Welcome to the land of the 1%. Where you’ll find lawyers, and doctors, and business executives. And while they aren’t made of ticky-tacky, they are definitely made of money.
These are the wealthiest neighborhoods that Des Moines has to offer — where houses go for well over the national median and household incomes follow suit.
But where exactly in Des Moines do the richest of the rich people live? That would be Waterbury, where the median income is a cool $145,591.
$145,591 median income
$95,572 median income
$90,268 median income
$85,573 median income
$82,472 median income
$82,279 median income
$74,427 median income
$73,304 median income
$72,005 median income
$70,557 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
Iowa statewide median: $75,059
Iowa statewide median: $231,585
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the wealthiest neighborhoods in Des Moines for 2026
Every city has its best neighborhoods — where everyone wants to live — and the worst neighborhoods — where no one wants to live. And then you have the wealthiest neighborhoods, where no one can afford to live.
And by no one, we mean you because there’s always someone richer than you.
How do you quantify richer than you? We looked at one simple criterion:
- Highest median household income
Using Saturday Night Science, we researched income data from the Census and BLS for every neighborhood in Des Moines.
We ranked every neighborhood in Des Moines by median income from highest to lowest. The neighborhood with the highest median income, Waterbury, was named the wealthiest neighborhood in Des Moines.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the most affluent neighborhoods to live in Des Moines.
The full plate
Richest neighborhoods in Des Moines for 2026 by median income
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterbury | $145,591 |
| 2 | Salisbury Oaks | $95,572 |
| 3 | Waveland Park | $90,268 |
| 4 | Southwestern Hills | $85,573 |
| 5 | Meredith | $82,472 |
| 6 | Linden Heights | $82,279 |
| 7 | Valley High Manor | $74,427 |
| 8 | Ingersoll Park | $73,304 |
| 9 | Beaverdale | $72,005 |
| 10 | Greenwood | $70,557 |
| 11 | Bloomfield-Allen | $70,410 |
| 12 | Westwood | $69,514 |
| 13 | Laurel Hill | $67,838 |
| 14 | Lower Beaver | $67,550 |
| 15 | Garton West | $66,094 |
| 16 | Waveland Woods | $65,250 |
| 17 | Downtown Des Moines | $64,784 |
| 18 | Merle Hay | $60,055 |
| 19 | Fairmont Park | $58,630 |
| 20 | Accent | $56,897 |
| 21 | Douglas Acres | $56,297 |
| 22 | Gray’s Woods | $54,532 |
| 23 | Oak Park | $54,186 |
| 24 | Greater South Side | $52,697 |
| 25 | Union Park | $50,720 |
| 26 | North Of Grand | $50,678 |
| 27 | Drake | $50,473 |
| 28 | Indianola Hills | $49,755 |
| 29 | Woodland Heights | $48,632 |
| 30 | Sherman Hill | $48,500 |
| 31 | Highland Park | $48,216 |
| 32 | Magnolia Park | $47,049 |
| 33 | Arbor Peaks | $46,908 |
| 34 | Chautauqua Park | $44,750 |
| 35 | McKinley School | $43,808 |
| 36 | South Park | $43,188 |
| 37 | Capitol View South | $42,059 |
| 38 | Cheatom Park | $41,255 |
| 39 | Capitol Park | $39,602 |
| 40 | Fairground | $38,775 |
| 41 | Drake Park | $38,315 |
| 42 | East Village | $37,853 |
| 43 | Capitol East | $36,169 |
| 44 | Mondamin Presidentia | $35,516 |
| 45 | River Bend | $35,134 |
| 46 | Somerset | $34,952 |
| 47 | Martin Luther King Jr Park | $34,053 |
| 48 | New Vision | $32,832 |
| 49 | King-Irving Park | $29,094 |
| 50 | Jordan Park | $26,350 |
| 51 | Kirkwood Glen | $25,865 |
| 52 | Carpenter | $20,714 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 52 Des Moines neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The wealthiest pockets of Des Moines
What’s the richest neighborhood to live in Des Moines for 2026? According to the most recent census data, Waterbury looks to be the richest Des Moines neighborhood to live in.
The richest neighborhoods in Des Moines are Waterbury, Salisbury Oaks, Waveland Park, Southwestern Hills, Meredith, Linden Heights, Valley High Manor, Ingersoll Park, Beaverdale, and Greenwood.
The poorest neighborhood? That would be Carpenter.
We ranked the neighborhoods from richest to poorest in the chart below. Not sold on Iowa? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Richest Neighborhoods In Des Moines FAQs
What is the richest neighborhood in Des Moines?
Waterbury is the richest neighborhood in Des Moines for 2026, with a median household income of $145,591. Salisbury Oaks and Waveland Park are next.
What are the richest neighborhoods in Des Moines?
The richest neighborhoods in Des Moines are Waterbury, Salisbury Oaks, Waveland Park, Southwestern Hills, Meredith, Linden Heights, Valley High Manor, Ingersoll Park, Beaverdale, and Greenwood. We ranked all 52 neighborhoods by median household income, highest to lowest.
How much do people make in Waterbury?
The median household in Waterbury earns $145,591 a year, and the median home there is worth $296,550. Those two numbers travel together in most cities, and Des Moines is no exception.
How do you rank the richest neighborhoods?
One measure: median household income from Census tract data, ranked highest to lowest. No composite score, no adjustments — just where the money lives.
What is the poorest neighborhood in Des Moines?
Carpenter posts the lowest median household income of the 52 Des Moines neighborhoods we ranked. It anchors the bottom of the income table above.
