Des Moines, Iowa
Demographic profile 2010 1990 1970 1950
White 76.4% 89.2% 93.8% 95.4%
- Non-Hispanic 70.5% 87.8% 92.7% N/A
Black or African American 10.2% 7.1% 5.7% 4.5%
Hispanic or Latino ( of any race ) 12.0% 2.4% 1.3% N/A
Asian 4.4% 2.4% 0.2% −
Demographics
Historical population Census Pop .% ± 1850502—18603,965689.8% 187012,035203.5% 188022,40886.2% 189050,093123.5% 190062,13924.0% 191086,36839.0% 1920126,46846.4% 1930142,55912.7% 1940159,81912.1% 1950177,96511.4% 1960208,98217.4% 1970201,404−3.6% 1980191,003−5.2% 1990193,1871.1% 2000198,6822.8% 2010203,4332.4% Est . 2018216,853 [ 6 ] 6.6% U.S . Decennial Census [ 46 ] 2018 Estimate [ 47 ] Map of racial distribution in Des Moines , 2010 U.S. Census . Each dot is 25 people : White , Black , Asian , Hispanic or Other ( yellow )
Des Moines (/dɪˈmɔɪn/ (listen)) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to Des Moines in 1857. It is on and named after the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning River of the Monks. The city's population was 216,853 as of the 2018 population estimate. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 89th in terms of population in the United States with 655,409 residents according to the 2018 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa. Des Moines is a major center of the US insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. The city was credited as the number one spot for U.S. insurance companies in a Business Wire article and named the third-largest insurance capital of the world. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Marsh, Monsanto, and DuPont Pioneer have large operations in or near the metropolitan area.