ZIP Code 50038 — West Des Moines city, IA Demographics & Data

ZIP code 50038 covers West Des Moines, IA in Dallas County with a population of about 228.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 40.9 versus a U.S. median of about 38.9.

It sits in telephone area code 515; U.S. House district IA-3; the DES MOINES - AMES media market.

Median household income in ZIP 50038 is about $79,479 — about 6% above the U.S. median ($75,149).

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a poverty rate of 3.5%; unemployment rate near 3.8%; 18.8% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 14.9 points below the national share (33.7%)).

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Healthcare, Retail trade, and Wholesale trade; about 26.7% of workers reporting work-from-home (about 11.5 points above the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 74.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

Housing tenure and rents show owner-occupancy near 100.0% (about 34.6 points above the national owner-occupancy rate (65.4%)).

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates natural-hazard risk for West Des Moines city, IA as Relatively Low (composite score 60.6), which is near the middle of the national distribution. The strongest component scores on US5 are flood (60.4) and wildfire (40.6). These scores are county-linked NRI values published for planning context — all ZIP codes in the same county share the same composite score on US5. Useful when comparing insurance and disaster exposure across areas, not a substitute for a parcel-level flood or fire determination.

Climate normals for West Des Moines city, IA show little to no average snow and around 36.5 inches of annual precipitation.

IRS migration statistics show a net inflow of about 13 for ZIP 50038 (West Des Moines city, IA) on US5’s published series — a signal of people/tax filers moving in relative to those leaving. Inflows often track job growth, housing demand, or lifestyle migration; treat the figure as a directional indicator rather than a precise headcount.