U.S. News ranks Des Moines 11th best place to live
Solid jobs, cheap homes and short commutes helped Des Moines place high in the rankings.
U.S. News ranks Des Moines 11th best place to live Solid jobs, cheap homes and short commutes helped Des Moines place high in the rankings. Check out this story on desmoinesregister.com: https://dmreg.co/1oZcB7G
Joel Aschbrenner, jaschbrenn@dmreg.com Published 12:28 p.m. CT March 2, 2016 | Updated 5:58 p.m. CT March 3, 2016
Beautiful images of the downtown Des Moines skyline
The Des Moines skyline is lit up red white and blue Monday Feb. 1, 2016, by the colored lights on the Financial Center Building on Iowa's caucus day. Rodney White/The Register
An aerial view of downtown facing east March 30, 2016, in Des Moines. Michael Zamora/The Register
An aerial view of downtown facing east March 30, 2016 in Des Moines. Michael Zamora/The Register
An aerial view of downtown facing south March 30, 2016 in Des Moines. Michael Zamora/The Register
The downtown Des Moines skyline provides a picturesque backdrop as Felicia Coe, 26, and Sarah Molenburg, 32, showcase their acrobatic skills beneath the water tower atop the Brown-Camp Lofts Aug. 11, 2013. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
The Capitol building in Des Moines Iowa as seen from the Financial Center on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Brian Powers/The Register
The Des Moines skyline shines over the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers on Aug. 25, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
Downtown Des Moines as seen from the Financial Center on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Brian Powers/The Register
The Principal Building in Des Moines, right, Iowa as seen from the Financial Center on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Brian Powers/The Register
The swollen Des Moines River near the Simon Estes Amphitheater didn't keep Riqo Davis, 8, and Chris Dzon, 7, of Des Moines from enjoying the fireworks during the 16th annual Yankee Doodle Pops in 2010. Justin Hayworth/Register file photo
Lightning streaks across the Des Moines skyline as the sun sets on June 24, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
Fireworks explode over the Des Moines skyline closing the Des Moines Symphony's Yankee Doodle Pops Thursday, July 2, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
A still morning creates a mirror image of downtown Des Moines on the mirror-like surface of the Des Moines River north of the Center Street Dam in 2003. Bob Nandell /Register file photo
Severe thunderstorm clouds roll over the Des Moines skyline as a storm front arrives in the metro in 2009. Christopher Gannon/Register file photo
Thousands fill the Capitol grounds for the Des Moines Symphony's Yankee Doodle Pops Thursday, July 2, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
The Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines Monday, March 30, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
The Des Moines area is expected to receive 7 inches of snow Friday. Register file photo
The Des Moines skyline as seen from the steps of the Iowa State Capitol March 30, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
Rain and low clouds obscure the skyline on a wet October 2008 morning, from across the Martin Luther King Jr. West bypass bridge in Des Moines. (John Gaps III/Register file photo)
Fireworks fill the downtown Des Moines skyline during Yankee Doodle Pops in 2007. Mary Chind/Register file photo
Skaters circle the ice against the downtown Des Moines skyline at the Brenton Skating Plaza in December 2006. Christopher Gannon/Register file photo
The Des Moines skyline shines behind the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register
The Des Moines skyline is reflected on the Des Moines River on an overcast April 2013 afternoon. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register, The Des Moines Register
An American flag on the Capitol grounds waves in front of the Des Moines skyline in June 2013. Register file photo
The Des Moines skyline looms in the view from a midway ride at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in 2013. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register
Sue Anne Clark of Bryn Mawr, Penn., runs in front of the downtown skyline while competing in the 35-39 age group during the Hy-Vee Triathlon U.S. Championship competition in 2011. Mary Chind/Register file photo
The Des Moines skyline is seen from Prime Tower near the East Village April 30, 2014. Register file photo
The downtown Des Moines skyline in 1996. Doug Wells/Register file photo
The Des Moines skyline along the Grand Ave. bridge June 11, 2009. John Gaps III/Register file photo
Despite good jobs and cheap living, people don't see Des Moines as a very desirable place, the report shows.
A jogger crosses the bridge at Gray's Lake Park with the Des Moines skyline in the background on Thursday, March 20, 2014, as temperatures at noon reached the low 50s.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)Buy Photo
Des Moines is a pretty good place to live — solid jobs, cheap homes and short commutes.
And still, people don't see it as a very desirable location.
That's the conclusion of new rankings of the best places to live from U.S. News & World Report.
Des Moines is the 11th best place to live in the U.S., according to the report. It was the top-ranked city in the Midwest.
Denver topped the list, followed by Austin, Texas, and Fayetteville, Ark. Landing in fourth place was Raleigh-Durham, N.C., a metro area that regularly lands alongside — or often in front of — Des Moines on lists of desirable mid-sized cities.
Des Moines is a city that regularly touts its lofty status on such best-of rankings. Raygun, the local T-shirt shop and purveyor of all things satirical, once called it the "#1 city to list as a surprise city on a list of cities." So a spot outside the top 10 might come as a disappointment to some advocates for the region.
So where did Des Moines do well and how can it improve?
The rankings, produced for the first time this year, considered several factors. Des Moines scored the best (8.3 out of 10) in value, which measured household income versus cost of living.
Des Moines also scored well for its job market (7.3) thanks to a rock-bottom unemployment rate of 2.9 percent, and for net migration (7.6), thanks to a 4 percent population increase between 2010 and 2014.
But, seemingly unable to shake its fly-over country reputation, the city scored lower in quality of life (6.6) and desirability (5.7).
Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said the scores illustrate the challenges of being a small Midwestern city and show why organizations like his work so hard to market the region.
"We need to continue to tell our story and we need to continue to be proud of what we have here," he said.
Desirability was measured by a Google consumer survey of 2,000 people, asking where they would like to live. Raleigh-Durham, by comparison, had a desirability score of 8.3.
Miriam Weiner, product manager for Real Estate at U.S. News, said the data from the desirability survey is proprietary but Des Moines ranked in the bottom half of the 100 largest cities. "That's probably why it got knocked out of the top 10," she said.
Quality of life was determined by several factors including crime rates, health care quality and availability, school rankings, commute times, and a well being survey from Gallup-Healthways that asked residents about satisfaction in their day-to-day lives.
Des Moines did tie for second nationally for shortest commute times, with an average drive of 20 minutes.
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