showed that on one day, 4,900 passengers would use the service, with 10 total cars being used for a 15.2 mile long round trip. Urbandale served as the end of the "Urbandale Line" after plans to build arailroad from Des Moines toWoodward were abandoned because of right-of-way issues. The coal mines had closed by the end of the 1940s while streetcar service ended in 1951. Gas shuttle buses and curb liner operations took over the service, and many current DART bus routes follow the old paths of the streetcars.[7]
In 1956, The Suburban Press brought up Urban News which remains the only Urbandale-specific news publication in the city's history. By the summer of 1956, there were 800 people subscribed to the newspaper and by 1957 it had over 2,500 subscribers.[8]
In 1920, shortly after the city incorporated, Urbandale had 298 people. Its population in 1950 was 1,777, but the city grew rapidly after that along with the rest of Des Moines' suburbs. By 1970, Urbandale had 14,434 people, and in 2000 it had 29,072.[9] Although most of the city's developed area is in Polk County, Urbandale has expanded westward into Dallas County in recent years.[10] In 2019, Dallas County was the 8th fastest growing counties in the United States, with a 36% increase of population. Though most of the population growth was in Waukee, parts of western Urbandale also saw growth and expansion.[11]
In 2012, PresidentBarack Obama held a re-election campaign rally atLiving History Farms in Urbandale.[12]
Urbandale is located in the northwest part of the Des Moines Metro Area at the intersections ofInterstates 35 and80, andIowa Highway 141. According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.94 square miles (56.82 km2), of which 21.92 square miles (56.77 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2) is water.[13]
In January 2022, an agreement with the city of Grimes created an imaginary "annexation line". Both cities agreed that in the next 10 years of expansion, Urbandale could annex everything south of the line, and Grimes could annex everything north of the line.[14] On June 17, 2025, a plan to annex 100 acres (40 ha) of land belonging to the Des Moines Christian School Association was approved. The property was previously a part of the city ofGrimes.[15]
Places adjacent to Urbandale, Iowa | |
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Urbandale is inTornado Alley which makes it more prone to tornadoes. Urbandale has been hit by two tornadoes, an F2 on October 16, 1966, and an EF1 on July 15, 2024.[16][17]
Urbandale has ahumid continental climate (Dfa) under theKöppen climate classification. January averages around -5.4 °C (22.3°F) daily. Every month's average temperature is above 22 °C (71.6 °F), and seven months average above 10 °C (50 °F). The coldest temperature recorded was -35.6 °C (-32 °F) which happened on Friday, January 12, 1912. The hottest temperature recorded was 45.0 °C (113 °F) which happened on Wednesday, August 8, 1934.[18] Summer temperatures can often climb into the 90 °F (32 °C) range, occasionally reaching 100 °F (38 °C). Humidity can be high in spring and summer, with frequent afternoonthunderstorms. Winters vary from moderately cold to bitterly cold, with low temperatures venturing below 0 °F (−18 °C) quite often. Snowfall averages 36.5 inches (93 cm) per season, and annual precipitation averages 36.55 inches (928 mm), with a peak in the warmer months.
| Climate data forDes Moines International Airport, Iowa (1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1878–present[b]) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 78 (26) | 91 (33) | 93 (34) | 105 (41) | 103 (39) | 110 (43) | 110 (43) | 101 (38) | 95 (35) | 82 (28) | 74 (23) | 110 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 53.4 (11.9) | 58.7 (14.8) | 74.6 (23.7) | 83.9 (28.8) | 88.9 (31.6) | 93.1 (33.9) | 96.2 (35.7) | 94.4 (34.7) | 91.3 (32.9) | 83.3 (28.5) | 70.4 (21.3) | 57.8 (14.3) | 97.4 (36.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 30.9 (−0.6) | 35.7 (2.1) | 49.2 (9.6) | 62.0 (16.7) | 72.4 (22.4) | 81.9 (27.7) | 85.6 (29.8) | 83.6 (28.7) | 76.9 (24.9) | 63.4 (17.4) | 48.3 (9.1) | 35.9 (2.2) | 60.5 (15.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.3 (−5.4) | 26.9 (−2.8) | 39.4 (4.1) | 51.3 (10.7) | 62.4 (16.9) | 72.2 (22.3) | 76.0 (24.4) | 73.9 (23.3) | 66.2 (19.0) | 53.2 (11.8) | 39.3 (4.1) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 50.9 (10.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 13.8 (−10.1) | 18.0 (−7.8) | 29.6 (−1.3) | 40.6 (4.8) | 52.3 (11.3) | 62.4 (16.9) | 66.4 (19.1) | 64.2 (17.9) | 55.4 (13.0) | 42.9 (6.1) | 30.2 (−1.0) | 19.5 (−6.9) | 41.3 (5.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −7.8 (−22.1) | −2.7 (−19.3) | 9.2 (−12.7) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 37.6 (3.1) | 50.2 (10.1) | 56.9 (13.8) | 54.8 (12.7) | 40.4 (4.7) | 26.8 (−2.9) | 12.6 (−10.8) | −1.2 (−18.4) | −11.4 (−24.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −30 (−34) | −26 (−32) | −22 (−30) | 9 (−13) | 26 (−3) | 37 (3) | 47 (8) | 40 (4) | 26 (−3) | 7 (−14) | −10 (−23) | −22 (−30) | −30 (−34) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.08 (27) | 1.34 (34) | 2.17 (55) | 4.02 (102) | 5.24 (133) | 5.26 (134) | 3.82 (97) | 4.17 (106) | 3.18 (81) | 2.78 (71) | 1.91 (49) | 1.58 (40) | 36.55 (928) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.4 (24) | 10.2 (26) | 4.4 (11) | 1.2 (3.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 2.7 (6.9) | 7.9 (20) | 36.5 (93) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 6.9 (18) | 7.4 (19) | 4.2 (11) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 1.7 (4.3) | 4.9 (12) | 10.3 (26) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 8.2 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 11.5 | 12.7 | 11.7 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 113.2 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 6.9 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 5.6 | 25.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 71.0 | 71.3 | 67.9 | 63.2 | 63.0 | 64.8 | 67.7 | 70.0 | 70.9 | 66.5 | 71.0 | 74.6 | 68.5 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 157.7 | 163.3 | 206.0 | 222.2 | 276.0 | 312.1 | 337.8 | 297.9 | 239.8 | 210.0 | 138.5 | 129.2 | 2,690.4 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 53 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 61 | 69 | 73 | 70 | 64 | 61 | 47 | 45 | 60 |
| Averageultraviolet index | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Source 1:NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)[19][20][21] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV)[22] | |||||||||||||
The median income for a household in the city was $59,744, and the median income for a family was $70,548 (these figures had risen to $69,269 and $86,885 respectively as of a 2007 estimate).[23] Males had a median income of $45,470 versus $32,631 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $29,021. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 298 | — |
| 1930 | 596 | +100.0% |
| 1940 | 1,083 | +81.7% |
| 1950 | 1,777 | +64.1% |
| 1960 | 5,821 | +227.6% |
| 1970 | 14,434 | +148.0% |
| 1980 | 17,869 | +23.8% |
| 1990 | 23,500 | +31.5% |
| 2000 | 29,072 | +23.7% |
| 2010 | 39,463 | +35.7% |
| 2020 | 45,580 | +15.5% |
| Source:"U.S. Census website".United States Census Bureau. RetrievedFebruary 16, 2009. andIowa Data Center Source: | ||
As of thecensus of 2020,[25] there were 45,580 people, 17,528 households, and 12,398 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,023.3 inhabitants per square mile (781.2/km2). There were 18,366 housing units at an average density of 815.3 per square mile (314.8/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 83.1%White, 4.0%Black or African American, 0.2%Native American, 5.5%Asian, 0.0%Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races and 5.6% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 4.9% of the population.
Of the 17,528 households, 35.0% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% weremarried couples living together, 5.4% were cohabitating couples, 21.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 14.0% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 29.3% of all households were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.
The median age in the city was 39.3 years. 28.4% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 25.3% were from 25 and 44; 26.0% were from 45 and 64; and 15.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.
As of the2010 United States census[26] there were 39,463 people, 15,596 households, and 10,815 families living in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,800.3 inhabitants per square mile (695.1/km2). There were 16,319 housing units at an average density of 744.5 per square mile (287.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.1%White, 2.8%African American, 0.1%Native American, 3.5%Asian, 0.8% fromother races, and 1.7% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 3.1% of the population.
There were 15,596 households, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% weremarried couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.9% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
The largest industry in Urbandale is Finance and Insurance with 17.9% of the population working in that industry. It is followed by Healthcare and Social Assistance with 11.8%, and Retail with 10.5%.[28]
The Urban Loop is a development area in the north/central portion of Urbandale and is recognized for the easily accessible network of traffic routes; including interstate access, highway access, and local road access.[29]
Unofficially, the name Rider Corner was used locally to define the ninety-degree bend in the 35/80 interstate system that runs through Urbandale. The proposed area was officially named in the fall of 2017 and has been used by the Urbandale City Government, developers, and real estate brokers to describe the area. Some local media outlets have not discontinued use of the name Rider Corner. On October 16, 2020, a flyover ramp connected traffic fromI-35/80 toHighway 141, costing $65 million, connecting Urbandale toGrimes.[30]
While Urbandale is primarily a residential city, other development has increased in recent years, particularly in thebusiness parks located inside the Urban Loop. This 12-mile stretch ofI-35/I-80 has multiple access points to Urbandale. Businesses in the Urban Loop have high freeway visibility and traffic counts which continue to fuel the rapid growth of this area.[31]
TheMulti-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which oversees operations for its multi-state games is located in Urbandale, althoughPowerball is now drawn inFlorida.[32]
According to Urbandale's 2023-2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[33] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marsh & McLennan Companies | 1,000-1,100 |
| 2 | Urbandale Community School District | 700-800 |
| 3 | Quality Manufacturing Corp. | 700-800 |
| 4 | MidAmerican Energy | 500-700 |
| 5 | U.S Postal Service | 500-700 |
| 6 | John Deere Intelligent Solutions | 500-600 |
| 7 | Unity Point at Home | 500-600 |
| 8 | Worldwide Logistics | 300-400 |
| 9 | Homemakers Furniture | 300-400 |
| 10 | Rain and Hail | 200-300 |
DART route 74 serves the business parts of northwestern Urbandale and is connected to stops inWindsor Heights and theValley West Mall.[34] Urbandale is also in the intersection of two major interstates.Interstate 35 andInterstate 80 both run through and collide in Urbandale.Iowa Highway 141 andU.S. Route 6 are also in Urbandale. Iowa Highway 141 ends in the urban loop and connects to Interstate 35 and 80, while U.S. Route 6 makes up the southern border of Urbandale withClive.[35]
Urbandale features 850 acres (3.4 km2) ofparks and 54 miles (87 km) of recreationaltrails that connect to other trails in the Des Moines area.[36][37]
Urbandale is the home ofLiving History Farms, wherePope John Paul II spoke to a crowd estimated at 350,000 on October 4, 1979.[38] Living History Farms shows multiple different houses and buildings in Iowa from multiple time periods, including the Ioway tribe.[39] TheBuccaneer Arena, home to theDes Moines Buccaneers hockey team, is also located in Urbandale.
Urbandale uses thecouncil-manager form of government. The city council consists of the mayor and five council members, all of which are elected to four-year terms. There is no limit on how many terms a person can serve.[40] The mayor of Urbandale is Bob Andeweg.[41]
Urbandale has one historical site on theNational Register of Historic Places, theOlmsted Family Farmhouse.[42] In 1904 the house was built, and in 1937, 10 acres of land was used for building plots. The Urbandale Historical Society bought the house in 1987.[43] The house was put on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2019, and is open to the public for events and tours.[44]
Beggars Night is a term for going "Trick or Treat" in the period beforeHalloween night. In Urbandale, the tradition began in 1938. After Halloween celebrations were filled with violence and vandalism, Des Moines and the surrounding areas moved it to the day before Halloween to try and stop violence.[45] In 2024, Beggars Night was moved to the day of Halloween due to severe weather.[46] In March 2025, the Des Moines city council voted to move Beggars Night to Halloween, with surrounding areas, including Urbandale, following, ending the 80 year old tradition.[47]
Multiple public school districts serve portions of Urbandale:Urbandale Community School District,Dallas Center–Grimes Community School District,Des Moines School District,Johnston School District,Waukee School District andWest Des Moines School District.[48]
The Urbandale Community School District[49] consists of sixelementary schools, onemiddle school, and onehigh school (Urbandale High School). It serves Urbandale, and a part of southernGrimes.[50]
Multiple Christian schools are located in Urbandale.Des Moines Christian School is in Urbandale and has over 1,500 students enrolled.[51] St. Pius X Catholic School of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines is in Urbandale. It opened with an initial 120 students in September 1956. Initially its facility was one story tall and had eight classrooms, but an additional eight classrooms were added after construction began on another section on May 1, 1962. That section had two stories.[52] The area Catholic high school isDowling Catholic High School inWest Des Moines.
Municipalities and communities ofDallas County, Iowa,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofPolk County, Iowa,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| National | |
