Des Moines, IA short-term rental market report (2026)
Polk County, Iowa. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesModerate (3/5)
- 4-BR typical value$382K
- FEMA riskRelatively Moderate
- Demand drivers within 50 mi2
- People within 300 mi25.4 million
- ClimateSummer-peak
Everything STR HUB holds on Des Moines, IA in one place, in the order an investor needs it: whether you can operate, what the numbers are, why and when people come, who can reach it, and what could go wrong.
Every figure comes from a named dataset listed under Sources and method, dated September 21, 2026. Where we do not hold a figure, that part of the report is left out rather than estimated. The Opportunity Score here is partial: it was calculated without revenue data, with the cash-flow component assumed to be below average, so it can understate the market.
Can you operate in Des Moines?
| Rule | What we hold on file |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | City of Des Moines |
| Permit or licence | Short-term rental permit registered online or at the City Clerk's office; granted for the calendar year of issuance under Ordinance No. 15,844 / Municipal Code Ch. 5.72. |
| Permit fee | $250 per year (as of 2025; City Council may adjust the fee by resolution). |
| Lodging and sales taxes | 5% Iowa state hotel/motel tax + local Des Moines hotel/motel tax (rate not confirmed) + state sales tax. |
Rules for Des Moines last verified September 20, 2026. Rules change, and a city rating does not cover HOA or deed restrictions. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before you buy or list.
Which way the rules are moving
Stable. The rules we hold report no recent or pending change.
Des Moines requires an annual short-term rental permit, currently priced at $250/year as of 2025, registered online or in person at the City Clerk's office and valid for the calendar year issued.
Classified from the regulation text we publish; a direction is only kept when the sentence it rests on appears word for word in that text.
The numbers
We have not verified revenue figures for this market yet.
Home values in Polk County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Polk County, not list prices. A specific property can sit well above or below them.
What it costs to own
Screening figures, not a bill or a quote. The tax rate is a county-wide median for owner-occupied homes (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022); second homes and rentals are often taxed more heavily, and a purchase usually resets the assessed value. Expected annual loss is from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Housing market momentum
County-level, for-sale housing market: it says nothing directly about STR bookings. A relative ranking among tracked markets, not a forecast. Sources: Realtor.com Economic Research, U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow Home Value Index.
Why people come
2 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Des Moines. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Iowa State Fair
- When
- 11 days in August
- Attendance
- 1,218,834 (1,218,834 visitors (2026, a record year for the fair, per Wikipedia).)
- STR angle
- An 11-day event that is Des Moines' single largest annual lodging driver, with attendance at a record high as of 2026.
Landmarks
- Bridges of Madison County (Winterset)
- When
- Spring through fall; the Covered Bridge Festival in October is the peak.
- STR angle
- The covered bridges and John Wayne's birthplace make Winterset a gentle day trip from Des Moines with a real spike at the October festival. Overnight demand is light, so a rental here depends on weddings, festival weekends and Des Moines overflow.
When they come
Summer-peak climate: May to September is comfortable and December to February highs average under 45°F. 7 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F, and 1 month averages six inches or more of snow. Warmest month: July (average high 86°F). Coldest: February (average low 13°F).
- Jan30°15°ColdSnow
- Feb32°13°Cold
- Mar49°30°Cool
- Apr60°40°Comfortable
- May71°53°Comfortable
- Jun83°64°Comfortable
- Jul86°68°Comfortable
- Aug84°67°ComfortableEvent
- Sep79°61°Comfortable
- Oct62°45°Comfortable
- Nov49°32°Cool
- Dec40°24°Cold
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 30 | 32 | 49 | 60 | 71 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 79 | 62 | 49 | 40 |
| Average low (°F) | 15 | 13 | 30 | 40 | 53 | 64 | 68 | 67 | 61 | 45 | 32 | 24 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.9 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Snowfall (in) | 9.9 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3.1 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 5.5 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 6.2 |
| Event month | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- August: Iowa State Fair
This is climate and events, not booking data. Monthly normals are 2019-2023 averages from the Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (ERA5 reanalysis) at the market pin. Event months come from the demand drivers listed above. We do not hold monthly occupancy or rate data for this market.
Who can reach it
Largest counties within 150 miles
| County | Population |
|---|---|
| Douglas County, NE | 582,638 |
| Polk County, IA | 493,378 |
| Linn County, IA | 229,308 |
County populations (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022) summed for every county whose centre lies within each straight-line radius. Straight lines are shorter than roads, so read these as generous upper bounds, not drive-time counts.
What could go wrong
| Hazard | FEMA rating | Score (0-100) |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | 98.1 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 97.9 |
| River flooding | Relatively Moderate | 92.1 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 90.3 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 66.8 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 57.7 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 27.5 |
This is a county-level index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination. A coastal or wildfire-fringe rental can carry far more exposure than its county average suggests. FEMA does not model coastal flooding for this county, which is not the same as zero risk. Get property-level flood, wind and wildfire quotes before you buy.
Market context
Housing and jobs in Polk County
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018-2022. Vacation-home share is housing units held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. All three describe the whole county, not one town or neighbourhood.
What is within 15 km of the Des Moines pin
Counts of features mapped in OpenStreetMap within 15 km of the market pin. A fixed radius favours dense metros, and map coverage varies by area.
Similar markets
The 4 tracked markets whose numbers sit closest to Des Moines's. Each links to its own report.
Closest by normalised distance across the figures both markets hold (typical 4BR value, revenue, occupancy, regulation rating, vacation-home share, tourism job share, 4+ bedroom share, amenity score, population within 300 miles, comfortable months and FEMA risk score). At most 2 of the 4 come from Iowa, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Des Moines on the map
Open Des Moines on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Des Moines STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Des Moines?
STR HUB rates Des Moines's short-term rental rules 3/5 (Moderate) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). That rating was derived from the regulation text we hold and has not yet been reviewed by a person. Permit rule on file: Short-term rental permit registered online or at the City Clerk's office; granted for the calendar year of issuance under Ordinance No. 15,844 / Municipal Code Ch. 5.72. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does a 4-bedroom home cost in Des Moines?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Polk County is valued at $382,416 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $281,007, with all-home values up 0.3% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What brings visitors to Des Moines?
2 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Des Moines: Iowa State Fair (1,218,834 published attendance) and Bridges of Madison County (Winterset). Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
What natural hazards affect Des Moines?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County "Relatively Moderate" overall, with a score of 92.0 out of 100 (a national percentile). The highest-scoring hazards we track there are tornado and hail. It is a county-wide index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination.
When is the weather best in Des Moines?
7 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F (April, May, June, July, August, September and October). Summer-peak climate: May to September is comfortable and December to February highs average under 45°F. These are 2019-2023 climate normals, not booking data.
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research (official source: online.encodeplus.com).
- Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), county level. Data provided by Zillow Group.
- Housing, employment and population figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2018-2022.
- Natural hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, county level.
- Amenity counts: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Climate normals: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (CC BY 4.0), 2019-2023 averages.
- Demand drivers: each entry links its own published source in the list above.
Figures come from the STR HUB national dataset dated September 21, 2026 and this page is regenerated whenever that dataset is rebuilt. County-level figures describe Polk County as a whole, not one street or neighbourhood. The Opportunity Score (0-100) is a screening heuristic that weighs revenue (35%), regulatory climate (25%), tourism employment (15%), nearby amenities (15%) and large-home supply (10%) relative to the other tracked markets.
Confirm before you act. Short-term rental rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction, and work with a licensed local agent who knows which properties can legally operate. This report is screening data, not investment, legal or tax advice.
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