Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The city was incorporated on April 16, 1917 and was a streetcar suburb of Des Moines. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,580. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is the 12th largest city in Iowa.
Urbandale grew rapidly in the 1960's and 1970's due to post–World War II economic expansion. 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.
History
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 the Johnston School District, it needed to establish their own school district and could be done if it was legally incorporated.Urbandale was incorporated as a city on April 16, 1917. In its early days, Urbandale served as a streetcar suburb of Des Moines with four coal mines. The cars mainly served coal miners and students attending Roosevelt High School or Des Moines North 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 a railroad from Des Moines to Woodward 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.
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.
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. Although most of the city's developed area is in Polk County, Urbandale has expanded westward into Dallas County in recent years. 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.
In 2012, President Barack Obama held a re-election campaign rally at Living History Farms in Urbandale.
Geography
Urbandale is located in the northwest part of the Des Moines Metro Area at the intersections of Interstates 35 and 80, and Iowa Highway 141. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.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. On June 17, 2025, a plan to annex of land belonging to the Des Moines Christian School Association was approved. The property was previously a part of the city of Grimes.
Urbandale is in Tornado 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.
Urbandale has a humid continental climate under the Köppen climate classification. January averages around -5.4 °C daily. Every month's average temperature is above 22 °C, and seven months average above 10 °C. The coldest temperature recorded was -35.6 °C which happened on Friday, January 12, 1912. The hottest temperature recorded was 45.0 °C which happened on Wednesday, August 8, 1934. Summer temperatures can often climb into the 90 °F range, occasionally reaching 100 °F. Humidity can be high in spring and summer, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Winters vary from moderately cold to bitterly cold, with low temperatures venturing below 0 °F quite often. Snowfall averages 36.5 inches per season, and annual precipitation averages 36.55 inches, with a peak in the warmer months.
Demographics
The median income for a household in the city was $59,744, and the median income for a family was $70,548. Males had a median income of $45,470 versus $32,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,021. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 45,580 people, 17,528 households, and 12,398 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,023.3 inhabitants per square mile. There were 18,366 housing units at an average density of 815.3 per square mile. The racial 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% were married 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.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census there were 39,463 people, 15,596 households, and 10,815 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 16,319 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 91.1% White, 2.8% African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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% were married 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.
Economy
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%.Urban Loop
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.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 from I-35/80 to Highway 141, costing $65 million, connecting Urbandale to Grimes.
While Urbandale is primarily a residential city, other development has increased in recent years, particularly in the business parks located inside the Urban Loop. This 12-mile stretch of I-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.
The Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees operations for its multi-state games is located in Urbandale, although Powerball is now drawn in Florida.
Top employers
According to Urbandale's 2023-2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, 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 |