Des Moines metro still leads Midwest in latest census report. How fast did it grow?

Des Moines Register
·2 min read

Des Moines continues to hold its title as the fastest-growing large metropolitan area in the Midwest, the latest round of estimates from the U.S. Census shows.

The annual figures released Thursday showed the six-county Des Moines metro grew 3.1% from 2020 to 2023, and retained its place as the 81st-largest metro area in the United States.

More: Ankeny joins growing list of Des Moines suburbs planning a special census. Who's next?

The next-fastest growing of the Midwestern metros over that span was Indianapolis, at 2.3%, followed by Madison, Wisconsin, at 2%.

Des Moines metro tied for year-over-year growth

The Des Moines skyline after sunset.
The Des Moines skyline after sunset.

From 2022 to 2023, the Des Moines metro grew 1.1%, tied with Madison. The Des Moines metro's population, 709,512 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, was 737,164 in 2023.

More: Use this interactive map to see what the 2020 census data says about your Iowa neighborhood

South Dakota city fastest-growing of all in Midwest

In the Midwest, among all metro areas ― regions with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 people or more ― Sioux Falls, South Dakota, grew the fastest, at 6.3%. It ranked 171st in size nationally at 304,555.

Five of nine Iowa metros shrink

More: Des Moines is becoming more diverse, census data show

Among other Iowa metro areas, only Iowa City, Sioux City and Council Bluffs, as part of the Omaha, Nebraska-Iowa metro, grew from 2020 to 2023. Iowa City grew 2.7% to 180,088; Sioux City grew 0.04% to 144,402; and the Omaha area grew 1.7% to 983,969.

Among the others, the:

  • Ames metro lost 0.1% of its population from 2020 to 2023.

  • Cedar Rapids metro lost 0.3%.

  • Quad Cities lost 1.3%.

  • Dubuque metro lost 0.4%.

  • Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro lost 0.2%.

Among Iowa counties, one grows by far the fastest

Among Iowa counties, Dallas remained by far the fastest-growing, at 11.4%, gaining more than 10,000 people from 2020 to 2023 for a total of 111,092. Polk County, Iowa's most-populous at 505,255 in 2023, gained 2.6%. Johnson, home of Iowa City and Coralville, grew 3.1% to 157,258, and Story County was unchanged at 98,566.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines continues to grow, top-growing Midwest metro in 2023 census