01 - Taxes
Retirement Tax Treatment
Iowa does not tax Social Security benefits, which preserves a key income stream for retirees, though other income remains subject to state income tax.
Source · Tax Foundation
8
Fact text
- The Val Air Ballroom opened in 1939 on a giant concrete slab left over from a rubber factory that never got off the ground.
- Guy Lombardo, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller all played under the stars at the Val Air Ballroom in what was once a concrete eyesore on Ashworth Road.
- Back in 1911, Valley Junction had a strict 10 mph speed limit, so naturally someone built a race track designed to hit 100 mph.
- The city reinvented itself with a simple name swap: 'Valley Junction' sounded too old-fashioned, so residents voted to become 'West Des Moines' on January 1, 1938.
- West Des Moines once suspended ALL property taxes for two years, funded entirely by profits from the city water department.
Your
West Des Moines
Retirement Outlook — in 90 seconds
Hosted by Michael McMillan, President of Annuities.net
Every figure mentioned is drawn from the same sourced public data shown below — and the video updates as the data does.
66724
+
Total Population
$
74159
Median Income
$
228300
Median Home
14
%
Age 65+
Retirement Suitability
How
West Des Moines
ranks for retirees?
25
/ 100
A blended, sourced view of how this city ranks for retirees across tax, affordability, healthcare, and climate.
Tax
8
Affordability
73
Healthcare
6
Climate
15
Results
West Des Moines
Suitability Breakdown
02 - Income
Annuity Rates Available Here
Fixed annuity rates reach up to
7
% on 5-year terms, with most landing between
5
% and
5
%.
Source · Cannex
73
03 - Healthcare
Hospital Access & Quality
The area has
3
Medicare-certified hospitals, averaging a
2
/5 CMS quality rating.
Source · CMS Hospital Compare
2
04 - Climate
Weather & Comfort
A
Cold / Snowy
climate — summers peak near
84
°F, winters dip to about
17
°F, with roughly
35
″ of snow a year.
Source · NOAA Climate Normals
Cold / Snowy
05 - Risk
Natural Disaster Risk
FEMA's overall natural-disaster risk rating for this county on the National Risk Index.
Source · FEMA National Risk Index
Relatively Moderate
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