The Greater Des Moines area has been getting increasingly positive press and exposure on a nationwide level in recent times. Business rankings, quality of life testimonials, commendation in books, and bragging rights are just part of the equation.

Check this page often to see the latest praise, acclaim, and publicity that Des Moines is receiving and will continue to receive in the future.

MSNBC: Des Moines in Top Ten Mid-Sized Metros for Quality of Life

Metro Des Moines was ranked as the 10th best mid-sized metro for having a high quality of live by MSNBC. From the article: "They contain only 20 percent of the U.S. population, but midsize metropolitan areas can be an appealing alternative to life in the big city....The study compared the 124 midsize metros in 20 statistical categories, using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The highest scores went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems." Provo, UT and Boulder, CO were ranked at numbers 1 & 2.

-March 2009

Des Moines ranks high as a Best Place for Business and Careers

Greater Des Moines was recently named 7th Best Place for Business and Careers by Forbes. The publication cited the area’s colleges, cost of doing business, education attainment and job growth as key indicators. View the ranking online at Forbes.com Raleigh, N.C., placed first; Fort Collins, Colo., second; and Durham, N.C., third.

-March 2009

Site Selection Magazine: Des Moines Metro places 5th in the nation for New Construction and expansion Projects for Mid-Sized Metros

Greater Des Moines was ranked 5th in Site Selection Magazine's list of “Top Metros” for metropolitan areas with populations of 200,000 – 1 million. This ranking is based on new construction and expansion projects in the region in 2008. The metro had 28 economic development projects registered in 2008.

-March 2009

Des Moines is the Most Affordable Convention City in America

Tradeshow Week magazine ranked Des Moines as the most-affordable city in the United States. Tradeshow examined the federal government's 2008 Domestic Per Diem Rates for meals and incidentals, Smith Travel Research's survey of domestic hotel rates and Tradeshow Week's 2008 Survey of U.S. and Canadian Labor Rates to determine their rankings. Columbus, Ohio and Louisville, KY followed Des Moines in the ranking.

-September 2008

Forbes: Des Moines has the Cleanest Drinking Water

Des Moines had the second lowest level of bacteria in its drinking water and ranked in the top 15 for lowest levels of lead, turbidity and haloacetic acid. Overall, Des Moines came in first of all cities surveyed.

-July 2008

Des Moines Once Again "One of the Best Places to do Business"

Inc. Magazine has once again put Des Moines among the top cities to operate a business in for 2005, with the DSM metro ranking 9th among medium-sized cities in the U.S. The low cost of d oing business, excellent education system, high quality of life, and thriving economy were all criteria that were used to place Des Moines high on the list of 90 medium-sized cities.

-May 2005

Des Moines Ranked Among the Top 15 "Happiest Cities"

Men's Health Magazine has Des Moines tied for 15th place in what it deems the "Happiest Cities" to live in the U.S. In this arbitrary rating, Des Moines scored an A- based on the following criteria when measured in U.S. Metros: suicide rates, sales of antidepressants, and number of residents reporting problems with depression. Don't you feel happier just reading that!

-May 2005

Des Moines Ranks Well on America's "50 Hottest Cities" List

Des Moines has come in at #26 on Expansion Management Magazine's annual "50 Hottest Cities" listing, measuring the most active cities for expansion or location of business facilities. 2004 was the first time Des Moines has made an appearance on the list that is calculated by measuring the perceptions of professional site location consultants, whose business it is to help companies select the best locations for future facility expansions

-January 2005

Des Moines Arts Festival Moves up to the #4 Rank!

The Des Moines Arts Festival has been ranked as the 4th best Arts Festival in the nation by ArtFair Sourcebook, a magazine that has become the definitive index for measuring art events. Beating out several notable US arts festivals, the DSM Art Festival is held every summer on the downtown riverfront. Ranked at #117 just seven years ago, the festival has grown to be a very successful and new summertime tradition in Central Iowa.

-January 2005

Des Moines Ranked #17 Of All U.S. Metros in 2004 Job Growth

The Des Moines Metropolitan Area gained over 8,500 total non-farm jobs in 2004, growing at a rate of 3.0% and placing it at #17 out of 228 other cities on a percentage basis. Waterloo, Iowa came in at #3 with 3.8% job growth in 2004. See how all the cities are listed on the bizjournals.com ranking.

-December 2004

City of Des Moines' Website Ranked Best In Nation

The City of Des Moines web site (www.dmgov.org) has been named a winner in the 2004 “Best of the Web” competition conducted by the Center for Digital Government. Des Moines' ranking places its web site among the 10 best city government web sites in the United States. The press release from the City of Des Moines.

-December 2004

Des Moines Improves Standing In Growth of Jobs, Wages By National Think Tank

The Milken Institute has ranked Des Moines 43rd out of 200 US Cities based on growth in jobs, wages and high-technology business. Even more surprising is that the metro jumped in the rankings from 87th to 43rd from 2002 to 2003. The Des Moines metro beat out many other larger Midwest cities, fueled by the growth in the local insurance and financial sectors.

-November 2004

International Airport Magazine Has Kind Words For Des Moines International Airport

Airports International Magazine has done a feature story on Des Moines International Airport saying the airport "has come along way in a short time", making mention of the dramatic rebound in passengers after 9/11. The article highlights how the airport is overcoming previous struggles of having passengers traveling to other nearby airports for lower cost fares. DSM International is now setting passenger records and is now in line to have a record 2 million enplanements in 2004, all while becoming much more competitive cost-wise with other nearby airports.

-November 2004

Des Moines Gets Attention In Two Recent Books

In Author Kyle Ezell's, Get Urban, the Complete Guide to City Living, a "how-to guide" touting the benefits of living in urban areas for suburbanites thinking of moving to the city, Des Moines is mentioned as an enticing "Garden Urban Area." You'll have to check out the book for more information.

In his recent book called Life 2.0, Forbes Magazine editor Rich Karlgaard documents a burnt-out insurance executive from the East Coast that relocated to Des Moines to settle in the "tranquil yet dynamic" Des Moines Metro to find success and happiness. A whole chapter of the book is dedicated to Des Moines, in what Karlgaard has dubbed as "America's Hometown", highlighting the quality of life, affordability, and cultural venues found here.

-October 2004

What Do Women Want? Des Moines.

Business Week Magazine outlines what many working women want in a place to live, work and raise a family and what Des Moines offers was mentioned. The article discusses how Des Moines offers plenty of career opportunities for female workers, with a staggering 70% of corporate management being female, the greatest percentage of any U.S. city. The usual quality of life, education and culture attributes are mentioned, versus Des Moines' bigger city peers.

-October 2004

We're #1 in 2004!

Expansion Management Magazine has ranked Des Moines as one of the best metro areas for business expansions and relocations for the second year in a row. Citing low costs, a highly educated workforce, and a "metropolitan environment" as criterion for the high ranking. Read more about it on the Expansion Management Magazine Archives. The Iowa City Metro also received great accolades in the small city category.

-July 2004

USA Today Reports Des Moines As One Of The Best "Kid Friendly Cities" In The US

The Kid-Friendly Cities Report by the Population Connection Study Group has ranked Des Moines as tops among "big cities" in the ranking. Contributing factors include community health, education, percentage of impoverished children, and rates of violent crime.

-June 2004

Des Moines Arts Festival Ranks 5th In The Nation

According to the Art Fair SourceBook, the Des Moines Arts Festival has moved up a notch to become the 5th highest ranked art festival in the nation among 600 judged arts events. Based on quality of location and artists, total sales, and entertainment provided, the DSM Arts Festival is in good company with the premier arts events in the US.

-May 2004

Iowa State Fair Goes High Publicity

USA Weekend Magazine has ranked the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines as the #2 "Top Place in America" to go and have some summer fun and is "arguably the country's most storied summer festival." This comes on the heels of a recent book called "1,000 Places to See Before you Die", where the Iowa State Fair is prominently listed.

-May 2004

More Good Press From Forbes Magazine

Forbes Magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard comments that "The next time a head-hunter calls you about an opportunity in Des Moines...hear him out." "There's a fine chance that you can improve your life and stick it to the taxman at the same time." The article talks of the benefits of living and doing business in Des Moines because of the low cost of living and favorable tax climate versus that of more expensive cities on the coasts.

-March 2004

Site Selection Magazine Ranks West Des Moines Construction Project As "A Giant"

The construction of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Headquarters/Campus in West Des Moines was ranked at #10 on Site Selection Magazine's "20 Giant Business Deals of 2003" by adding 2,000 jobs and building a complex of offices valued at $250 million dollars. In evaluating the top economic development projects of the year, the editors of Site Selection took into account total capital investment, number of jobs created, regional economic impact, value of jobs created, creativity of the deal, role of incentives in the deal, competition for the project to locate elsewhere, and speed to market.

-March 2004

Des Moines "The Hippest City" in the USA?

In terms of the best place to have a career, maybe so according to Fast Company Magazine. Des Moines came in under the radar to land praise for having a growing economy, being a hub for employers that provide outstanding employee benefits, a low unemployment rate, high education rates, and high quality of life, among other considerations. After listing all that ails the economy in typically trendy coastal cities like New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, this is what the article had to say about Des Moines: "In Des Moines, companies have only increased their family-friendly perks, making life in Iowa's capital city today feel as hip -- and as privileged -- as in Silicon Valley circa 1999. Not bad for a city that just narrowly avoided being named Fort Raccoon in the 1840s."

-October 2003