38,411 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.1% since 2020)
416 square miles of land · 92 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
9 active community water systems list Des Moines County in the area they serve, reporting 41,894 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| BURLINGTON MUNICIPAL WATERWORKS surface water · local government · IA2909053 | 26,015 served |
| RATHBUN REG WTR ASSN (BURLINGTON) buys surface water · private · IA0400902 | 8,375 served |
| WEST BURLINGTON MUNI. WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA2985002 | 3,555 served |
| MEDIAPOLIS WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA2948062 | 1,688 served |
| DANVILLE WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA2915000 | 923 served |
| TIMBERLINE ESTATES, LTD. groundwater · private · IA2900626 | 712 served |
| MIDDLETOWN WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA2952075 | 336 served |
| GREEN ACRES MOBILE HOME PARK groundwater · private · IA2900603 | 190 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 75 people were held in Des Moines County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 325 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 11.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
4 school districts have their office in Des Moines County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $65.4 million — $48.7 million to run schools, about $14,619 per student, plus $9.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17 million local (mostly property tax), $38.6 million state, $13.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.8 million.
Spent $12.5 million — $10.8 million to run schools, about $11,170 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.3 million local (mostly property tax), $7 million state, $670,000 federal.
Spent $11.6 million — $9.9 million to run schools, about $10,805 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.7 million state, $995,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 million.
Spent $9.6 million — $8.5 million to run schools, about $12,885 per student, plus $358,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.4 million local (mostly property tax), $4.3 million state, $620,000 federal. Long-term debt: $9.3 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Des Moines County about $19.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
173 bridges in Des Moines County: 68 in good condition, 77 fair, and 28 poor (16.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| MAIN STREET SOUTH over SMALL CREEK · built 1886 | 3,705 vehicles a day |
| FM over LITTLE FLINT RIVER · built 1968 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| FM over FLINT RIVER · built 1960 | 1,210 vehicles a day |
| FM over KNOTTY CREEK · built 1980 | 1,019 vehicles a day |
| X 99 over HAWKEYE CREEK · built 1938 | 770 vehicles a day |
| SO MAIN ST over CASCADE LANDING · built 1896 | 743 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $29.9 million of work in Des Moines County in fiscal 2025, about $768 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Iowa are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Des Moines County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Des Moines County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Iowa: the state government and every county in Iowa.
Nearby counties: Henderson County, IL (15 mi) · Henry County (19 mi) · Louisa County (21 mi) · Lee County (24 mi) · Warren County, IL (30 mi) · Mercer County, IL (31 mi).